"The espionage of magic can at times be a war of attrition. There are only so many magic workers in the world and even fewer who can use their powers in such a way as to be an effective operative."
Esmeralda O'Rourke is an American spy--the daughter and granddaughter of intelligence agents. Her mother is missing and presumed dead, her childhood friend has assumed leadership of the most dangerous organization in the world, and the spy she loved has gone over to the Russians. It is the Cold War and trust is scarce, secrecy hard to maintain, and the stakes at an all time high. These spies are witches.
Esmeralda is restless and discontented under the close supervision of Hyatt's version of M--the agency's Mistress. But she is a sharp, talented, and dedicated operative with the instincts to find and perplex the enemy. That is, she's got a brain and some really great spells.
Hyatt takes her heroine from Beijing to the Caribbean to Geneva to Santorini to Baikanur, not to mention parts in between and undiscovered. The world Esmeralda inhabits is both recognizable mid-twentieth century Earth and the realm of magic--consistent, well developed, but full of surprises.
This is a fast read, fun, written with a sure and lively voice. There is plenty of momentum from the opening page to the satisfying conclusion, lots of action, twists and turns, a cocky heroine, and a Soviet missile loaded with nothing so mundane as an atom bomb!
Esmeralda O'Rourke is an American spy--the daughter and granddaughter of intelligence agents. Her mother is missing and presumed dead, her childhood friend has assumed leadership of the most dangerous organization in the world, and the spy she loved has gone over to the Russians. It is the Cold War and trust is scarce, secrecy hard to maintain, and the stakes at an all time high. These spies are witches.
Esmeralda is restless and discontented under the close supervision of Hyatt's version of M--the agency's Mistress. But she is a sharp, talented, and dedicated operative with the instincts to find and perplex the enemy. That is, she's got a brain and some really great spells.
Hyatt takes her heroine from Beijing to the Caribbean to Geneva to Santorini to Baikanur, not to mention parts in between and undiscovered. The world Esmeralda inhabits is both recognizable mid-twentieth century Earth and the realm of magic--consistent, well developed, but full of surprises.
This is a fast read, fun, written with a sure and lively voice. There is plenty of momentum from the opening page to the satisfying conclusion, lots of action, twists and turns, a cocky heroine, and a Soviet missile loaded with nothing so mundane as an atom bomb!