Dark Alchemy by Laura Bickle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
DARK ALCHEMY tells the story of Petra Dee, a geologist with a tragic past, and what happens when she tries to make a new start in Temperance, the best old-West ghost town this side of Yellowstone. She manages to get on the bad side of some toughs and finds herself at odds with the local alchemist who’s trying to prolong his life (because what little town doesn’t have one of those?).
I liked the story, and the pace moved along well enough, but Petra rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. She takes care of what needs to be done, though, and that’s a good thing. I liked the interaction between Petra and the other characters, and the easy take on gender fluidity. Rest assured, there’s plenty of the supernatural here. From the aforementioned alchemy to those strange ravens that keep hovering around the even stranger Gabriel, a few terribly distorted skeletons, Petra’s missing father, and a bunch of meth-heads (or are they?), the author weaves together a satisfying, creepy mystery. There’s even a coyote familiar, Sig (named after the gun, natch), who steals the show without saying a word. There’s a little science (and it makes sense!) and some romance (not insta-love, thank goodness) but they take a backseat to the supernatural. Some of the plot points seemed a little predictable, but more often than not the story took a turn I wasn’t expecting.
The author wrapped up all the questions pretty neatly, which is a welcome change from the “first in a series” that always seems to come from urban fantasy (rural fantasy, here?), though another story in this world would be fun to read.
Received as a free digital ARC via Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.