This didn't grip me as much as the previous two did, but it was great seeing old characters interact with new, and the world is just as big and interesting as ever.

Painful, but utterly worth it.

Overall, a disappointment. Some of the stories involving minor characters (Bev & Todd, Bubba, Diantha) were okay, while the stories involving more prominent characters suffered.

So, in a world where magic and technology are at odds, where either technology works or magic works, but never (or very rarely) both, enter Kate Daniels, badass mercenary and magic worker.

I'm really intrigued by the world building, but also a bit frustrated and curious at the same time. How does the switch between magic and tech work? Magic is integrated into the world and accepted, obviously, but what about other supernatural creatures? We only ever see one human come into contact with a supe, and his reaction is not enough to understand what the dynamics are. I'M JUST SO CURIOUS, I WANT TO KNOW.

Oh yeah, and there's Kate. Badass, sarcastic, keeps going even when she's hurt, etc etc, Strong Female Character.

She's cool, but I want to know more about the world. On to book two.

A very light filler mystery until the next Flavia novel. Good to get a Flavia fix, but doesn't have much more than a very short mystery case that is solved rather abruptly.