TL;DR Review: Bigger, badder, and better! The stakes keep rising, and our hero rises with them.
Synopsis:
The most powerful warlock in the world, Adair Finch, has drawn the ire of a sociopathic wizard.
While building up his PI agency, Finch’s sister-in-law, Jessica, comes to him with a major problem. She cheated the wizard, Maldonado, an infamous demonologist known for his crime dealings, and now he wants Jessica dead.
Determined to help Jessica, as well as a few others around town, all within a single 24-hour period, Finch must make a new pact with a creature that can defeat Maldonado’s infernal magic. Unfortunately, very few creatures can do that, and all of them want something drastic in return.
Luckily, Finch has made some new allies—a werewolf, a YouTube star, a budding witch, a vampire attorney, and even a reluctant duergar. With their help, finding Maldonado and ending his criminal operations doesn’t seem as impossible as before.
But navigating the supernatural world isn’t as easy as Finch remembers, and the monster who killed his brother is lurking just around the corner…
Full Review:
Adair Finch (now with more friends included!) is back in action with a bigger, wilder, and more magical adventure.
In 24-Hour Warlock, Adair finally confronts his dead brother’s wife, Jessie, and has a chance to talk about everything that’s been building up within him in the ten years since his brother’s death. Only before he can, Jessie asks for his help confronting a wizard who’s marked her for death and has come to Stockton hunting her.
In true white-knight fashion, Adair agrees to take the case—which quickly turns violent and bloody, leading him to approach the investigation in a whole new way.
24-Hour Warlock took everything we know and love about Adair and his time-marking/rewinding abilities, and dialed it all up to 11 with new threats, new challenges, new foes, new magics, and higher stakes than ever.
For the first time, Adair is in real personal danger, and we get to see a bit of his more violent side as he confronts the threats around him. We’re also treated to a look at the world at large—not just the abilities of wizards vs. warlocks and witches, but also special magical government organizations that might one day be a problem for our favorite warlock for hire.
The character work, as always, is spectacular, with Adair’s complex and messy relationship with Jessie being front-and-center. However, the dynamic between Enzo and Bree, Adair and Bree, and even Bree and her father is delightful. Adair’s young apprentice is, as always, a true delight, and makes Adair so much more of a relatable character every time he makes space for her or tries to connect with her even when he’s terrible at it.
And let me tell you, the book wraps up with a banger of an ending. The stakes get crazy high, and there’s so much set up with this ending that promises bigger and better things for the next books in the series. I, for one, can’t wait!
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