The Line

The witch is dead and Mercy Taylor needs to find out who killed her in Horn's intriguing debut. Mercy's crush on her sister Maisie's boyfriend was her biggest problem, until somebody bashed in her wicked Aunt Ginny's skull. Mercy, the first magical dud in a long line of Savannah witches,digs through family secrets and the magical lore she was never taught in her quest to find the murderer. Then things go terribly awry at the selection ceremony for Ginny's replacement as the guardian of the Line, the magical barrier keeping reality separate from demons and other evil. Sibling rivalry and magical transgressions quickly take on a whole new scope. This tightly paced, entertaining series opener shows great potential. Agent: Susan Finesman, Fine Literary. (Feb.)