Dark Magic
Seven psychics with varied talents meet weekly in Manhattan to peer into the future, then anonymously alert authorities about pending trouble. But when magician Peter Warlock foresees a mysterious attack instantly killing thousands in Times Square just four days hence, immediate action is necessary. Soon Peter is in league with police and the FBI, hunting for the presumed instigator of the attack, Jeremy Wolfe, an agent of the ultrasecret Order of Astrum, in England. The problem deepens for Peter when he learns about a connection between his parents, who died when he was seven, and the order at the same time that he experiences a troubling change in his powers that threatens his relationship with the woman he loves. Former professional magician Swain, author of the Tony Valentine and Jack Carpenter series, is especially good with the illusions behind the magic that Peter performs for rapt fans. The novel smartly folds the spirit world and elements of the occult into sophisticated hacking and modern crime fighting to create compulsively readable, genre-spanning suspense fiction. --Michele Leber