A Flash of Hex

As another reviewer said, this is an interesting mix of science and magic. Urban fantasy, mixed with the grit of street life, mystery, relationship issues, even a little sex, and suspense. I'm not a fan of gore. There is some of that here but it doesn't spend excessive amounts of time on it, just what is necessary to move the story along. I'll be looking for more by this author. She's better than average for this genre but I have to say, Charles de Lint is my all time fave. His style is more magic and mystery without the vampires, demons and gore.

After reading Night Child last year I was eagerly waiting for this sequel, A Flash of Hex and it was worth waiting for. Tess is an occult special investigator (OSI) working in Vancouver, BC on some serial murders of kids who are users of a supernatural street drug called Hexstacy, as well as all being children of powerful (read supernatural) families. She and her merry band of cohorts; including her gay mind reading partner Derrick, the necromancer Lucien, whom she is powerfully attracted to, a transsexual fire generating mage, and a deaf materia reader (don't ask) are on the trail of the killer, whoever or whatever it may be. Without giving too much away, the story is well woven and the characters are fleshed out in great detail. The descriptions of the settings and the action are rich and full of detail. The dialogs between the various characters are well devised and often quite funny. They pretty well all have a flair with words and display their various shortcomings and neuroses. I particularly liked the interplay between Tess, Derrick and Mia, their adopted 14 year old pre-vampire ward. He has been able to create tons of real sounding dialog (most of the time). For a newish fiction author he has a good grasp of the language people use in the real world. The story unfolds as it jumps from one murder investigation to the next; taking brief pauses at the autopsy table in their lab. The scientific descriptions and explanations, while somewhat long and detailed actually add much to the overall flavour. And I also liked the tours through Vancouver's trendy and seedier areas as they look for more evidence or clues. I found some of the story development to be somewhat predictable for the genre, but Battis makes up for it in some excellent action/fight sequences and this undercurrent of sexual desire between Tess and her lover boy. I liked it so much I read it twice; taking my time the second time around to savour the flavour. Spicy and hot but not too hot, like good Thai.

I can tell you that I didn't love the first book in this series, Night Child. I did like and really enjoyed A Flash of Hex though! I feel the murders that Tess and Derrick are trying to solve are closer to the heart, and are able to pull the reader in and make them genuinely care. The family dynamic with Tess, Derrick and Mia is really interesting, and everyone that surrounds them lends a hand and is there for each other. This is nice to see from totally unexpected characters. I think my favorite part of this series is the characters. They have feelings, and they actually talk about them, bring them to the surface, and get to that point where they are trying to fix their issues. Which is nice to see when there are so many protagonist who bottle everything up, and let everything build until they explode. The world created is unique and believable, and Battis does a fantastic job luring the reader into the magic, lives, and investigations that take place in it. The only complaint I have about the book is the lengthy descriptions about the places Tess visits. I'm all for descriptive details, but there is a point where it's just too much. I felt like the book would have held my interest better had it not been for these descriptions. All in all A Flash of Hex is a great second book in a series! You could probably get away with not reading book 1, but I'm a firm believer in starting from the beginning!

I read the first OSI novel, Night Child, last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, after reading A Flash of Hex, the OSI series has been rocketed up near the top of my favourite urban fantasy series, and I can't wait for more! There are many things that are wonderful about the novel. Tess is an excellent heroine, because she is as flawed as she is skilled and talented. This is not a cliched tough-girl heroine who can do no wrong and suffers no consequences! Her life isn't always pretty and polished, and this makes her all the more likeable. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. These are real people, or they could easily be. The cast is varied, in terms of ethnicity, sexuality, and many other things, which is a breath of fresh air. I was thrilled to see both a deaf character and transgendered characters, both of which were well written and not at all stereotyped. The storyline is gripping and engaging. Tess and Derrick must investigate the murders of several runaway mages to find out who is responsible and stop them before more bodies pile up. It is gritty and detailed and it is obvious that the author has done his research when it comes to various investigations procedures. Also, as a Canadian, I loved seeing Vancouver as the setting and seeing mentions of things like Tim Horton's, hockey and other Canadian-isms. Oh, and a reference to Jem and the Holograms brings much love.

On an alternate earth, materia (magic) is very common) and those who possess it are brought into CORE (the Conservatory of Mage and Others); there job is to police the supernatural community; especially demons, half-demons, necromancers, and other practitioners of dark magic. Tess Corday is an Occult Special Investigator, who, with her gay partner Derrick make a great investigative team. Mia, Tess's ward, has the VB-positive (vampire retrovirus) and is taking medicine to keep from turning. She knows her family investigates supernatural crimes, but their current one is perhaps the most gruesome yet. Tess and Derrick go to an apartment where they find the body of a teen floating upside down from the ceiling. He bled out from his carotid artery dripping into a cauldron. The victim is the son of Devorah Kynan, a very powerful mage, who pressures the OCI to find her son's killer. Four other teenage offspring of mages were killed in the last few weeks in a similar fashion. It looks like a magical entity is carrying out a serial killing ritual and needs to be stooped before it completes its task. Tess has to deal with Mr.Corvid, a pureblood demon raised in another realm. He tells her the answers are in her mind if she would only look inside; to do this she would need to take the highly addicted hallucinogenic drug Hex. She gets some answers from her childhood past when she signed up for CORE and now she needs to put the pieces together and find the entity before it kills again Urban fantasy is obviously in and perhaps satiating the market, but sub-genre fans will relish A FLASH OF HEX, an exciting police procedural with deep fascinating characters who make the world of Battis seem genuine. The tale is loaded with suspense even when Tess learns more about herself than she ever wanted to know. The support cast is filled with flawed characters that enhance the realm, but the bottom line remains this is Tess' tale as she and Derrick go after a supernatural serial killer. Harriet Klausner