Monday, February 4, 2008

Howling the Moon-Karen MacInerney

Howling the Moon
Karen MacInerney
Ballantine, Mar 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780345496256

In Austin, Texas, Sophie Garou is a highly regarded auditor at Withers and Young. She receives a strange box that contains a Ziploc bag of dried green leaves. The note makes it clear that someone knows she is a werewolf though she is only a half werewolf as her mom is a human witch. Sophie uses wolfsbane to control the transformations but that does not work during the full moon especially at the equinox.

Sophie gets a call from her mom’s employee at her store informing her that her mom has been arrested for the murder of Congressman-elect Ted Brewster who apparently died from a love spell she sold him. Sophie tells her best friend accounting associate Lindsey and goes to see her mom in jail.

On the way Sophie is shocked to see a werewolf as she thought there were none in Austin. She tells her mom she needs a lawyer, but mom is not worried. Lindsey suggests they investigate as the cops are only looking at her mom. They can start with the librarian who Ted bought the love spell for. Meanwhile Sophie’s human boyfriend Heath reminds her he has arranged a special date for their anniversary. She is worried because he is unaware that she is a half werewolf and their date is on the full moon equinox. Adele informs Sophie they will be conducting drug testing on the day of the full moon equinox. Things get worse from there.

This amusing paranormal amateur sleuth tale works because readers will believe werewolves and witches are real and living in Texas. The half-breed urban werewolf heroine is terrific with her humorous asides as she faces all types of woes especially with the demands on her time at the equinox. The support cast is fully developed to bring out more of the lead female’s troubles or to help her, which also can lead to more tsuris for her.

Harriet Klausner

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