Heart of Shadows

Ancient evils threaten Edmonds’s magical PI heroine in this fun fifth Alice Worth urban fantasy (after Heart of Stone). Alice was investigating a massacre during a gala held by the Vampire Court when things went horribly awry. Days later, Sean Maclin, Alice’s werewolf boyfriend, finds a disoriented, amnesiac Alice wandering the side of the highway, bereft of both her magic and her ghost familiar, Malcolm. Sean’s werewolf pack, the Vampire Court, and a coven of witches cautiously band together to protect Alice as she struggles to reclaim her magic and, with it, her sense of self. Meanwhile, a common enemy with an age-old vendetta against the supernatural world emerges. Edmonds propels the plot with energetic prose while rendering Alice’s amnesiac state with great sympathy and exploring the effect this condition has on Alice and Sean’s relationship. The tangled threads and shifting supernatural alliances make for a gripping mystery, but the frequent shifts in timelines and perspectives add confusion and distract from the mounting suspense. Regardless, series readers will appreciate this return to Edmonds’s delightfully imaginative world. (Apr.)