I’m Sarah J. Sover, and I adore smashing genres together, especially when there’s magic involved. My first book, Double-Crossing the Bridge, is a comedic fantasy about drunk trolls pulling a suicidal heist, and my new release, Fairy Godmurder is like Jessica Jones with sparkle. The novels are wildly different from each other, but they both exist in the crime-fantasy sphere, where I can delve deep into character motivations, explore wrongs in the world through a fantastical lens, and play with well-loved tropes, inverting and subverting in unexpected ways. I love that this is a growing genre, and I hope I get an influx of suggestions added to my own TBR tower because of this list!
I wrote...
Fairy Godmurder
By
Sarah J. Sover
What is my book about?
Gwendolyn Evenshine is a fairy godmother with combat boots and a vendetta. When her first charge, the Princess of Korranthia, is brutally murdered, Gwen turns her back on her fairy godmother duties to hunt down the serial killer responsible. With help from a griffin detective trying to make his career and an upbeat, crime-blogging pixie, Gwen’s faltering empathic magic helps her close in on the killer. Until the tables turn. If she can’t nail the bastard before the Hunter’s Moon, she’ll lose more than just her shot at vengeance.
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The Books I Picked & Why
Storm Front
By
Jim Butcher
Why this book?
Let’s go ahead and get this one out of the way because we can’t talk magical detectives without the poster child of hardboiled detective noir colliding with fantasy. Harry is a wizard PI who also serves as a police consultant when cases dip into the supernatural. The world is filled with fantastical creatures, each sect with its own governing rules and goals, which makes for an expansive series filled with magic, mayhem, and paranormal political intrigue. For setting the bar, Harry Dresden gets top billing.
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Skinwalker
By
Faith Hunter
Why this book?
While she’s technically not a detective or a PI, Jane is a beast of an investigator. Literally. A skinwalker who hunts the things that go bump in the night, Jane’s animalistic abilities give her an edge over the competition. My background in Biology makes Jane’s shifting into various, highly dangerous animals fascinating to me. Plus, when she’s in human form, she’s a weapon-clad, 6’ woman on a Harley.
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Titanshade
By
Dan Stout
Why this book?
Carter is your typical noir detective—cynical and staring down a rocks glass. But Titanshade is far from a standard city. It’s gritty and brimming with all kinds of characters from those you think you know to new species whose spilled guts smell like cinnamon. I’m particularly fond of the blood magic readings. And when Carter is backed into a corner, this hardboiled dick may surprise you.
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The Imaginary Corpse
By
Tyler Hayes
Why this book?
There is nothing else in the world like The Imaginary Corpse. Tippy is a stuffed triceratops detective trapped in the Stillreal after he is no longer needed. But there’s a serial killer targeting imaginary friends, and Tippy must work through his trauma to save the Stillreal. This book is somehow both dark and warm—like a needed hug after a traumatic experience. Anyone who suffers from PTSD should give it a shot. Or anyone who just likes a completely unique story.
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Greywalker
By
Kat Richardson
Why this book?
After a near-death experience, PI Harper Blaine gains the ability to navigate the occult world of magic. But the realm between our world and the next is filled with monsters. Some are malicious, but some are looking to hire. The concept of the Grey is fascinating and slightly terrifying to me. Harper deserves to be on this list because only a true badass could survive her client list.
