Linda Robertson

The Circle Books — (2009-2011) Publisher: A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do... Being a witch doesn't pay the bills, but  Persephone Alcmedi gets by between reading Tarot cards, writing her syndicated  newspaper column, and kenneling werewolves in the basement when the moon is full — even if witches aren't supposed to mingle with werewolves. She really reaches the end of her leash, though, when her grandmother gets kicked out of the nursing home and Seph finds herself in the doghouse about some things she's written. Then her werewolf friend Lorrie is murdered...and the high priestess of an important coven offers Seph big money to destroy the killer, a powerful vampire named Goliath Kline. Seph is a tough girl, but this time she bites off more than she can chew. She needs a little help from her friends — werewolf friends. One of those friends, Johnny, the motorcycle-riding lead singer for the techno-metal-goth band Lycanthropia, has a crush on her. And while Seph has always been on edge around this 6'2" leather-clad hunk, she's starting to realize that although their attraction may be dangerous, nothing could be as lethal as the showdown that awaits them.

Forthcoming: Arcane Circle (January 2011)

Vicious Circle

The bare bones of this story will be familiar to urban-fantasy devotees: Werewolves, vampires, faeries, and witches all exist and have become public knowledge in recent years. Girl, tough and feisty, takes it upon herself to dispense justice in a supernatural murder case. Girl is chosen against her will to play a major role in paranormal affairs. Girl is wooed by attractive werewolf and attractive vampire. I was worried Vicious Circle would be just like a hundred other novels with a similar premise, but Linda Robertson does some really interesting things to make her story stand out.

First, she realistically explores what might happen if supernatural races existed and came out of the closet. Vampires are well-regarded in society due to the glamorous image they have cultivated; faeries have gained acceptance by pretending to be harmless. Weres, however, are treated as second-class citizens. Persephone Alcmedi does her best to fight these attitudes, writing a pro-were newspaper column and renting out her basement to weres as a full-moon shelter. Anti-were prejudice hampers Persephone's mission at every turn. No cop wants to touch a were-related case, and no hospital wants to treat a were patient.

I was also impressed by the unusually accurate Wicca in Vicious Circle. (OK, so real Wiccans don't shoot visible bolts of brightly colored energy when they cast spells, but that's creative license!) The belief system, the ethical code, and the structure of Persephone's rituals are clearly well-researched.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Persephone is not the misanthropic heroine you might expect. She has a lot of emotional boundaries that keep her from being a social butterfly, but at the same time, she has a powerful protective streak when it comes to those she cares about. "Do you always take care of people?" asks a young girl whom Persephone has just taken under her wing. The answer is yes. In the early pages of Vicious Circle, Persephone finds herself sheltering her grandmother, a Great Dane puppy, a severely injured werewolf, and the aforementioned little girl, along with her usual canine visitors. As the plot unfolds, trying to protect everyone is a full-time job. I found this aspect of Persephone's character refreshing and unusual.

I enjoyed Vicious Circle, and I'm interested in seeing where this series goes. I think it has a lot of potential.  —Kelly   Comments

Hallowed Circle

Linda Robertson’s first novel, Vicious Circle, was a fun read, and its sequel, Hallowed Circle, is even better. In this second installment, Robertson spins a highly original plot (if this has been done in urban fantasy before, it was in a book I missed!), further develops her characters and the relationships among them, and as an added bonus, passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors.

Persephone Alcmedi is still reeling from the discovery that she is the Lustrata, a “chosen one” sort of figure. Plus, she’s still getting used to having her grandmother, a foster-daughter, and a puppy under her roof, not to mention the latest ups and downs in her relationship with Johnny the guitar-playing werewolf. So when she’s nominated to compete in the Eximium, a contest in which a new High Priestess will be chosen, Seph doesn’t want any part of it.

She changes her mind when she meets the front-runner, Hunter Hopewell, who has her nose in the air and a chip on her shoulder. After dealing with the previous High Priestess, Seph doesn’t want yet another snooty social climber ruling the coven, so she agrees to compete in the hopes of knocking Hunter out of the running. But Seph gets more than she bargained for when contestants start turning up dead.

The Eximium is such a unique and fun plot. The murder mystery is compelling, and so is the contest itself, in which five revered crones set challenges for Seph and the other would-be priestesses. Hallowed Circle has two other plotlines running alongside this one; one of them concerns Johnny, and the other deals with the vampire Menessos and a group of ticked-off fairies.

I’ve often praised authors for creating a sense of place. Robertson creates a vivid sense of time. Hallowed Circle takes place during the Halloween season and it really feels like it, in every detail.

I couldn’t put Hallowed Circle down. Between the sympathetic characters, the well-grounded magical lore, and an exciting plot in which nothing is quite what it seems, this is a standout urban fantasy.
—Kelly   Comments