Royal Street [Paperback]

Being a total sucker for Louisiana in general, NOLA in particular, and sassy supernatural stories in between, this new series could've been written with me in mind. There are moments when I wonder if the 'dark fantasy' genre isn't full to overflowing but, as Royal Street proves, there always seems to be room on top for one more.

Mind you, it is getting tough for authors to find any original wrinkles to add to the magic / monsters mix of myth in the modern world, and you won't find many new concepts in here. The standard ingredients are thrown together with some panache, however: an unready and inexperienced apprentice forced to take on overwhelming odds; an intriguing mix of supernaturals including weres, wizards and whathaveyou; an inevitable overload of love interests; an unwelcome partner; an ambivalent ruling council, and a bad-tempered cat. There's romance but it's low key, not an in-your-face shagfest as some supernatural series can be.
The author has a lively writing style, easy to get along with, and the pace of the tale is generally fast 'n' light. It's not over-burdened with deep philosophical debate or strikingly stylish prose -and I did get a little frustrated with the heroine's seemingly irrational grump towards the guy who'd been sent to help her. I'd've thought that if you're up to your ass in alligators then a guy who comes fully loaded with automatic weaponry would be seen as an asset, and got a little tired with her adolescent attitude towards him in the early stages of the book. It smoothed out as the threat developed and our heroine's hidden secrets started to bubble up until, by the end, I was romping through the pages. Really enjoyed the use of historical characters, too, which is a nice tweak to the usual format. Hope to see more voodoo queens and jazz musicians in future books in the series. The author also does a creditable job of walking us around New Orleans and its battered bars and gin joints; she's nothing like as flowery as Anne Rice, but there are echoes of the same love of the city and its unique architecture and ambience.

Overall, Royal Street is as enjoyable as a frothy coffee with caramel syrup, and about as substantial. But that's no bad thing: this genre is all about escapism, and it surely serves out a good dollop of that.
7/10

After a slow and slightly tiresome start, this story takes off as junior wizard DJ (don't call her Drusilla) searches for her missing mentor, tackles an undead pirate and a voodoo god, oh and navigates a romantic love triangle with two rather gorgeous cousins - all set against the background of Katrina-stricken New Orleans.

This is, in lots of ways, standard urban fantasy fare: DJ is one of those smart-mouthed heroines with magical powers, family secrets, and a penchant for attractive supernatural men that we've met many times before. Because of that, the various `secrets' in the plot are pretty obvious and don't have the kind of emotional impact they are supposed to.

That said, the relationships between DJ and the well-drawn Alex and Jake give the book a buoyancy which I enjoyed. The test is whether we'd want to read a sequel - in this case I would.

Drusilla "DJ" Jaco is a 25-year old deputy sentinel and empathetic wizard, an apprentice of sorts to Gerald St. Simon, whose position with the Congress of Elders is to protect the residents of New Orleans from unwanted encounters from entities from the Beyond. But when Hurricane Katrina hits and St. Simon goes missing, the inexperienced Jaco is tasked with not only finding her boss but also protecting the devastated region from supernatural encroachment - the hurricane has opened the borders to the Beyond and chaos is all but inevitable. Her mission is made more difficult when she is partnered with a bravado-pumped enforcer named Alexander Warin, who Jaco initially judges thusly: the "body of an Adonis, brain of an anchovy."

While trying to find St. Simon, Jaco also must also deal with a series of bizarre ritualistic murders while also fending off the oversexed and potentially dangerous ghost of the infamous pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte.

DJ is a wizard who works alongside her boss Gerry to protect New Orleans from the supernatural creatures that are able to cross over from the beyond. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Gerry is missing and the boarders between worlds are thinner than ever, there is a serial killer on the loose and it is up to DJ to try and sort out the mess. The Elders have sent her a new partner to help but can she trust Alex or does he have his own agenda?

The author is a one time resident of New Orleans and was there when Katrina hit, and It is that Katrina element, however, makes me hesitate; there is a level of discomfort in seeing a real tragedy translated into a world of fiction. And these are the elements that stand out most brightly in the novel: the guest appearance of Louis Armstrong with his saxophone, the local undead pirate population, and, of course, the natural and human disasters that were Katrina and New Orleans. A voodoo god stops by and the city is drawn with clear prose and purpose.

The mystery is intriguing, keeping the tension and pressure up to the very end. Because the heroine's strength lies in potion and ritual magic, she's often forced to rely on her smarts and stubbornness rather than magic.

Royal Street is the start of an urban fantasy series that has a lot of potential, there were some problems but I can see these being worked out over time and I'm definitely interested in reading River Road which is due to be published later this year. For a debut novel I was impressed with the world building, I enjoyed the mystery and although I did spot some of the twists in advance there were a few things that managed to surprise me. It will be interesting to see where Suzanne Johnson takes this series and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this world.