Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter – a Review

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Description:
Nell Ingram is a rookie PsyLed agent, using the powers she can channel from deep within the earth to solve paranormal crimes. Together with her team, she’s taken on the darkest magic and the direst foes. But she’ll need to tap into every ounce of power she has for her newest case.

Nell is called to the Tennessee mansion of a country music star and finds a disturbing scene–dead bodies rapidly decaying before everyone’s eyes. The witch on her team, T. Laine, knows this can only be one thing: death magic, a rare type of craft used to steal life forces. PsyLed needs to find this lethal killer fast. But when a paranormal-hating FBI agent tries to derail the investigation, they find themselves under attack from all sides.

Review:

Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter is the 5^th book in her fabulous Soulwood series. Brief refresher: Nell Ingram is a member of PsyLed (Unit Eighteen), a Homeland Security division that investigates paranormal cases and is based in Knoxville, TN, close to Soulwood.  The PsyLed team is made up of witches, werewolves, empaths and Nell fits right in with her Soulwood powers; they make a great team, as they are all very likeable (Occam, T-Laine, JoJo, Tandy & Rick).

Nell is now a full-fledged agent of PsyLed; though she is considered a rookie.  Nell and T. Laine are the first called to a Tennessee mansion, belonging to a famous music country star.  The scene is horrific, as not only are there many people dead slowly decaying, but everything surrounding them (objects, clothes, house, grounds, etc.)  is also disintegrating.  A powerful death magic is in effect, and anyone who comes close or touches things will slowly decompose and die.  The whole team (with the exception of Rick until later in the book) comes together to try to figure out who and why this is happening at the Mansion, and other places that have some sort of connection to the country music star.  We get to know more about, Ayatas Firewind (Firewind), who is the regional director (also Jane Yellowrocks’s brother and Rick’s boss), as he plays a major part of this story.

What follows is an intense, exciting, gripping and violent story, where Nell and team become immersed into stopping the person behind these horrible deaths.  The PysLed team spend a lot of time at many sites, investigating, and getting help from various covens to try to contain the “death and decay” from spreading further. In the early part of the story, Hunter gives us a lot of details, which slows things a bit.   

I loved how Nell continues grow as she utilizes more of her earth powers, and especially the bond she has with her teammates, which continues to build as they are all in danger.  An added element to the story was Nell and her relationship with her two sisters, Mud who moved in with her previously and now Esther, who is getting divorced and moves in with Nell and Mud.  It was fun to see Nell give Esther advice how to get her dowry back and build her own home on Nell’s land.

Most of all I loved how her relationship with Occam (a werecat) progresses to a full-blown romance, with their chemistry sizzling.  They are great together and I look forward to when they solidify their relationship, as well as Occam becoming part of the family. I also loved how Nell and Firewind respected each other, and their bantering was fun.

Spells for the Dead is another fabulous addition to this series, as it is action-packed, suspenseful, exciting, with a violent dangerous death magic that destroys so many people and land. The last half of the book was an edge of your seat thriller, and Nell was totally amazing stepping up in a wild and fantastic ride to the climax. We are used to Faith Hunter always having a fantastic group of characters, an amazing heroine in her series. This is a difficult review to write, as there are so many details, as well as horrible ‘death and decay’ throughout the entire book, and to say too much would be spoilers.   Nell is a great heroine, and in this book, she evolves to be even more powerful. Faith Hunter has once again given us a fantastic story, with so many emotions throughout. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher