A Fistful of Charms
By Kim Harrison

This strong entry in Harrison's intricate Hollows series (number four) plunges headlong into the action as Rachel Morgan finishes up her latest bounty hunting mission by taking down an alpha Were. The book swings into gear when she returns home to find that her ex, Nick, has recruited her partner Jenks's son in a criminal enterprise—and gotten them both imprisoned by Weres in Michigan, apparently for stealing a priceless Were artifact. With the help of some borderline black magic, Jenks—a pixie—is given human proportions in order to accompany Rachel on a mission to rescue his son. Finding the jailed pixie ends up the easiest task in an operation that quickly spirals out of control after Rachel decides she must also rescue the errant Nick. Harrison provides conflict aplenty as Rachel debates how far into the black arts she'll venture to accomplish a good end; past and present boyfriends vie for her attention; and Weres battle vampires for supremacy.

This series just gets better and better. Harrison's characters are lively, interesting and unusual. She has a knack for building an intricate story line that is suspenseful, action packed and entertaining. It is definitely a requirement to read the story from the first novel, Dead Witch Walking, otherwise the relationships and supernatural lore are too complicated to understand. Highly recommended!