Unholy Magic

Downside Ghosts, Book 2

By: Stacia Kane

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

For freewheeling ghost hunter Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. An agent for the Church of Real Truth, she investigates claims of harassment by the undead. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes. Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

©2010 Stacia Kane (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Unholy Ghosts is a wonderful, weird, wild tale filled with gritty magic, punk rock and macabre spirits. Kane’s world is dark, dangerous and haunted, populated by hustlers, junkies and exorcists…and you’ll never want to leave. Simply the best book I’ve read this year.” (Caitlin Kittredge, author of Street Magic)

Interesting and creative urban fantasy

This is the second book in the Downside Ghost series by Kane. It was a decent book and I enjoyed listening to it. It expands some on the world we were introduced to in the first series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. I am still not crazy about the narrator, but she is growing on me. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between the different characters voices and of conveying the mood or feeling of the dialogue.

Chess has been promoted in the Church for her work in the first book and in this book she is given her first really high profile case. She is supposed to debunk a haunting of a celebrity. As with the last book her drug habit gets in the way when she is coerced into working another case for her dealer Bump; hookers have been gruesomely killed and Bump wants Chess to figure out if a ghost is involved.

As with the first book in this series I enjoy the dark, gritty, and creative world that these stories take place in. We learn a bit more about ghosts and how they are summoned, we learn a bit more about the history of the Church of Truth as well. This book wasn’t as gruesome as the first one, but it still didn’t gloss over any of the yucky details.

I still have some trouble with these characters. I just don’t like any of them, they are all pretty much train-wrecks. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting to read about; reading about Chess as she tries to work and use her drugs is kind of like watching a train on the verge of crashing. It is kind of fascinating how she can balance all these things and mostly have it work out.

Things come to a head between Chess, Terrible, and Lex in this book. Terrible is still by far my favorite character in this series and I am interesting to see what happens between him and Chess. We get to learn a lot more about Terrible’s background and history in this book and it was very interesting.

This book was similar in structure to the first book in the series. Events that happen with Bump and seemingly unconnected events that happened with Chess’s job at the Church end up being closely related. I found this to be a bit formulaic and hope that future books don’t continue to repeat this pattern. It made the story somewhat predictable.

These books have all been fairly self-contained and I am hoping future books introduce some broader story that ties the books together.

Overall a decent addition to this series. I love this world, it is interesting and creative. I am not totally sold on the characters though. I thought this book was a bit too similar to the previous one in structure and hope future books are different. I am planning on reading book 3, City of Ghosts, then I will decide if I will continue on with this series. I would recommend this book to those who like gritty urban fantasy with flawed characters.

Different in the Best Way

Would you listen to Unholy Magic again? Why?

I have listened to this story twice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character has a drug addiction and a soft spot for bad boys. She's broken and fragile, yet strong and uncompromising.

Have you listened to any of Bahni Turpin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Honestly, Bahni does a great job of bringing each character's uniqueness to life. Kudos, Bahni!

Amazing narrator

Amazing series so far, and I Love this narrator!! I really like the dark world Kane has created!

Amazing!

She sucks at being a detective but I love her relationship development with Terrible. Worth reading

Original, Smart Series --- Amazing Narration

The Narration on this is simply superb! Let me start with that as the narration is can make or break an audiobook. In this case, it is more than merely good or adequate --- it actually elevates the story.

It's difficult to describe this series - as the world is so rich & complex- so I will refrain from trying for the sake of brevity. I will say that while I enjoy both the paranormal aspects of the story as well as the mystery/detective story componet of the story/series, This particular book is all about the characters' growth and development for me. It's all about the romance --- and not the flowery kind, but the punch-in-the gut, emotional highs and lows kind.

This series should definitely be read in order to fully fall in love with Chess and Terrible and the like and, you know, to be properly emotionally eviserated later. That may not sound pleasant, but I personally love when a writer can pull extreme emotions from me. And this particular book brings empathy to new heights.


Great Series, Great Characters, Unique World, Fantastic Writing & Amazing Narration.

Dark, gritty and edgy

Unholy Magic was an amazing story for me to read several years ago, and listening to it made it more. More emotions. More connection with the characters. More in-depth story-telling. I was completely engrossed from start to finish. Bahni Turpin is so good at doing the different voices, accents… it’s easy to know who is talking with her narration.

I was also even more amazed with Chess while listening to Unholy Magic. She is so strong and capable, but at the same time, so filled with doubt and insecurities. And especially when it came to her relationship with Terrible, she had such a hard time figuring out what she wanted, what she needed and what she felt comfortable with. There are two big plots in Unholy Magic, one is an alleged haunting in a movie-star’s home, the other is about prostitutes being killed, with their eyes taken from them. Both in Bump’s and in Slobag’s territories. This brings Chess’ two worlds on a collision course, and it’s hard for her to keep up with everything.

As the story unfolds, though, my heart was bleeding for Chess! All her recent bad decisions came to bite her in the butt, and so her self-doubt grew to horrendous proportions before she was able to snap herself out of it during a fight with several ghosts, hosts and black-magic users. Dark and gritty, there is just something about the Downside Ghosts series that appeals to me. Of course, the stories are extremely well written, with characters that are flawed, but that I still can’t help but love. The whole universe is edgy and sad, but Chess still gets up every day to get the job done. Hiding big parts of herself wherever she is, and whoever she is with.

I look forward to listening to the rest of the series, Kane and Turpin make me want to hug Chess but at the same time shake her and make her see how incredible she truly is.

Wonderful

My heart aches for Chess and Terrible. Stacia Kane makes you fall in love with these characters despite their flaws. I'm desperate to know what happens next.

A STEP ABOVE THE REST!!!!

Any additional comments?

If you have ever read or listen to a story that has you talking to, laughing at, or shaking your head at the characters, then that story has engulfed you and pulled you into their world. And for me, that’s the best natural high a book reader can achieve. And seriously if you think about it, it’s the only reason to read a book. This is by far one of best series of urban fantasy that I have had the privilege of listening to.

Stacia Kane's delivered a spellbinding and very unique story. Scary at times, dangerous at times, over the top at times, however brought together through life trails, love and hope. The characters are well developed and very interesting.

Although at times, I thought Chess needed to rein in the insecure emotional drama, I can’t wait for the saga to continue.

Bahni Tupin brings each character to life with his/her own distinct personalities. Tupin is one of the best narrators on Audible.

Completely Engaged in the Story

I decided to start this series because it was on the audible included books. It seemed like something that would interest me and if not, no worries, it was free.
I’m so glad I listened to this audible. It is and isn’t the sort of urban fantasy I love. There is the magic, and the female protagonist but so much more than the usual thing this genre has to offer. It’s more substantial in character development, in story development and so far the ends of each book I’ve read in the story has surprised me, in the way that I didn’t see it coming but looking back could see how all the storylines and the twist fit together. Huge fan of this series.

More suspenseful and dives into more secrets!

Unholy Magic
Downside Ghosts, Book 2
By: Stacia Kane
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
This book has a lot more suspense than the first one! My shoulders were so tense by the end of the book I needed a muscle relaxant! This gave a deeper dive into the inner workers of the Church also, especially what they do with the convicted ghosts. In this book she is dealing with someone or something killing prostitutes and making it look like the killer from 20 years ago who is dead. One spotted a ghost. Another case, at the same time, is an actor's home and the Church wants to see if they are faking a haunting which is against the law.
Chess is having serious problems with her love life which she has brought upon herself. I don't know why either see her. She seems to use drugs more and more too!
I like the mysteries, the alternative world that mixes part our world with a different world. Kane is a terrific world builder and uses that to make horror spring to life. It is gritty, full of little hope, no government just The Church that believes in No gods, there are ghosts and magic that is controlled by the Church for good of mankind. (Mostly) Chess works for The Church but they don't know her secret about the drugs.
The narration is really, really good! She is perfect for this series!