Adult urban fantasy mystery - 91,000 words - Standalone with strong series potential

Most people think Birmingham, Alabama is called the Magic City because it sprang up overnight like magic during the steel boom. A select few know it sprang up overnight because of magic.

Hazel Matthews would prefer not to be one of those people.

A closeted witch and trial lawyer, Hazel has spent her life building respectability while avoiding the supernatural world she was born into. But when her ex-fiancé dies under suspicious circumstances, magical residue at the scene threatens to reignite a centuries-old conflict between the Mystikos, a secret society devoted to eliminating magic, and Birmingham’s hidden supernatural community.

If the Mystikos conclude that magic killed him, retaliation could turn the Magic City into the next battlefield in their long war against witches, fae, and other supernatural beings living quietly among humans. Determined to stop that outcome, Hazel begins investigating, only to find herself pulled deeper into supernatural politics, uneasy alliances, and the dangerous truth behind her ex-fiancé’s death.

To stop a war and uncover the truth, Hazel must do the one thing she has spent her entire life avoiding: use her magic publicly. Doing so may save Birmingham’s hidden magical community, but it will also expose her as a witch and place her squarely in the Mystikos’ sights.

Winner of the 2019 Romance Writers of America 2019 Golden Heart®  award.

Comparable Titles

Bless Your Heart and Other Southern Curses combines the supernatural mystery of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London with the humor and paranormal intrigue of Lana Harper’s Payback’s a Witch and the Southern supernatural atmosphere of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series.

Author Note

I am an attorney based in Birmingham, Alabama. My familiarity with the city’s culture, legal world, and Southern social dynamics informs the setting and voice of the novel.

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