PIRATE'S ALLEY

An urban fantasy set in a mysteriously snow-covered New Orleans.

DJ Jaco has enough problems without all this crazy snow. The wizards, elves and vampires of New Orleans are pretty much at each others’ throats, and somehow DJ and her shifter boyfriend, Alex, keep winding up right in the middle of whatever trouble is brewing. Then there’s her not-quite-husband, the seriously annoying elf Quince Randolph, and her sort-of friend, the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, who is seriously pissed off about the circumstances of his most recent death. Oh, and her best friend, Eugenie, a human who’s still adjusting to the news that Hurricane Katrina broke the boundaries between the worlds, letting preternatural creatures flood the city—well, Eugenie has some news that may destroy the city’s delicate peace. DJ is the perfect engaging, down-to-earth narrator to guide readers through this magical melee, but in this book she mostly reacts to events rather than pursuing a clear goal of her own. Johnson’s (Elysian Fields, 2013, etc.) New Orleans is a fun, fantastical world that should appeal to urban fantasy fans. But this fourth book in a series gets bogged down in political machinations, as her otherwise lively characters deal with the aftermath of events from the third book and take actions that will set up the next.

This book needs a stronger narrative drive to keep readers engaged. Still, the world and characters are appealing, and fans of the series will find enough of its charms here to keep them reading.