Flight from Death

Galenorn returns to her Otherworld universe with this rough and awkward opening series launch. Blue dragon Shimmer is exiled from the Dragon Reaches and winds up in Seattle. In human form, she works for the Fly by Night Magical Investigations Agency, which is run by a vampire named Alex. When one of Alex’s former friends calls them to touristy Port Townsend in northern Washington State, Shimmer gets to take on her first real case. What initially appears to be a simple haunting soon proves to be more, though the plotting is sloppy enough that the characters figure out the truth on three separate occasions. The cast grows to include a local witch, a jinni, and a spiritwalker, each of whom has one defining characteristic that gets repeated every time they interact with somebody new. Between an unfortunate use of a “Gypsy” curse as a plot element and the failure to reveal exactly what Shimmer did to get exiled, even Galenorn’s longtime fans will find this installment unsatisfying. Agent: Meredith Bernstein, Meredith Bernstein Literary. (July)