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Spellcrackers.com series

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The Sweet Scent of Blood (Spellcrackers.com -1) by Suzanne McLeod (

The Sweet Scent of Blood (Spellcrackers.com #1) by Suzanne McLeod

Spellcrackers.com series by Suzanne McLeod. 

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy, Mystery

Series Description or Overview[]

'My name is Genny Taylor. I work for Spellcrackers.com. It’s a great job, pays the rent, lets me do the thing I’m good at–finding magic and cracking it–and the bonus is it’s run by witches, which stops the vamps from taking a bite out of me. Not that vampires are the big bad any more, not since they launched a slick PR campaign. – oh, and they brought the goblins on board. Now the vamps are sought-after celebrities, and Getting Fanged and taking the Gift are the new height of all things cool. But only if you’re human. And I’m not—I’m Sidhe fae. And I know firsthand just how deadly a vampire can be.’ ~ Suzanne McLeod - Books

Lead's Species[]

  • Sidhe fae

Primary Supe[]

  • Witches and Vampires

What Sets it Apart[]

  • Sidhe Fae in lead as particular kind of PI—one who cracks spells

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • First Person narrative told by Genny Taylor, protagonist.

Books in Series[]

Spellcrackers series:

  1. The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008)
  2. The Cold Kiss of Death (2009)
  3. The Bitter Seed of Magic (2011)
  4. The Shifting Price of Prey (2012)
  5. The Hidden Rune of Iron (2018) 
  6. The Sharp Bite of Ritual (2019)

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

Themes[]

World Building[]

Setting[]

London

Places:

  • Fair Lands: realm of the fae

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Sidhe Fae, Witches, Vampires, Faun, Satyr, Kelpie, gremlins, Gnome, Pixies, Brownies, Ghost, Trolls, Wylde Fae, Soul Taster, spells, magic, Pouka, clairvoyant, dryad, changelings, garden fairies, magical tarot cards, non-fae shapeshifters, fertility pendant,

Glossary:[]

  • Vampires: In a new take on Vampire mythology, science has been mixed with magic to explain the infection and addiction of a vampire’s bite.
  • Droch Guide: fae curse by the sidhe queue—prevents the fae from reproducing
  • Faeling: half human/half fae (changelings)

Groups & Organizations:[]

  • Spellcrackers.com: magical service agency that cleans up spell infestations cast by various supernaturals, from brownies to pixies to trolls.
  • Four Vamp families:
~ Golden Blade family: led by the vicious, human-hating Elizabetta
~ Red Shamrock: led by Declan (and helped by his brothers Patrick and Seamus)
~ Blue Heart:
~ White Diamond: (Genny's family line)
Finn

Finn without glamour / Mamock by Arianna

World[]

✥ In this world, magic is everywhere. People can even purchase spells in the marketplace. Witches are the top dogs of this supernatural world, and the vampires are their long-time enemies, as well as being major tourist attractions. These vampires are very scary—lots of glamouring, blood lust, and remorseless physical and mental cruelty. The series is set in London, where Genny works for Spellcrackers.com, a magical service agency that cleans up spell infestations cast by various supernaturals, from brownies to pixies to trolls. Genny gets rid of spells either by cracking them or by absorbing their magic into her own body, which can have major ramifications, both good and bad. ~ Fang-tastic

✥ Spellcrackers.com is a witch company that removes unwanted spells for its clients, except for vampires. There is an ongoing witch vs. vampire feud—with Genny stuck in the middle, not fully belonging to either side.

The vampires are like celebrities in the human world, so when one of them is accused of murdering his girlfriend it hits the front page, with the vampires trying to sweep it under the carpet. However, when the vamps start coming to Genny asking her to discover the truth behind the murder, her life becomes more and more complex as she struggles to hide her own secrets whilst trying to uncover everyone else’s. It doesn’t help that her sidhe blood is more attractive to the vamps than a humans, not enabling her to properly interrogate any of her key suspects without becoming a vamp snack. Will Genny make it out of this investigation alive? ~ Goodreads

✥ The Sweet Scent of Blood is a very vampire-centric novel. In a world where all kinds of amazing magical being exist (gremlins, trolls and witches are only the tip of the mystical iceberg) the vampires are still very much the stars of this show. In a new take on vampire mythology, science has been mixed with magic to explain the infection and addiction of a vampire’s bite. Blood can be tested for the vampire virus but it takes magic to convert a human to a vampire. The stigma of being infected, plus the dangers of being addicted to the vampires’ bite (and being turned into a blood slave) is reminiscent in parts of Kim Harrison’s Hollows books although the vampire physiology is very different. ~ I Love Vampires

Protagonist[]

✥ The protagonist Genny Taylor is a Sidhe fae with the powerful ability to absorb magic but a complete inability to cast even simple spells. — Genny works for a company called Spellcrackers.com, and her job is to undo spells that are disrupting people’s lives, like say a malicious kitchen Faery making trouble in an upscale Bistro’s kitchen.

To all of her friends and acquaintances, Genevieve (Genny) Taylor appears to be a sidhe, one of the noble Fae—the only full-blooded sidhe in London, in fact. In reality, Genny's genetic heritage is a bit more complicated, a fact that she keeps secret from everyone and which is slowly revealed in agonizingly small snippets. ~ Fang-tastic

✥ Genny, is an incredibly strong protagonist, trying to hold her own against all of the strong males she comes up against. It is clear that she has a lot of murky secrets in her past that she tries her best to cover up, with the reader only given inclinations to some of these secrets throughout the book.

Sources: ~ Goodreads ~ Fang-tastic ~ I Love Vampires

Sidekick[]

  • Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Genny Taylor sidhe fae, infected with 3V making her a vampire as well (?). She ran away on her wedding day at 14 years of age and has been in hiding ever since
Finn Panos Satyr, Genny's boss lesser fae; works at Spellcrackers.co, mand the master vamp Malik al-Khan; has a thing for Genny; Helen Crane's ex-husband;
Malik al-Khan master vamp been plotting to steal her from Bastien since Genny was four;
Rosa vampire
Dr. Grace HOPE treats Vampire Venom and 3V as well as anyone caught out by magic.
Cosette ghost of a young girl haunting Genny
Janet Sims Ex-Police Constable mall security
Witch Wilcox
Mr. Travers troll landlord He's on her side
Hannah Ashby accountant, vamp-flunky her own nasty agenda
Dr. Joseph Wainwright Malik's friend helping Genny recover from the bakery explosion
Inspector Helen Crane Detective, witch hates Genny; Genny's old nemesis; Finn's ex-wife;
Bobby Mr. October
Tavish kelpie, Soul taster history with Genny, and a whiz on the computer;
Neil Banner Souler and a necromancer
Ladies Isabelle and Meriel rule a number of the fae in London
Grianne phouka
Bastien the Autarch Gen's prospective, sadistic, vampire husband; four vamp families owe allegiance to him.
Elizabetta leads Golden Blade family vicious, human-hating
Declan leads Red Shamrock helped by his brothers Patrick and Seamus
Fiona nasty human clairvoyant runs Declan's pub
Mr. Lampy gnome
Witch Wilcox Witch lives in apartment below; despises Genny's relationships with vampires; set wards that attack when Genny walks past her door;
Cliona powerful sidhe queen laid the fertility curse on the fae of London; Gen's G-mother;
Bastien Genny's father married her off to him when she was 14; sadistic; treated her cruelly, even killed her best friend, and Malik eventually helped her escape;

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Suzanne McLeod

Suzanne McLeod

Biography~~element185

Suzanne McLeod

Author[]

Suzanne McLeod

Bio: Growing up I was always the child that hid behind the settee, or took a torch to bed, or walked around ignoring the rest of the world, because I was reading a book. The highlight of my week was the trip to the library. Then, the highlight of my year was when I get to take a suitcase of brand new books and escape with it to somewhere hot, with plenty of sea and sand and Margaritas. Of course, now I have an ereader!

In order to afford the books and the holidays, (as well as those other pesky essentials, like food, the mortgage, and bills!) I’ve been a cocktail waitress, a dance group roadie, and a secretary. I've worked in pubs, hotels and a football club (despite having no love for the beautiful game) and I’ve sold everything from sweeties to jewellery, and garden sheds to car insurance.

Cover Artist[]

Artist: Nick Castle (only Book #2 confirmed) — Source: ISFdb: Cover: The Cold Kiss of Death

Publishing Information[]

  • Publisher: Ace, Gollancz
  • Author Page:
  1. The Sweet Scent of Blood: paperback, 363 pages, Pub Sept 4th 2008—ISBN: 0575084286
  2. The Cold Kiss of Death: paperback, 352 pages, Pub: July 16th 2009—ISBN: 0575084294
  3. The Bitter Seed of Magic: paperback, 416 pages, Pub: February 17th 2011—ISBN: 0575084324
  4. The Shifting Price of Prey: paperback, 544 pages, Pub: August 30th 2012—ISBN: 0575098392

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE—The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008): When Mr October, a sexy calendar pin-up vamp, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, an old debt is called in and Genny is forced to help prove his innocence, risking her job and the protection it offers – and threatening to expose her own dark secrets. Searching for the killer plunges Genny deep into the hidden heart of vampire society. It’s not long before she realises that she and Mr October are both unwitting pawns in a centuries-old power struggle between London’s non-human communities . . . and it’s not just her own neck that’s at stake, but the lives of all London’s supernaturals. ~ Suzanne McLeod - Books

✤ BOOK TWO—The Cold Kiss of Death (2009): Genny Taylor works for Spellcrackers.com. Making Magic Safe. But her own life is anything but safe! ‘The ghost grasped her shift and ripped it open. The three interlacing crescents carved red-raw and bleeding into her thin chest didn’t look any better than the last dozen times I’d seen them. The wounds weren’t lethal – they weren’t even recent; she’d been dead for at least a hundred and fifty years – but my gut still twisted with anger that someone would do that to a child.’

Being haunted by a ghost is the least of Genny’s problems: she’s also trying to deal with the witch neighbour who wants her evicted. Finn, her sort-of-Ex – and now her new boss – can’t quite decide whether he wants their relationship to be business or pleasure. And then there’s the queue of vamps inviting her to paint the town red; how long before they stop taking no for an answer? Just when it seems things can’t get any worse a human friend is murdered using sidhe magic. Determined to hunt down the killer and needing help, she turns to one of London’s most capricious wylde fae and the seductive vampire Malik al-Khan. But all too soon she realises she doesn’t know who she can trust – and now Genny’s the one being hunted, not just by the police, but by some of London’s most powerful and dangerous supernaturals. ~ Goodreads | The Cold Kiss of Death # 2

✤ BOOK THREE—The Bitter Seed of Magic (2011): On the surface, Genny's life seems ripple-free right now. Finn, her sexy boss and -- well, Genny's not sure what else she wants him to be -- has stopped pushing for a decision on their relationship. The seductive vampire Malik al-Khan has vanished back into the shadows. And the witches have declared her no longer a threat. But unless Genny can find a way to break the fertility curse afflicting London's fae, she knows this is just the lull before the magical storm. Then a faeling -- a teenage girl -- is fished out of the River Thames, dead and bound with magic, and Genny is called into investigate. As she digs through the clues, her search takes a sinister and dangerous turn, exposing age-old secrets that might be better left buried. Then another faeling disappears, and Genny finds herself in a race against time to save the faeling and stop the curse from claiming its next victim -- herself! ~ Goodreads | The Bitter Seed of Magic (Spellcrackers.com, # 3) 

✤ BOOK FOUR—The Shifting Price of Prey (2012): Genny's life has never been busier: the solstice is approaching, magic is going mad, Spellcrackers.com is under new management and London is hosting Carnival Fantastique. Then a unicorn is found horribly mutilated, garden fairies start dying and an eminent wildlife activist and her young son are snatched from a Conference.  ~ Goodreads | The Shifting Price of Prey (Spellcrackers.com, #4) 

✤ BOOK FIVE—The Hidden Rune of Iron (2018): The fifth novel in the Spellcrackers series, and the final book featuring sidhe Genevieve (Genny) Taylor as the main character, is a brilliant and action-filled adventure. Packed with humour, magic, romance and even a few revelations, THE HIDDEN RUNE OF IRON is a cracking end to Genny's fantastic story. ~ Goodreads | The Hidden Rune Of Iron (Spellcrackers.com #5)

✤ BOOK SIX—The Sharp Bite of Ritual (): ~ Goodreads | The Sharp Bite of Ritual #6

✤ BOOK SEVEN— (): ~ 

First Sentences[]

  1. The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008) — The vampire looked a beautiful, dangerous cliché.
  2. The Cold Kiss of Death (2009) — The Child stood barefoot and ignored in the cold sheeting rain.
  3. The Bitter Seed of Magic (2011) — Curse: n. A magical imprecation that brings or causes great trouble or harm.
  4. The Shifting Price of Prey (2012) — The garden fairy was as desiccated as a dead frog squashed by a passing car and left to dry in the summer sun.
  5. The Hidden Rune of Iron (2018) —
  6. The Sharp Bite of Ritual (?) —

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes (similar elements)[]

Goodreads suggestions

See Category links at bottom of page

Notes[]

See Also[]

See Category links at bottom of page

External References[]

Books:

Exerpts: 

Summaries, Articles:

World, Characters, etc:

Reviews:


1- The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008)

2- The Cold Kiss of Death (2009)

3- The Bitter Seed of Magic (2011)

4- The Shifting Price of Prey (2012)

5-  The Hidden Rune of Iron (April 10, 2014) 

6- The Sharp Bite of Ritual (2015)

Interviews: 

Artist: 

Author:

Community, Fan Sites:

Gallery of Book Covers[]

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