Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Jazz guitarist Mason is no longer a magical Enforcer but he still works with them from time to time. When his ex-girlfriend is found catatonic on Halloween night in a San Francisco park, Mason is drawn back into the underworld of magic to find out who did this to her, and why.

When Mason, and his former boss Victor, learn that similar crimes occurred in Portland, they call in help from Mason's old friend, Rolando, an Enforcer in that area. Rolando arrives with his sister in tow and a lead on who might have committed the crime.

Things aren't quite what they seem though, and when the chief suspect turns up dead, Mason is left wondering how much he really knows about his old friend.

While I enjoy the idea of men getting in on the paranormal investigator action the character of Mason just isn't that intriguing. The most interesting part of his life is Louie, a magical creature called an Ifrit, which resembles a dog. Louie was adorable but not enough to carry this story, which just seemed contrived and was to easy to figure out. While it's not a bad book per se, it simply doesn't have the anything that will make it great.

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Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: November 2008
ISBN-13: 9780441016563