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    Street Magic: A Black London Novel
    Street Magic: A Black London Novel
    Street Magic: A Black London Novel
    Ebook356 pages5 hours

    Street Magic: A Black London Novel

    By Caitlin Kittredge

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete's eyes--or so she thought. Now a detective, Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster's chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she's shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self. But he's able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget's kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey. Even though she's spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget--and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJun 2, 2009
    ISBN9781429965224
    Street Magic: A Black London Novel
    Author

    Caitlin Kittredge

    Caitlin Kittredge has written several comic books and novels for adults and teens. She spends her time in Massachusetts fixing up her 1881 Victorian house, which she shares with several spoiled cats and a vast collection of geeky ephemera. You can follow her on Twitter @caitkitt.

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    Reviews for Street Magic

    3.5/5

    196 ratings26 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book, although it was a bit slow starting up. I enjoyed the fact that Jack wasn't the perfect male that appears in many of these books. Overall, a promising start to a new series.
    • 4/5
      I liked it even though the main characters seem so miserable. There is a lot of angst between Jack and Pete. They are not very nice to each other and it’s a wonder they stick together. It’s an unlikely partnership. I like the world they are in but don’t really believe that Pete USA very good cop and she probably won’t keep her job if she continues the path she is on. Jack is a mess, not very likeable but I was still rooting for them both to succeed.
    • 1/5
      Combine the mannerisms of John Constantine from Hellblazer, the looks of Spike from Buffy, and complete incompetence, and what do you get? Jack Winter, the most disappointing street mage I've read yet. Supposedly this is set in England: the only way I can tell is that Jack says "bloody hell" every page, calls women "luv," and smokes Parliaments. Otherwise, nothing really marks this as London; it could have been set in any modern city and been the exact same story.

      The uninspired, generic feel of the story could still have been saved by a good plot, solid police work, or a consistent magic system. Alas, we are let down there as well. The plot stalls for long periods, during which Pete and Jack banter and say "bloody hell" as often as possible, and then every few chapters Kittredge seems to remember that stuff has to happen for this to count as a novel. Random magic users attack, mock Jack for being over the hill, threaten Pete with rape, and then get killed or stunned. (I literally lost count of how many times sorcerers try to assault Pete, including interrupting their own climactic magical ritual in order to try to rape her at knife point. So tedious and nonsensical.) Pete has supposedly been a cop for years, but she never does any police work or uses any associated skills or connections. And the magic doesn't follow any sort of system at all, not even the dreamy fairy-tale logic of McKillip or Gaiman--it just works (or doesn't work) in whatever way the plot requires it to do at that moment.

      Every single character is incompetent, the plot meanders, and the two main characters are annoying. They repeatedly risk their lives (even stab themselves in the stomach!) to save each other, all based on three days and less than three months' acquaintance twelve years ago. They never manage to make incredibly obvious logical connections, or follow up on leads, being too busy yelling at each other about how important they are to each other.

      Overall, mediocre, stupid, and forgettable.
    • 2/5
      The best thing I can say about STREET MAGIC is that I finished it because, uh, it was touch and go there for a while. This book seems to consist entirely of the sort of drama drama drama nonsense that gives reality TV such a bad name. If I had to do an elevator pitch for this novel, I think it would go, "It's like the Real Housewives of London, starring Sid Vicious the junkie mage, an annoying groupie, and set in a Hot Topic...."

      In the prologue we find out that when Pete was a starry-eyed teenager she accompanied Jack Winter to perform a magic ritual. From what I could tell, he was dating her older sister at the time and they didn't know one another very well. The ritual goes awry and Pete is left with the impression that Jack died. Twelve years later, they meet up again. Pete is a cop, Jack is a junkie. Kittredge goes all out with the descriptions, so we find out how skinny, wrinkly and ruined Jack is...and yet the second Pete sees him, she reverts to reverts to dreamy-eyed teenage behavior. It's actually embarrassing to read. For his part, Jack is supposed to be sexy, I guess? Except that all he does is smoke and pose and mouth off.

      The whole book felt like an endless succession of ridiculous declarations, "Why did you leave me there to die, Pete!" and "I never stopped thinking of you, Jack!" The plot (about a ghost that kills children) only exists in order to give Pete and Jack the opportunity to storm out on one another (this time for good!), or else dramatically insist that they'll die for one another, or maybe for one of them to declare that he/she doesn't care about the other, only to dramatically put his/her life on the line anyhow.

      Also, another reviewer here commented about the annoying Britishisms. But the reviewer was British and I figured that would make him/her particularly sensitive to a false vernacular. Now that I've read the book I can say: the annoying Britishisms are just as annoying and weird to an American. Every page is so cluttered slang that the writing - which is otherwise of a pretty good quality - becomes outright ridiculous. If you took a drink for every time Kittredge uses the word "bloody" in this book you would die of alcohol poisoning before reaching the halfway point. And not just "bloody": Kittredge also tosses in "bloke" and "telly" and "lift" (instead of elevator - and MAN are there are lot of elevators that need mentioning in this novel), "git" and "bint" and "luv" and "dodgy" and "sodding" and on and on and on, scattering them liberally throughout the text at a rate of three or four per page. It's silly. It doesn't sound British, it sounds like a Saturday Night Live sketch.

      So, yeah, I did finish STREET MAGIC but by the time I got to the end I hated Jack, I hated Pete, and I hated the book.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I'm writting this review quite a while after reading the book -- and I confess I've been influenced by other reviews to downgrade my initial assessment. "Yeah, that's right -- that really irked me, too." For better critical assessment about why not to bother, read a few of reviews from those that rated this low. They've parsed it out well. I can say I found the psychology of the characters unconvincing and that's always a death blow. I won't be going on to the next book in the series.
    • 5/5
      I stayed up late reading the last pages of Street Magic - it has me absolutely hooked from beginning to end, and I immediately sought out other Kittredge books.

      Street Magic is my second foray into 'urban fantasy', and I'm really enjoying the genre. I like Kittredge's imagination. Looking forward to the continuing story of Jack and Pete.
    • 5/5
      Some years ago, I went to BBW sale in the lot that was now BookXcess and I fell in love with Nocturne City series. Unfortunately, after several books I lost interest in it since basically the plot were moving but Miss Kittredge didn't actually elaborated about her main characters so its like finding a piece of treat in the middle of a lengthy series. But then I read her Iron Codex series and I fell in love with her noir stories again. Score!

      And I found out that she's the same age as my sister, wow....

      The main appeal of this series (on contrary with her other protagonists: Luna and Aoife) was the language and the characters in this book.

      Honestly, there's got to be a word count for "bloody", "fucks" and "cunts" in this book by both main characters. It does make me think about Being Human's sarcastic humor and The Fades's noir overtones. Well, its set in London so if you're unfamiliar with some of the lingos you might have a hard time following the novel. (well, basically, I'm Asian and I had to learn a bunch of local and overseas lingos in multiple languages so its not that hard you know. And I watch BBC series like it was some sort of crack so... embrace the culture)

      The characterization styles was like genius. I rarely see this in urban fantasy for female readers since somehow all of them expected the same characters of Buffy and Angel. Its not that bad but its quite tiring after a long while.

      The female protagonist was Pete which is a weird name for a girl who is a detective inspector who investigates a missing person's case and received an informant who she had saw dead 12 years ago. She's goddamn stubborn, like a counter-intuitive version of Olivia Dunham... oh slash that, Pete is like Fauxlivia Dunham except she's British and have foul mouth and smoke cigarettes. She have nightmares involving freakish wrinkled bones things giving her something in her sleep that she scream every night till her fiancée dumped her (what a asshole!) and now he bugged her in weird moments in her days asking her to sign a lease to sell their apartment, again, asshole. She didn't seek out romantic aspiration like every urban fantasy book characterss that I read (but hey, I'm still reading them so I'm not complaining) and when she set her mind to something she just do it impulsively. I mean, like really, you don't ever say no to her. Like ever. She's like a terminator or something, she got a scratch, a stab wound, mind-tortured or something, and she's up on her feet even when she's covered in blood. She's really mean too but darn fascinating. Honestly, the book cover doesn't justify her character. She's like Eliza Dushku slash Sherlock Holmes slash Fauxlivia Dunham.

      Frankly, I love Faith more than Buffy <3

      which leads to Jack Winters, a very hot male character in the first page of the book where we saw him summoning a wraith that killed him. A couple of pages later we found him again, alive but heavily addicted to cocaine and live in dilapted building and begging for a hit. He was a shade of the powerful mage he once was and when Pete found him, she saw only the key to solving the missing children's case and that she neat her off his drugs and get cleaned. It was a struggle with both of the characters since the main reason Jack became that way was that he can see ghosts and fought hard to keep the ghosts away. He is haunted and fingering on periphery of madness. Even with his infamous 'talents' in the paranormal side of London, he carried the curse along with him and with Pete bringing him to the world, the black London became aware of the mage and more sorcerers trying to murder him to gain his magic.

      I am enjoying this mesh of characters together. Oh, both of them are addicts in every way, the story is mature and classically a noir done right.

      In the ways of novel series 101, the book doesn't really show the details of the main characters despite the mystery plot adhering to the main storyline. I go through chapters and chapters of the book trying to catch the back stories of the characters, like catching Daim chocolate amidst a sea of cheap chocolate. It build up well, explained some of the matters in the book but withheld more on others, throwing questions to a lot of things, avoiding some of the matters from the past but solving it. Lying about something and then telling the truth. Frankly, the book contradicting each other but in a sort of way thats intriguing, like a mystery novel should!
    • 3/5
      I read this book because it was compared to Stacia Kane's Downside series. While it does have some of the same aspects of that series the writing does not begin to compare.

      It is an okay book and I am glad I read it but I can't say for sure that I will read the next in the series. There was a tendency to resort to using the same phrases, etc. (a constant need to "kick" other characters for example that became extremely annoying to me) and while people do tend to do that in real life, I didn't have a great desire to read it over and over again.

      The story was fast-moving and engaging, the characters were...lacking in a certain depth but definitely have potential. It was interesting to see Pete finally admitting the existence of other realms and opening up to her powers but it was handled slightly awkwardly. It was also nice to watch Jack making it back from the edge to reclaim his place and powers.

      Worth a read but nothing to put at the top of your list.
    • 4/5
      Twelve years back Pete Caldecott stood in a circle and let Jack Winter shed her blood to wake a spirit. It killed him. Except he's not dead, he's the informant that just let her know where she'll find a kidnapped girl...WTF? And they're off and running. Pete's now an inspector with Scotland Yard. Jack's now a heroin addict (it's the only thing that keeps the voices away). But Pete's determined that she's going to find whatever is responsible for taking the missing children whatever the collateral damage.Given that Jack's on smack and Pete has very few issues with getting her answers by any means necessary, it should come as no surprise that Black London is a good deal rawer and grittier than Nocturne City. Pete's really likable, and when he's not whinging, so's Jack. Looking forward to reading more of their adventures.
    • 4/5
      I should have been looking for a Comfort Read for Christmas. But this Christmas bore no resemblance whatsoever to any other Christmas in living memory (in a word, it sucked), so I drifted with my whim and landed almost randomly on this book on the Kindle. I figured I'd start it and see how it went. How it went was almost in one sitting. I was hooked quickly and dragged along for the ride. And it was quite a ride. Taken separately, the component parts of this book aren't promising. The main characters are a tough-as-nails-here-I'll-prove-it 28-year-old female London copper, Pete Connelly (if I told you what Pete is short for she'd kill me) and Jack Winter, former punk rock singer, current junkie, and all-around (*pause to review possible epithets for one clean enough for a review*) Grade-A jerk. The story is different from other urban fantasies I've read, though there are elements that ring all kinds of Dresden-esque and Peter-Grant-esque bells (like the ability of the heroes to withstand a horrific amount of physical pan and abuse and come out of it making smart-ass remarks). One thing this book (this series, I'm finding) has that the others don't is language. By which I do not mean skilful use of adjective or metaphor or turn of phrase; all three series do have that to one degree or another. No, what Street Magic has that the others don't, quite, is sheer unadulterated potty mouth. I'm not unduly sensitive to filthy language – heaven knows my mouth in these past few months especially, as the universe has consistently showed me its heel, has been worthy of an Orbit gum commercial. But even at my worst I don't think I've used the f-bomb quite as often and as creatively as it is used by the characters here. And I definitely haven't used the (not to be coy, but I don't choose to ever use the word) "c-word" … and if I did it wouldn't be in every other sentence, and probably not referring to male characters…. I still find that odd. And there's plenty more besides … It's a little like sandpaper on the eyeballs. Still. Despite all of this, I found myself completely involved. I like Pete. I even like Jack – and I feel for him, and want him to be ok. More, I want to know how it is that he reappears in Pete's life after twelve years. I wanted to know how it was going to come back to, literally, haunt her. It all begins with a missing child. Kidnapped children are rarely going to return home the same as they used to be, but this situation is something else again. Much as Pete wants to deny it, there is more than just a human psycho involved in this – there's a supernatural agency at work, and that is going to take even more explaining away than her confidential informant is. And that there is one of the problems with the book. When the sh – er, when everything hits the fan, it demands Pete's time, at the expense of her official duties. Her partner has to do some heavy-duty covering up for her, and for the most part without knowing what he's covering up, and it's all handled a bit more casually than it ought to be – by Pete, by her partner, and by her superiors. Or maybe not, considering the second book. Still, the setting was great; the Big Bad is both very big and very bad, with a few elements that were thoroughly chilling. And while I admit I have a soft spot for the classic Knight in Shining Armor hero, reading about protagonists as thoroughly messed up as these two are is a gritty dose of realism, and – since I can close the book and not worry about the pain or odors et cetera – a strangely refreshing change of pace. Not for everyday, this – more like the grungy, tattered outfit you dig out of your closet when you're headed to a punk rock concert. Not that I've ever been to a punk rock concert. Or ever will. But now I know what one is like.
    • 3/5
      This is a dark urban fantasy-
      What I liked:
      Our story begins with a 16yr old girl the future Pete Caldecott, Detective Inspector of the New Scotland Yard now a grown women. A nightmare that happened over twelve years ago, when Pete had trust in magic and Jack. Jack Winter, a mage was killed by a ghost that they had freed that night.
      Or so she thought till he appeared to giver her a tip all strung out on heroine. Her world shatters, her heart bleeds from the pain and the joy, of seeing him alive.
      Jack is a heroine addict. He is also the only one that can help save the children that are being taken. He struggles with his lies, addictions and his own ghosts/demons that follow him. He is forced to take on more darkness and push his magical lines will drive them both to the edge.
      The magical mystical beings are dark, evil and twisted. The Dark London world is gritty and filled with magical beings Pete is only now opening her eyes to see. She has alway felt something, but her sanity keep her from looking further.
      They work roughly together, the past dangles between them. She is tough and forces him to go cold turkey with the drugs till this case is solved. Romance ?- There is a hint at something more, between them. Then it is blown away with barely a thought. (i was screaming for something to happen) There was never given a clear feeling on their relationship. No romance here, but there is hope from me. LOL
      What I did not like:
      -The writing style started out strong but, at the 1/2 way point it was full of rapid cuts, often leaving me confused. It was like the story was thrown into a tornado.
      -Pete the rule following detective turned into a fist fighting street girl to defend Jack.
      -Her whole credibility as a Detective Investigator is unbelievable. She just disappears from her job/superiors during an active missing child case ??? Really ?
      -the overuse of slang, crude slang. it just didn't fit in that much.
      ** Despite all of this, I liked Street Magic. It had a lot of confusing and irritating moments in the second half of the book. The characters had serious problems. The writing had some serious flaws, yes. I saw enough promise in the beginning of the book to drive me to read the next one. I have already started the next book. There was brilliant writing at work till the second 1/2 tornado hit.
    • 4/5
      Having been a fan of Kittredge's Nocturne City novels, I decided to give this series a try. At this point, I think I enjoyed Luna's adventures more, but I did enjoy getting introduced to Pete and Jack. Pete is a great heroine who is strong and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. She doesn't hesitate to put her own life on the line and is willing to do the dirty work to save someone else. The reader gets brief insights into Pete's past, but it is her actions that make her rootworthy. Jack is an unlikely hero, but he does endear himself to the reader. The book's mystery is good and keeps the reader turning the pages. I liked Kittredge's world building and the London she created for Jack and Pete. Overall this was a good read, and I plan on reading the next Black London novel.
    • 2/5
      This is a short book (335 pp) which I picked up for free at the Connotations Book Mooch in Oct. It says something that I started reading it that weekend and only finished it a week or so ago.I was drawn to the Black London setting (a London where magic takes place both in and out of a sort of parallel-ish dimension) rather than the actual premise (Teen heroine, Pete, meets older bad boy mage, Jack, who is seemingly killed in front of her. Pete grows up to be a policewoman and is investigating the case of a missing girl when she comes face to face with Jack, who is most definitely not dead.)Alas I should've spent more time reading the inside notes because the book is written by an American chick living in Seattle who has based her novel in London and her hero is a bad boy from Manchester.Though there is a relatively decent plot buried somewhere in the book it's overshadowed by (a) two protagonists who seem to spend all their time shouting and snarking at each other as if they were still teens (b) stupid, stupid mistakes on the Britpicking front (c) cringe inducing dialogue.Examples of the Britpicking which set my teeth on edge? Having the anti-hero go ito a pub and ask for "a pint of bitters" because seriously, if the bar staff are having an off day you will NOT get a pint of ale but something far less palatable. After Jack shoves through the gate onto the Tube Pete "swipes her Oyster card twice". Yeah right - that'll work. And making Pete's address: 221 Croydon Place, #32, London - this is not how our addresses work!The dialogue reads like badly written fanfic.One of the reviewers on Amazon had this to say about it: "the general effect is of something translated from another tongue by someone to whom UK English is a second language - grammatically accurate but the vocabulary use is just a bit off."Here's a hint - there's a style to cursing in the UK and that doesn't mean you scatter "bloody's", "bugger's" and a number of "sod's" and "git's" every few words, cross your fingers and hope for the best. If the bad boy mage is a bit of a lad from Manchester then he'll be dropping the f-bomb all over the place not sounding like a weird 50s fop or some pre-teen who hasn't yet learned how to cuss properly. Also adding "all" to "bugger" does not emphasise, but rather completely changes, the meaning.I also think she must have had a product placement deal with whatever company makes Parliament cigarettes. We're introduced to Jack and told he smokes Parliaments (not a brand I would associate with a UK smoker) and then every time it's all "Pete takes Jack's Parliament", "Jack cups his hand and lights a Parliament" until it becomes teeth grindingly intrusive.To any Brit reader, or American who has spent time in the UK, the dialogue is just going to sound wrong. The colloquialisms are off, there's precious little difference in style between Jack and Pete's speech patterns and Jack particularly, ends up sounding like a cross between Spike and Sid Vicious with the cod Britpseak.As a plot point too - Pete is supposed to be a detective yet spends the entire novel bunking off work running rounds London with a junkie ex-mage barely ever calling in. I doubt if the Met bosses give their staff quite as much freedom as Pete seems to have.Also if you want me to invest in Pete as a serious female heroine it would help if on meeting wasted junkie Jack that she didn't revert to talking and acting like a starry eyed teen experiencing her first crush.So um...that'd be a Thumbs Down for Kittredge and Street Magic (which was the first in the Black London series). I won't be reading the rest.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this after enjoying Kittredge's Nocturne City series and having spent four years outside of London while growing up but just couldn't. The story was okay but it was the constant brow beating language and slang thrown at the reader that never allowed me to enjoy it. Whether it was my personal experience, British TV, British novels or friends from England, I have never, ever heard, seen or read dialogue like this. It reminds me of a person who has never lived in New York City trying to write what they imagine an accent should sound like. It never really works and just detracts from the story. Reading other reviews I know I am not the only one who has this complaint so it is something you may want to keep in mind if you are contemplating this novel. If you are interesting in an urban fantasy tale based in England I would recommend you read a British book instead of this. Simon R. Green, Kate Griffin and Mike Carey won't butcher their own language just to sell you on where their books take place.
    • 1/5
      High Hopes, allow me to introduce you to Crushing Disappointment.I really wanted to like this book. Scratch that. I wanted to love it. I've been absolutely starved for another Urban Fantasy series that I could get obsessively attached to. Thus, when I heard that two of my favorite bloggers were recommending the Black London series by Caitlin Kittredge, I googled the books faster then I've ever googled anything before (well except maybe for semi-naked pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal). Anyways, being the discerning reader & consumer that I am, I of course decided to check out some more reviews prior to scrambling for my wallet. And as it turned out, some reviews were pretty bad. But despite having to tell my borderline manic excitement to slow its roll, I was still hopeful and determined to give Street Magic a try. So, I bum rushed the double doors of my local library and borrowed a copy STAT.My venture into Black London started off fairly well. I immediately liked the writing style, namely the rich descriptions and gritty edginess of the environments & characterizations. And I appreciated the fast pace and action...at least at first because as the story progressed the action became rather repetitive & redundant. Sadly, as I flipped the pages, I felt a hollow sensation creeping up inside me and quickly realized that I was not becoming emotionally engaged in the story. Quite the contrary, I felt utterly detached and couldn't bring myself to care for either one of the two protagonists.I like my characters flawed. I like them to be rough around the edges with a bit of attitude & a smidgen of broodiness. And I like to see them voyage through the murky gray area in between right and wrong. Therefore, I initially welcomed Pete and Jack with wide open arms. Unfortunately, like with most blind dates, the reasonably good first impression turned sour rather fast.Pete had potential to be likable. She was loyal, compassionate, and brave. However, she was also a card-carrying member of the TSTL club. This was made worse by the fact that Pete was supposed to be a superstar London detective. Yeah, I've seen mall cops act more professional than the nonsense Pete tried to pass off as police work. She did nothing by the book. Hell, she chucked the book out the window of her mini cooper, drove over it, and then backed up to drive over it again for good measure. She ran blindly head first into every situation without anything close to resembling a plan. She never told anyone where she was going or what she was doing. She ran her mouth off and physically assaulted people left & right without much rhyme or reason. It was just one stupid decision after another. On top of that, she had an extremely unhealthy infatuation with Jack, who did absolutely nothing to deserve her affection & devotion.Jack, bluntly put, was an asshole. I found nothing likable about him and he never managed to redeem himself in my eyes. He was self-absorbed, arrogant, apathetic, and immature. And no, this wasn't due to a 12-year heroin addiction. I wish it was. No, Jack by nature was a selfish, cocky bastard. Sure, he had a tough childhood and a rather unpleasant ability of seeing/hearing the dead, but I couldn't find anything positive enough about him to accept this as a legitimate excuse for his assholish personality & behavior. Perhaps in the proceeding books he manages to grow as a person and earn some respect, but in Street Magic he pretty much sucked.Finally, another thing that totally turned me off was the foul-mouthedness that ran rampant in this book like an ADHD kid on a sugar high. Listen, I'm not prudish. I don't mind a bit of cussing. I cuss too...in 3 languages (3.5 if you count what I picked up from Battlestar Galactica). Admittedly, I cuss more in my head then out loud, but that's besides the point. The thing is, the profanity in this book was way over-the-top and mixed in with British slang that felt really contrived. The "C" word was used so much that if I had decided to make a drinking game out of it, I would have had alcohol poisoning before the end of the book. It made me very uncomfortable, and that's saying something because the last time cussing made me uncomfortable was when I babysat the Spawn of Satan back in high school (how a 5-year-old little boy learned to cuss like a drunken sailor with anger-management issues, I do not know, but his parents definitely didn't pay me nearly enough for all the times I had to foil his plans of setting things on fire and poking animals with pointy sticks...*shutter*).
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of All Things Urban FantasySTREET MAGIC is one of the best series launches I’ve read in a long time. It really just scrapes the surface of this world and these characters, and yet Wow does it pack a punch. The writing is tight and specific. We don’t ever get bogged down with physical descriptions of people and places, but I still know exactly what everyone looks like and I felt very much like I’d visited all the London locations in STREET MAGIC. The plot is suitably sinister with a supernatural evil that every fiber of your being will long to destroy, but it’s the relationship between Pete and Jack that really sets this book apart.Jack Winter is a new favorite character for me, and I say character rather than romantic lead because there is very little romantic about him. He’s a complete train wreck of a person. The first time Pete sees him after a dozen years, he’s an emaciated heroin junkie who lets fly a string of hyper crude profanity the moment he sees her. It’s not exactly a meet-cute. With a handful of vitally important exceptions, Jack stays pretty much at that level of hostile wretchedness throughout the book. What does change is how we as readers perceive him as we learn more about him. No matter how many times he falls, Pete refuses to give up on him. She sees something worth saving and so do I.And I can’t forget Pete. She’s an amazingly tenacious woman. The realities she has to come face to face with in STREET MAGIC would have destroyed a weaker person, but she keeps getting back up, keeps fighting. She’s not some Amazon warrior chick either. She works with her strengths and is aware of her weaknesses, but isn’t afraid to get hurt. If the debut is any indication, the Black London series is a must read. A dark and twisted urban fantasy set in a London filled with truly evil demons, fae and malevolent magic users. The characters are broken in every possible way and yet they completely resonated with me. I’m thoroughly invested in them so that it’s not a question of if I’ll be reading the rest of the series, it’s a question of how soon can I get caught up. The 4th installment, DEVIL’S BUSINESS, will be published on August 30, 2011. Sexual Content:Kissing. Pervasive crude sexual dialogue.
    • 1/5
      Somebody said, 'Ooh, urban fantasy is hot -- think I'll write a book!'
    • 4/5
      The best way to describe this book really is 1970s British punk urban fantasy. There's such a 70s punk feel to the book, maybe its the music, or the Billy Idol-ness of Jack Winter. Whatever it is, the feel really is there. Jack Winter is a mage, twelve years ago he fascinated the 16 year old Pete Caldecott, up until the day he died. Now Pete has found him again, a heroine junkie with a mysterious connection to a missing girl.Jack's drug addiction was just one of the interesting elements of this book that set it apart from other urban fantasy novels. The magic in this series is dark too. It's not called the Black London series for nothing. Sorceror's practice black magic, witches practice white magic and mages straddle the grey in-between. Pete Caldecott doesn't believe in magic, but her nightmares tell her that something happened that day twelve years ago when Jack Winter died. As the police inspector in charge of the case of a missing young girl she is surprised when a meeting with an anonymous tipster reuintes her with Jack. I found the writing a little harder to read then many of the other paranormal novels I've read lately, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, its just that it required more concentration than the others. The mood of the books is definitely darker than other paranormal novels which lean more towards the romance side of the border.
    • 4/5
      Street Magic is an exciting fast paced read. Prior to reading this new book I read Ms. Kittredge's first two books in her Nocturne City series and just loved her writing voice. Her characters take you on a journey of non-stop action. The writing isn't bogged down with unnecessary dialogue that you find in some dark fantasy books. I always find that refreshing. Pete and Jack are quiet interesting and have great chemistry. Their back and forth nagging at each other was amusing. The only problem I had with it were the names "Pete" and "Jack". I had to keep reminding myself that Pete is a chick. Otherwise I really enjoyed this first installment.
    • 1/5
      I really wanted to like this book. I keep hoping for a paranormal detective series that will grab me like the early Anita Blake books did and this definitely sounded promising - the fae, different kinds of magic, missing children, London setting - how could it miss?Well, it misses in various ways - dreadfully written Britishized dialogue with slang obviously written by an American, shallow to non-existent characterizations, plot holes large enough to drive several semi's through - the list goes on and on. I did finish this, but that's because I was on an airplane and my other books were packed in the bag I checked in. I did stop reading this and read all of the airline-provided reading material in the little seat pocket in front of me - the in-flight magazine, the catalog of stuff no one ever buys, and the seat card with safety instructions. Sadly, those materials didn't take up all of the time and I was forced to go back to this book and finish it. I will never ever travel without at least two books in my carry-on bag again.Dreadful.
    • 4/5
      Better than I expected! This fun, interesting, unique urban fantasy novel had me hooked from the very beginning. It has its issues - the written British accent is a little much at times, the supporting characters are either thin or nonexistent, and the plot seems to get a bit sidetracked. But, on the other hand, the main characters are well-drawn, the plot unpredictable and fast-paced, and Kittredge turns urban fantasy staples into strange, one of a kind elements in an intriguing world. Overall, this book exceeded my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will probably pick up the second one in the series.
    • 4/5
       The debut of a new series from Kittredge, this book is much better than the Nocturne City books. The writing is tighter and more clever, the characters have more complexity, and the plot moves along at a better pace. If you're looking for a good dark and/or urban fantasy, I recommend giving this one a try. This series even improves with book two, 'Demon Bound', and I have high hopes for book three.
    • 5/5
      Street Magic is a dark, dark fantasy. The main character is so flawed. The secondary character is extremely flawed, in fact, he's a straight up asshole. Pete (a female cop) has issues - issues that I think a lot of women have (falling for the wrong man). She's also pretty tough and in some serious denial about her abilities. This is not one of those books where the "bad" character isn't really bad, this guy has some issues and uses to self-medicate (that's all our excuses!). There is no sudden soberness for him either, this guy screws up a few times. Jack, her sister's former boyfriend is an addict. A strong magic wielding lost little-boy heroin addict. They end up working together, feeling strong dislike for each other to help find some missing children. Somehow, all this works. The story is full of surprises, dark fantasy figures, and bad things happen to people. There is also a nice mix of modern life, mixed in with legendary fae mythology.There is a lot of action in the novel, and Pete begins to come to an acceptance of herself, as well as slowly learning that there's more to life than meets the eye. The dialogue between the main characters is wonderful. They say some nice things to each other, they say some horrible things to each other. There is absolutely NO sex in this book. Refreshingly, the characters aren't suddenly falling into bed with each other at an odd time, or suddenly making out with each other, although you can tell that at one time they were attracted to each other.I was reading about very flawed people, who do some not very nice things, and I wanted to keep reading. I was really enjoying the not-so-perfect characters. I think that this book is way better than Caitlin Kittredge's Nocturne books (which I do enjoy). Even though the characters were so....broken and flawed, they still persevered. They egged each other on, and all the way through the book there was just the teeniest bit of possibility that things would work out. The sequel to this, Demon Bound is available now, and I'm so glad that I won it in a contest, because it's sitting on my shelf right now. Until I finished Street Magic, I wouldn't have felt like buying the sequel, and I would have missed out on a very good series.A good book to have your fantasy shelf
    • 2/5
      When Pete Caldecott met the irresistible Jack Winter when she was 16 years old, she knew her life would never be the same again. Older and wiser with magic at his fingertips, Jack seemed to charge the very space his lived in. That is until Pete watched him get killed by a shadowy form he tried to summon from a graveyard. Flash forward 10 years and Pete is now a London detective with a string of cases involving missing children. After receiving a mysterious tip about their location, Pete discovers Jack strung-out on heroin with precise information about the kidnappings. Unwilling to let Jack fade back into obscurity, Pete forces him to not only sober up but to help her find the other children - although she doesn't believe in the possibility that magic is involved for a second. As the mystery begins to unfold, Pete is forced to confront her own past and the existence of sorcerers, demons and faeries.I found this to be a fun, fast-paced ride, albeit sometimes a little dark. Pete and Jack's relationship is full of angst arising from some huge misunderstandings those ten years ago and both are sure the other is lying about something. What I liked about Pete was how loyal she can be: to the missing kids, to Jack. It really made me like her even more. My only problem was how quickly Pete went from a no-nonsense detective to fist-throwing brawler ready to defend Jack. It really didn't seem in keeping with her 'toe the line of the law' persona. Other than that, the descriptions of a magical London underworld centered in Whitechapel were more than a little fun.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book, so much so I was not able to put it down until I was through the whole thing. I really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters, Pete & Jack. They really have one heck of a love/hate relationship. The British slang was a great touch as well. It took me a little bit to get what they ment, but when I caught on to the meanings I absolutely loved it. I got such a kick out of the slang even when it was in anger.There where a few moments I got slightly confused with the flashes to the dreams that Pete was having then to reality. It took me a moment to catch on to what was going on, then to switch my thinking. But, it didn't take me long as I went through the book to catch on and know what to look for, and in learning the authors writting style it became easier for me to pick the dreams out.I really liked Jack's character more from the beginning. To me there seemed to be more layers to him than appeared to the others in the story. To me I thought he out shined Pete through most of the book, but by the end of the book Pete had taken her place right up there by/with Jack. In the end of the book I realized how much Pete had grown as a character through the book, and loved her for it. Jack's character grew as well but not by the leaps and bounds that Pete did.I know there is a short story of Jack in the book Huntress, which hold a few short stories by four different authors. I have this book on my shelf in my to be read pile. But, the second book in the Black London Novel series is Demon Bound. Based on the preview at the back of the book, Street Magic, it looks as it is to be released December 2009. I will be watching the shelves for this on in December.
    • 4/5
      Detective Inspector Pete Caldecott is determined to find the person responsible for the abduction of Bridget Killigen even though her sixth sense is telling her she will be too late. When she receives a tip from a potential informant the last person she ever expected to see is Jack Winter, her sister's former boyfriend, magician and singer...and the man she saw die at the hands of a nightmare over a decade earlier. Jack is a shade of his former self and an addict. He is also the only one who seems to have a connection to whatever is kidnapping young children and for that reason alone Pete will keep Jack close at hand, whether he wants to be there or not.This story was a very different read for me and lots of fun simply because it was very British in setting, attitude and language. It is a good thing I had a "Harry Potter" primer on British slang or I might have been a little lost LOL! Also, the story was engrossing, with a very interesting way of having the characters perceive where they were at any given moment, flipping between the real world and The Dark places. The characters played well off of each other. I did have a little difficulty getting used to "Pete" as a girl's name and for the longest time was confused as to who "Connor" was. I'm used to calling my parents mom and dad, and never think to use their first names myself. I liked the idea of Jack being an addict and for what could be good reason. There is some 'shippy tension to the relationship between Jack and Pete, and the story really centers around these two characters together, but there is certainly no actual "romance" involved in the story. I'm hoping that maybe the sequel will have a little more in that department. I think that this was a very well put together, edgy, dark urban fantasy with a very strong female lead who isn't as abrasive as some I've read in the past. Certainly this is a series I have an interest in following, at least into the next book.

    Book preview

    Street Magic - Caitlin Kittredge

    Chapter 1

    Michaelmas daisies bloomed around Pete Caldecott’s feet the day she met Jack Winter, just as they had twelve years ago on the day he died.

    That day, the unassuming tomb in a back corner of Highgate Cemetery was overrun with the small purple flowers. Jack crushed them under his boots as he levered the mausoleum door open.

    Fear had stirred in Pete’s stomach as the tomb breathed out bitter-smelling air. Jack, I don’t know about all this.

    He flashed a smile. Afraid, luv? Don’t be. I’m here, after all.

    Biting her lip, Pete put one foot over the threshold of the tomb, then the other. A wind whispered out from the shadowed depths and ruffled her school skirt around her knees. She backed out of the doorway immediately. We shouldn’t be here, Jack.

    He sighed, pushing a hand through his bleached crop of hair. It stood out in wild spikes, gleaming in the low light. His hair was the first thing Pete had seen of Jack in Fiver’s club three months ago, molten under the stage lights as he gripped his microphone like a dying man and screamed.

    Don’t be a ninny, Pete. Nothing in here is going to bite you. Not yet, anyway. The devil-grin appeared on his face again. Jack held out his hand to her. Come into my parlor.

    Pete grasped his hand, felt where the ridges of his fingers were callused from playing guitar, and used the warm shiver it sent through her to propel herself into the tomb. The stone structure was bigger than it appeared from the outside and her hard-soled shoes rang on the stone when she planted her stride firmly. She hugged herself to ward off the chill.

    I’m not a ninny.

    Jack laughed and tossed the green canvas satchel he’d brought into a corner. Sorry. Must have been thinking of your sister.

    Pete punched him in the shoulder. That’s your girlfriend you’re slagging off. You’re wicked.

    Jack caught her hand again and folded it into his, eyes darkening when Pete didn’t pull away. You don’t know the half of it.

    Pete met his stare, listening to them both breathe for a moment before she disengaged her hand. Thought you said we were here to do some magic, Jack.

    Jack cleared his throat and moved away from her. So I did. He pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a crooked circle on the flags, one that quickly grew lines and squiggles radiating toward the center. And we will, luv. Just got to set up some preparations to ensure everything stays nice and nonthreatening for your first time.

    The way he said it could have made any of Pete’s classmates at Our Lady of Penitence blush. Jack, why’d you bring me? she asked abruptly. This pagan demon-worshipper crap is MG’s thing, not mine. I shouldn’t even be alone with you. You’re far too old.

    I’m twenty-six, Jack protested. He finished the circle, which had grown into something that resembled a cage, giving Pete the sense of flat, cold iron. Jack took two fat candles, black and white, from his satchel. You act like I’ve got one foot in the sodding grave, you do.

    And I’m sixteen, Pete had whispered to herself. And if MG ever found out the two of us have been alone—if Da ever found out . . .

    I asked you to come along because I need you, Jack said, sitting back on his heels. His serious tone pulled Pete back from imagining what if MG witnessed the scene. Her sister could throw a fit akin to a nuclear explosion. And Da—he’d send Pete to a convent, or a tower, or wherever angry fathers sent recalcitrant daughters in fairy tales.

    Pete blinked. "Why on earth would you need me?"

    Jack brushed the chalk dust off his hands and stood, patting the pockets of his battered black jeans. Let’s see—you’re sensible, cool in crisis, rather adorable. What bloke wouldn’t want you about?

    Shut your gob, Pete muttered. What’d MG say, she heard you talking like that?

    MG, said Jack. MG knows what I’m about. She wouldn’t say a bloody thing, because she won’t ask and I won’t tell her. He searched his studded jacket next, without fruition. Bloody fucking hell. You got a light?

    Pete dug in her school bag and found her Silk Cut and disposable lighter, hidden inside a tampon box. MG might treat Pete indifferently at best, but she did teach her a few good tricks.

    Cheers, Jack said when she tossed it to him, lighting the candles and placing them at the head and foot of the circle. The longer Pete looked at it, the more her eyes hurt and her head rang, so she looked away, at the bar of light that was the door back to the world.

    Almost there . . . Jack muttered. He pulled his flick-knife from a hidden pocket—or maybe it just appeared, in the dim light Pete couldn’t be sure—and pricked his finger, squeezing three precise droplets over the chalk.

    Pete had watched Jack work magic before, simple street tricks like disappearing cards, the queen of spades slipping between his thin fingers, or small conjurations like a cigarette that came from the packet already lit.

    But here, in the tomb, Pete remembered thinking, it was different. It was real magic. Silly, of course, that, through and through. She was the daughter of a police inspector, and the Caldecott family—less MG—didn’t put stock in that sort of thing. But Jack . . . Jack made you believe, with his very existing. He crackled the air around him like a changeling among men. People looked into his eyes and believed, because you could see a devil dancing in the bright flame of his soul.

    Jack Winter was magic.

    Ready? Jack asked from the head of the circle. Pete felt something wild and electric settle around them, like a phantom storm brushing her face with rain.

    What should I do? Pete asked. Jack beckoned to her and hissed when she almost scuffed over some of the markings.

    Mind the edge, luv. Wouldn’t want you lopped off at the knees.

    Bloody hell, really? Pete asked, eyeing the circle circumspectly. She wasn’t her sister, nattering on about the energy, but she knew, in a way that was deep and brooked no logical argument, that she had stepped into something otherworldly when she came to this place with Jack. He radiated a power she could taste on her tongue.

    "The circle won’t hurt you, Jack admitted, stroking the darker stubble at his jaw. But don’t disturb the sigils. You don’t want what’ll be inside on the outside. Trust me." He took Pete’s hand as she got close and raised the flick-knife. Pete jerked, but he was too quick, scoring a neat crosscut on her palm.

    Ow! Pete said in irritation. All of the questions she should have asked raced to mind in a sick sensation of falling and the excitement of a moment ago washed away on a red tide of fear.

    She hadn’t asked why they’d come here, sneaked past the admissions booth at the cemetery gates and broken into this tomb, hadn’t pressed Jack on purpose, because then she’d get scared, and Jack was never scared. Not when a pack of skinheads made trouble in Fiver’s. Not of Da, DI Caldecott himself, who had chased off every one of MG’s previous deadbeat boyfriends. Jack just extended a hand and a smile and people would throw themselves off Tower Bridge to stand next to him, to reap a little of the danger that seemed to permeate everything he touched.

    As the chalk soaked up her blood, the sigils fading to red like a blushing cheek, Pete knew she didn’t want to pull back. Questions be damned. Jack wanted—needed—her here, and she was here.

    You all right, luv? Jack said, pressing a tattered handkerchief over her cut and closing her fist around it.

    I’m fine. I’m ready, Pete said. She wouldn’t think about what might crawl out of a tomb under Jack’s deft hands, nor about how mad her believing that Jack had power was in the first place. She’d just know that he picked her, Pete Caldecott, who never had friends or friends who were boys, and bollocks to a boyfriend—if she had one of those, she’d go buy a lotto ticket. Jack Winter, magician and singer for the Poor Dead Bastards, needed Pete with him in this old dark place.

    Jack guided Pete to the black candle at the foot of the circle, and she made sure to stand ramrod straight so he’d know she wasn’t scared, not a bit, wasn’t thinking this was a bit dodgy and odd. Not Pete.

    Now you hold on to me, Jack said, lacing their fingers together in a blood-smeared lattice across the markings on the floor. And whatever happens, you keep holding on—all right?

    What might happen that’d make me let go? Pete’s stomach churned into overdrive.

    Standing at his spot by the white candle, Jack flashed her the devil-grin one more time. That’s what we’re going to find out.

    He started to speak Irish, long passages, rhythmic. It sounded like it should be solemn, intoned by robed priests over a stone altar, but Jack half slurred through the stanzas as though he were reciting lyrics to one of his songs and had a few pints in him while he did it.

    For a moment, nothing happened. Pete looked at Jack through her lashes, half feeling pity because he seemed so set on something odd or spooky taking place.

    And then something did.

    Pete felt the pull, the separation of things that were comfortable and real from the dark place behind her eyes. Something was swirling up, through the layers of the veil between Pete and Jack and what lay beyond, and she could almost see it, a welter of black smoke growing in the center of the circle as Jack raised his voice, chanting rhythmically now that the fruits of his spell were visible. The chalk lines clung like bone fingers, holding the smoke-shape in place.

    Jack’s eyes flamed blue as the spell snapped into place, and the fire traveled over the planes of his cheeks and his arms and hands and blossomed all around him as Pete gasped, and the thing in the circle grew more and more solid.

    The shape was human, a wicker man of smoke. The chalk lines did not hold it for more than a moment, and it fixated on Pete, eyeless but staring through her all the same. And then it was moving, in a straight and inexorable line, right for her. The primitive cold in her gut told Pete something was horribly wrong.

    Jack? Her voice was high and unrecognizable to her own ears. The wicker man had a face now, and hints of silver in its eye sockets, and hands with impossibly long fingers that reached out, clawed at her. Whispers crowded Pete’s brain, and a pressure fell on her skull so unbearable that she screamed, loudly.

    And Jack, where was Jack? He stood watching the smoke with a measured eye, as if Pete were the mouse and he were the python enthusiast.

    Jack, she said again, summoning every steady nerve in her body to speak. What is it?

    He bent to one knee and quickly chalked a symbol on the floor. Bínasctha, he breathed.

    The wicker man stumbled, like a drunk or a man who just had a heavy load thrown on him. But he walked still, one foot straight in front of the other.

    Ah, tits, hissed Jack. He rechalked the symbol, and still the wicker man walked.

    "Jack." She said it loudly, echoingly so, the first fissures of real panic opening in her gut.

    Shut it, will you! he demanded. Pete saw from his expression that he was finally catching on to what she knew—never mind how; it had fallen into her head when that terrible pressure had eased, like waking up and suddenly knowing the answer to last night’s math homework. She just knew, as if she’d experienced this ritual a thousand times before, that Jack’s magic was awry and now the smoke man was awake and walking the world.

    Is that all you can say? she cried. Jack, do something!

    He tried. Pete would always say that, when she had to talk about the day, even though her memories of the whole event were thin and unreliable by choice. He tried. And when Jack tried to keep the wicker man from her, all that he got for his efforts was screaming, and blackness, and blood.

    Chapter 2

    The sign on the building, half off its hinges, optimistically proclaimed HOTEL. Underneath, in smaller gold script that had faded, Grand Montresor.

    The tiny purple asters grew all around the crumbling concrete steps, forcing their way out of the cracks in a great spray of example for nature versus man.

    Pete stepped over them, careful to avoid crushing any blossoms, and pushed her way into bleach-scented gloom. The Montresor, like the whole of the block around it, had seen better days and couldn’t remember exactly when they were. It stood out like a dark pock on the face of Bloomsbury, and Pete wondered why information always had to be garnered in the filthiest, most shadowy places of her city.

    A clerk straight out of The Vampyre ruffled his Hello! magazine in annoyance when Pete came to reception. Yeah?

    Could you tell me about the person staying in room twenty-six? Pete said, trying to sound bright and official. It took more than a forced smile and a chipper tone to garner a reaction from the clerk, for he just grunted.

    Pete unfolded the note Oliver Heath, her desk mate at the Metropolitan Police, had handed her. Grand Montresor, Bloomsbury by King’s Cross. Room 26 @ 3 P.M. Said he had information on the Killigan child-snatching. Ollie had shrugged, the gesture expansive as his Midlands drawl, when she’d questioned him. Said that the lead inspector were to come alone, and not be late.

    Bridget Killigan. Six years old. Disappeared from her primary-school playground when her father was late fetching her. In normal cases Pete advised the parents to be hopeful, that children were usually found, that nothing would happen to their family. Because in normal cases, the child was snatched by a parent in a custody case or an older schoolmate as a prank, or simply said Bugger this and ran off on their own, only to be confounded by the tube system and get stranded in Brixton. Strangers took children in folktales, not Pete Caldecott’s London.

    Even so, when the Killigan case came to Pete, she got that sink in her chest that always heralded an unsolvable crime. Bridget had no divorced parents, no creepy uncles. The girl had been taken by a figment with no ties to the world Pete could discover, and she knew, in the leaden and otherworldly way she just knew some things, that the only way they’d find Bridget Killigan would be dead.

    The clerk was giving her the eye, so Pete showed her warrant card. Does the lift work? she asked.

    The clerk snorted. What d’you think, Inspector?

    Pete sighed resignedly and mounted the stairs. She’d been meaning to get more time at the gym, hadn’t she? One didn’t become a twenty-eight-year-old detective inspector without spending every waking moment plastered to a case. At least, one didn’t if one didn’t want to endure the whispers about DI Caldecott the elder and how he’d worked for his position, he had, wasn’t right how some young slip just waltzed right in . . .

    Room 26 matched all the other doors in the hallway, robin’s egg blue, like a door in a dirty London sky. Pete lifted her hand to knock and then dropped it. She’d tried to ignore that knowing, of course. You couldn’t know things you hadn’t deduced with fact. The feelings of tight pressure behind her eyes, the whispers of the future echoing down the time stream to her ears—those things were stress, or low blood sugar.

    Not real. Had never been real. Maybe she’d had a good hunch a time or two, was all. She was good at her job. Nothing spooky about it.

    Pete lifted her hand again and knocked this time, firmly and thrice. C’min, someone mumbled from behind the door. ’S open.

    Not very smart in this city, Pete replied, knowing the best she could hope for on the other side of the door was a shifty-eyed informant who had heard some fifth-hand story about Bridget Killigan and needed a few quid.

    She turned the knob and stepped in, keeping her chin up on the off chance that it was a shifty-eyed axe murderer, instead. I’m DI Caldecott. You wanted to speak about Bridget Killigan?

    He was slouched on the sill, a lit cigarette dangling from his lower lip. The sun was low over King’s Cross and it lit up the man’s platinum-dyed hair, a halo over a dirty hollow-cheeked face.

    Yes, said Jack Winter, exhaling smoke through his nose. I did.

    He’d been bloody and still the last time Pete saw him. Eyes staring at the ceiling of another’s tomb. Pete could only stare for a moment, and her heart fluttered as the two images of Jack overlaid one another, spattering blood droplets and pain across the living incarnation’s face. He’d been so still.

    Younger, too. Bigger. A body gained from nights sleeping on a floor and fights outside the club after his sets. That was gone now. Jack was all sharp corners and creases. He flicked his ash on the sill and unfolded his long arms and legs, gesturing Pete to the bed.

    Sit, if you like.

    Pete couldn’t have, not if God himself commanded it. She was rooted surely as an old oak.

    Bloody and still. Dead.

    You . . . The word came out on a shiver. You.

    Yeah, I’m surprised a bit meself, Jack said, dragging on his cigarette like he was underwater and it was oxygen. I mean, I rang asking for the inspector on the Killigan case and they give me your name. Almost said fuck it, then. You don’t deserve the success.

    Pete finally managed to blink, to set the world right side up again and march ahead despite the thousand screaming questions ringing inside her skull. Jack Winter was alive. Right. On with it.

    What do you mean by that?

    He threw down the butt of his cigarette and stamped on it with a jackbooted foot. You know bloody well what I mean, you fickle bitch.

    I don’t— Pete started, but he cut her off, grabbing up an old leather jacket from the bed and shrugging it onto shoulders that showed their bones.

    Bridget Killigan will be found tomorrow at the entrance to Highgate Cemetery, Jack cut her off. I’d prefer five hundred pounds cash reward, but since you’re a copper I know your heartfelt thanks will have to do.

    He went around Pete for the door, stamping his feet in a jerky stride like he was cold. Pete decided that her mind might be standing agape, but the rest of her didn’t need to be. She caught him by the wrist. Wait! Jack, how do you know that? Please.

    Please tell me why you’ve been alive all along and never breathed a word to me. Please tell me how you survived that day.

    He sneered. Let go of me.

    Pete held on, and he wriggled in her grasp. I just want to have a word, Jack—after twelve years, don’t you?

    No, he said. "I told you what I needed to tell you, and now I’m off to the pub. Leggo, you bloody fascist!"

    He ripped his arm away and the sleeve of the jacket jerked back, revealing a miniature tube system of veins and punctures on his forearm. Numbness stole over Pete as she stared, until Jack glared and pushed his sleeve down again.

    How long? she asked.

    Jack shoved a cigarette between his lips and touched it with the tip of his finger. An ember sprang to life. Like you bloody care.

    With a slam of the broken door, he vanished.

    Pete dialed MG at her commune in Sussex on her mobile when she left the Grand Montresor and hung up. She dialed her desk at Scotland Yard. Ollie picked up, but Pete rang off with him as well.

    What the bloody hell would she say? By the way, that bloke who dropped dead in front of me when I was sixteen? Saw him today. Yeah. Gives his love.

    Ollie was ill equipped to offer advice, unless it was regarding Leeds United football or cheap minibreak destinations. MG already had enough reasons to think Pete was a raving nutter. After the graveyard, after Pete had started talking again a few weeks later, MG had screamed and slapped her and demanded to know what had happened to her

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