To Kill A Warlock Review

To Kill A Warlock (Dulcie O’Neill 1)

-      HP Mallory

Kindle Book

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She's a Regulator-a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she's either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.
Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie's got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

I didn’t realise when I purchased this book that HP Mallory is an independent author – she doesn’t have an agent or book deal. She’s self-published and I admire that with the new book formats it does make it easier for those trying to get their books out there. However, there are some benefits to the traditional system including editors - having someone who isn‘t as close to the story to review it can give it a needed polish. I enjoyed To Kill A Warlock – it’s funny, interesting and sexy. However there are some elements that jar occasionally – at once point Dulcie suspects her partner of controlling the demon that killed people and a minute later she’s making out with him. These sudden changes occur a few times throughout the story and they jarred me out of the story as I struggled to follow the complete reversal in opinion.

There are plenty of good points – I liked the mix of men Dulcie has interested in her and that she doesn’t give allow any of them to run her life. She is definitely her own woman. Her changing relationship with her colleague, Trey is a nice touch as well and I liked the glimpse of her world. There is plenty of potential here and I would like to spend more time with Dulcie.

Recommended for fans of Devon Monk. 6.5 out of 10