Murder by Magic
Twenty Tales of Crime and the Supernatural


Edited by Rosemary Edghill



Throughout the years fantasy and mystery have both walked the fine line that separates them. Finally after years of waiting authors from both walks of life have come together and plunged in feet first with this collection of short stories called Murder by Magic. This collection goes through five different types of supernatural mysteries: Modern, Unclassifiable, Genteel, Fantastical, and Historical.

This first section contains five stories. The number five itself is mystical for it represents the number of elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. The first story, Piece of Mind by Jennifer Roberson, is about an ex-cop turned PI who learns to use his psychic gift again with the help of his next-door neighbor. The second story, Special Surprise Guest Appearance by… written by Carole Nelson Douglas, is set with the Las Vegas Illusionist groups. Of course all illusionists want to know how tricks are done but how far would someone go to be the best?

In today’s world who hasn’t seen a mobster movie? What would happen if someone who was caught in the middle lost loved ones on each side? They would get revenge, plain and simple. But how far is too far... We find out in Laura Resnick’s short story, Dopplegangster. In today’s world ethnically mixed families are becoming the norm. But what would happen if a vampire and werewolf were married and opened their own P.I. firm? In Will Graham’s story, Mixed Marriages Can Be Murder, we find out what the perks in such a combination can be, especially when they’re working a company theft job. The last one in this section, The Case of the Headless Corpse by Josepha Sherman, has magic being the norm and a well-to-do businessman of black arts supplies has been murdered. The mystery is that it is by non-magical means. There are other things that are just as powerful. Who and what killed him is what drives this story and leaving the reader on edge wanting to find out.

Part two, Murder Unclassifiable, is just that, a section of stories that don’t fit in any other particular section. It contains six stories. The number six is the magical equivalence, in some places, to evil things. We start off this section with A Death in the Working by Debra Doyle. This story is what I would classify as a High Fantasy, meaning that it is a part of a much larger mythos. In this story death plays a part in magic but when a mage is killed during the ritual foul play is suspected. On the other hand, when it comes to magic sacrifice is always rewarded. Sometimes bad things come to good people unexpectedly. In Cold Case by Diane Duane we go through a paranormal cold case that’s not quite what it seems to be. In this story the person who’s dead is not clear-cut till the end, even though the reader is taken through the murder.

Deception is in everything, especially Susan R. Matthews’s story Snake in the Grass. In this story, the Snake God plays an important role in finding out who killed a local high priestess. Was it a local pet shop owner, her own snake familiar, or her God himself? The story leaves the reader wanting more all the way to the end. Twins can play part to the ultimate deception. In the story Double Jeopardy by M.J. Hamilton, a set of twins takes over the coven every generation, but when the still living half of rival siblings starts killing twins things start to go a little hokey. In the story, Witch Sight by Roberta Gellis, there’s an unusual death and, in a fit of medieval thinking, it has to be blamed on the witch even if she could only see the spirit realm. It takes an actual detective to locate the true killer. The last story in this section is Overrush by Laura Anne Gilman. This story is a part of the Retrievers series. The main characters are known for finding things that would rather remain unseen. But when people start to not ground themselves because of forces unknown bodies start showing up and it’s up to the main characters to find out who’s behind it all.

In this section, Murder Most Genteel, it deals with stories about the upper class. There are also four stories, which have a magical attribute of the four directions. We begin this section off with story Captured in Silver by Teresa Edgerton. This story deals with a theoretical spell, the ability to capture a soul at death and use it to do the captor’s wishes. This spell plays an important role in finding a killer of a very rich and paranoid man. In a Night at the Opera gives the Victorian times a twist by inventing a spell that has a time-release mechanism in it. This concept is used heavy-handedly throughout, especially when a body shows up.

What would happen if a night that was forgotten were brought back to life with the help of an Ouija board and a psychic reader? In A Tremble in the Air by James D. Macdonald shows the reader that nothing is truly forgotten. This section is finished up with Murder Entailed by Susan Krinard. A Victorian murder is made difficult by adding magical abilities to each guest like fire, water, wall walking, transformations, etc.

With any fantasy story the author needs to go to the extreme. In the section, Murder Fantastical, we get just that. With three stories in this section we get the magical three faces of the Gods. With multiple golems who look alike the true killer in Lawrence Watt-Evans’ story Dropping Hints is hard to find. How much power can stop a demon especially when children are involved? Au Purr by Esther Friesner gives true love light again. However, when a powerful wizard who detests people dies, the only way to find out how is by questioning the only witness, the furniture in Getting the Chair by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

This anthology is wrapped up in the section Murder Historical with two stories, Necromancer’s Apprentice by Lillian Stewart Carl and Grey Eminence by Mercedes Lackey. These two stories show the two faces of magic. In Necromancer’s Apprentice the dead is raised to find out how she died. But what would happen if the spell got botched? In Grey Eminence good magic is used to put to rest evil spirits by a group of unlikely heroes.

This collection has brought together some great seasoned writers along with a few first timers for a terrific read of supernatural mysteries. Hopefully this anthology won’t be the last one published but it definitely belongs in every book lover’s collection.
 

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