Near-future, Humans and Supernaturals Live Openly Among One Another
THE FINDER OF THE LUCKY DEVIL by Megan Mackie is one of those rare finds that I stumbled on quite by accident and rapidly became a fan of not just the work but also the author. It’s been a long road to getting this book out again after a fascinating story of dealing with multiple publishers but it’s now out via self-publishing and I hope it’s a success for the author.
The premise is an eclectic one: in the near-future, humans and supernaturals live openly among one another while megacorporations have taken over a large chunk of the United States. If it sounds a bit like Shadow Run, it is and I don’t hold that against the book. I love genre-blending and cyberpunk with urban fantasy is rare enough that I think it is worth giving it a try.
Anna Masterson is a young housewife who is married to a white-collar corporate when her entire life is turned into an absolute horror show by being kidnapped to get to her husband. She is forced into solitary confinement, tortured, and left a wreck of her former self. Except, they only want her to sign divorce papers which indicates that they may well be working for him. Rescued by her witch aunt, Anna must change her name and go into hiding under the assumed name Rune Leveau.
The Lucky Devil is a bar which has an unusual side business: if you come there and give some money to their animatronic devil then Rune will use her unique magical ability to track down missing objects. It’s kind of an interesting twist because it is such a small ability compared to so many other fantasy powers.
I like Rune because she’s a perfect reluctant hero. She’s escapes, survived really, a terrible situation and is entirely devoted to trying to put the past behind her. However, that’s not possible as a handsome cybernetic secret agent named Saint Benedict is out to track down Anna Masterson. Sparks fly between them but he is devoted to his missing wife and she’s determined to leave Anna Masterson dead.
Saint Benedict is an excellent love interest and perfect for these kinds of books, being mysterious and tough but not so dominating as to overshadow the heroine. He also has a reason not to immediately start a romance with the heroine, which is always good for these kinds of stories. I think people who like urban fantasy like Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson or Kim Harrison’s Hollows series will find a lot to like in The Finder of the Lucky Devil.
This book is more on the urban fantasy side of things than cyberpunk and probably the better for it. It’s a very enjoyable story from beginning and sets up a lot of plot hooks that will, hopefully, be followed up on in sequels. I actually give this a strong recommendation and encourage fans of urban fantasy to pick it up.
