Elaine Cunningham, if I lose my job, it’s your fault. I started reading SHADOWS IN THE STARLIGHT on my lunch hour at a local bar. Two and a half hours and 60 ounces of beer later, I thought, “Oh shit, I gotta go back to work!” The book is completely captivating and an excellent example of the genre that Publishers Weekly calls “The New Weird.”

The New Weird mysteries are basically very much like any other, except that magic and supernatural beings co-exist in our contemporary world. Think BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER with an added element of MAGNUM, P.I. Our hero in this series is ex-cop Gwen “GiGi” Gelman, a mid-30s hottie who packs a mean fighting attitude but looks pixieish while crushing your windpipe. It’s more than looks, however. Gelman is slowly coming to realize that she is not human.

She’s not an elf, either, as she rejects that terminology, but a member of the Elder Race, a fey group strongly connected to the seasons and their natural surroundings. So, kind of like an elf, then. Her previous case (SHADOWS IN THE DARKNESS) got her kicked off the force and involved in a complicated relationship with other Elders. She is being groomed and recruited to reject the trappings of her human life and to fully become one of them, allowing her “Qualities” to blossom.

In the midst of this, Gelman lands a missing persons case in her new role as private investigator. But this, too, leads back to the Elder Race and she soon finds herself deeply involved in mysteries both human and not-so-human. The gimmick is clever, as being an Elder Race P.I., especially when investigating other Elders, has some unusual challenges. For instance, some of them can shapeshift, making tracking down a missing person via their photo tricky.

Cunningham outlines the case well, and provides likable characters (such as Gelman and her friends) and suitably mysterious colleagues. Are they evil or not, are they working to help Gelman, or are they planning to use her for their own nefarious purposes? But the story is a little confusing and over-complicated. Too many characters and a few too many loose ends leave one a bit dissatisfied. But the world Cunningham has created, and the way the Elder Race operates within the human paradigm, is interesting and worth further exploration. Police and investigative work with the added fillip of dealing with Elder Race Qualities (or powers, if you will) is intriguing enough to continue this series and hope to see its own Quality continue to bloom, as will Gwen Gelman’s. –Mark Rose

Buy it at Amazon.