HarperVoyager, February, 2009: ISBN 9780732289324
In Magic to the Bone, Devon Monk tells us that every act of magic exacts a price from its user—maybe a two-day migraine, or losing the memory of your first kiss. But some people want to use magic without paying, and they 'Offload' the cost onto innocents. It falls to a Hound to identify the spell's caster, and Allison Beckstrom is the best Hound there is. Daughter of a prominent Portland businessman, Allie prefers to Hound than accept the family fortune and the strings attached. But when she discovers a little boy dying from a magical Offload that bears her father's signature, Allie is thrown back into the high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic. Allie wants the truth and she must call upon forces that will challenge and change her in ways she could never imagine, and make her capable of things that powerful people would do anything to control.

This is Monk's debut novel and an entertaining read. At times the story resorts to the clichés of its genre, but at other times, the author's style and voice are unique and evocative and it was unputdownable both for plot, pace and the reader living the story. I enjoyed the new take on the DUF (dark urban fantasy) where magic is collected via huge rods (similar to lightning conductors) and then transferred to power-hungry humans and cities. Speculative fiction writers often discuss the need for magic restrictions to ensure that the user of magic isn't omnipotent—where would the story be if the magic user could use magic without cost when he or she wanted? Monk carries this concept one step further.

Allie's price for using magic is loss of memory, sometimes little scraps, at times huge chunks and given this, the question I ask is: why? Would you use magic if you knew that you would lose the memories of a lifetime? Is the price too high? I think for many people the answer would be 'Yes', so why does Allie do it? Perhaps this will be explained in subsequent books, but this was one of the plot points that kept nagging me as I read.

Readers of the genre will find much to enjoy in this fast-paced and often chilling story. While Allie does at times come across as the clichéd feisty heroine, she has some endearing and unique qualities and gains reader sympathy. Her love interest is the mysterious Zayvion, and the reader is unsure whether he can be fully trusted. Book one leaves the relationship between the pair up in the air, but fear not – book two, Magic in the Blood, will be out later this year.

Devon Monk has sold over 50 short stories to fantasy, SF. horror, humour and young adult magazines and anthologies which have been published internationally, including Year's Best Fantasy collection. Check her out at http//www.devonmonk.com.