Unwitch Hunt

With this fun fantasy, Robinson expands the world of his City of Devils series (after A Stitch in Crime) where humans are transmuted into supernatural forms but still crave melodramatic cinema, build capitalist confection conglomerates, and indulge in murder to solve interpersonal problems. Former hex slinger Hexene Candlemas, an “unwitch” after her familiar is killed by a mad scientist, heads to the city of witches, Las Brujas, with her coven in hopes of recovering their magic. Rejected by the nervous ruling witches, brash underdog Hexene finds allies among the city’s working monsters, the robots, zombies, and shape-shifters who handle the daily chores. Enemies, however, seek to eliminate the Candlemas coven, and Hexene’s older partners meet a witch’s worst nightmare—melting death by water bucket. Now Hexene must figure out who done it and why. Robinson leavens the mystery with a lot of humor (“She was speaking German, so even if all she was doing was reciting a recipe for strudel, it sounded terrifying”) and a charming heroine. This adventure is sure to delight with its embrace of being oneself whether others accept it or not. (Mar.)