A Flash of Hex

By Jes Battis
Ace, $7.99, 384 pages

Tess Corday is an Occult Special Investigator for CORE, an agency that investigates crimes of a paranormal nature. This time, Tess and her partner Derrick are called in to examine a series of murders in which each of the victims have two things in common: an addiction to a vicious new drug called Hextacy and parents who are powerful mages. But it isn’t until Tess gets further into the case that she finds out that she has a personal connection the killer. Taking its cues from CSI, A Flash of Hex is at its best when the characters are looking at the minutiae of a crime. Author Jess Battis has created a credible mix of science and magic, and the book’s strength is its detail-oriented nature. The main weakness of the story is that the main character, Tess, is only likable in a blunt way, but never seems like a heroine who is a credible step ahead of the villain. The secondary characters are likable, though maybe a bit too abundant. A Flash of Hex feels like a book that tries to take the genre seriously but falls into the trap of being slightly cliché. Some flaws, but entertaining overall.

Reviewed by Theresa Lucas