Author: Melissa F. Olson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published on: December 3, 2019 by 47North
Months after her battles in Wyoming, Allison “Lex” Luther is still
struggling with the aftereffects of the psychic attack she suffered—and
with the new developments in her own magic.
Then Lex’s boss, the cardinal vampire of Colorado, passes along a strange request from her counterpart in Atlanta. Hundreds of Civil War spirits have abruptly vanished in Beau Calhoun’s territory, and he wants Lex to figure out why. In exchange, Beau can help her understand boundary magic, which runs in his family line as well.
Despite her trepidation, Lex journeys to the Deep South, where she discovers that ghosts are everywhere…and that her host’s intentions are more complicated than he promised. It seems his teenage descendant is being hunted, and both Beau and Lex fear the young woman’s boundary blood may have made her a target.
With Atlanta’s history looming over her every move, Lex will have to face Beau’s ghosts—and her own—to prevent a boundary magic attack she never dreamed possible.
Then Lex’s boss, the cardinal vampire of Colorado, passes along a strange request from her counterpart in Atlanta. Hundreds of Civil War spirits have abruptly vanished in Beau Calhoun’s territory, and he wants Lex to figure out why. In exchange, Beau can help her understand boundary magic, which runs in his family line as well.
Despite her trepidation, Lex journeys to the Deep South, where she discovers that ghosts are everywhere…and that her host’s intentions are more complicated than he promised. It seems his teenage descendant is being hunted, and both Beau and Lex fear the young woman’s boundary blood may have made her a target.
With Atlanta’s history looming over her every move, Lex will have to face Beau’s ghosts—and her own—to prevent a boundary magic attack she never dreamed possible.
Here it is: the fifth (and hopefully not last) book in the Boundary Magic series. It takes place in Melissa F. Olson’s Old World stories. Boundary witch Allison “Lex” Luther is back for another adventure. This time it’s not Maven—her boss and the cardinal vampire of Colorado—who gives her an assignment. Lex is surprised to hear someone has requested her assistance. Maven got a call from Abner Calhoun, the cardinal vampire of Atlanta. He wants Lex to help him sort out a problem with ghosts in his city. Lex is apprehensive at first, though. In the previous book, she suffered a terrible psychic attack done with wraiths—the most wicked kind of ghosts. Since then, Lex has had a sort of phobia of them. Understandably, Lex isn't in a hurry to go to one of the most haunted cities in the country.
Lex hasn't told anyone about her issue, though. She mostly agrees to go to Atlanta to help Maven. The latter's been working to set up a countrywide government for the Old World. If Lex convinces Calhoun to lend his support, Maven's project will be one step closer to becoming reality. In preparation for this, Maven's also been teaching Lex about Old World politics. Calhoun is known for being rather...eccentric. Lex thinks Maven has a low opinion of him, but the latter denies this, claiming Calhoun's just unusual. The guy did earn a funny nickname, because he turned four of his buddies and dubbed them the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
When Lex gets to Atlanta, she is impressed by Calhoun’s estate. As a cardinal vampire, he’s very wealthy. Lex wonders how he can get away with having a house like that in the middle of Atlanta. Calhoun tells her that there are magical wards around the perimeter. They work even if someone were to look toward the estate from the sky. Anyway, Calhoun explains more about his problem. Atlanta has a special kind of ghosts that Calhoun calls the Unsettled. They were Civil War soldiers when alive. The city has thousands upon thousands of them. However, several of these ghosts have suddenly vanished from a couple of locations. Calhoun suspects that a boundary witch is banishing them. That’s why he summoned the most powerful boundary witch he knows of.
Calhoun also has personal stakes in the situation. His family comes from a long line of boundary witches. The Calhouns are known for refusing to activate that magic. This heritage is why Calhoun can see ghosts despite being a vampire. There is only one living Calhoun left: Odessa, Abner’s thrice-great niece. She’s too old to activate her magic, but there’s still an issue. Calhoun thinks someone is after Odessa, wanting to use her to breed more boundary witches. This is something Lex seriously condemns, which is another reason Calhoun sought her out.
This is Lex’s first major case where she must play a major investigative role. She usually relies on her boyfriend, Quinn (a vampire enforcer working for Maven) for that. He is forbidden from setting foot in Atlanta or anywhere near, incidentally. This means Lex has to work by herself, though she still has Calhoun’s resources. It doesn’t take long for the main antagonist to strike. They attempt to kill Lex, and their methods make Calhoun conclude they know a boundary witch is after them. Fortunately, Maven has a spy in Calhoun’s ranks who comes to Lex’s aid. She also sends an additional reinforcement: Tobias, a werewolf in Boulder’s new pack. He’s very loyal to Lex after she helped cure his insanity.
One evening, there’s another attack. This one takes everyone completely by surprise. It’s a weapon of sorts that perhaps not even Maven has heard of. Lex is shocked to discover this weapon is based on boundary magic. She understands why the culprit has been stealing ghosts. This leads Calhoun to redouble his efforts to find the rogue boundary witch. Meanwhile, Lex goes to the local witch clan to see if they know anything about the boundary weapon.
I’ve enjoyed every book in the Boundary Magic series. They keep getting better, and Boundary Haunted raises the bar again. Lex faces new challenges and learns more about what boundary magic can do. She’s become powerful and knowledgeable. The change in setting was also welcome (although Colorado wasn’t getting old). Quinn and Maven had significantly reduced roles, but that was needed to allow room for Calhoun and his household. Given the plan Maven has been cooking, I can’t wait to see more of her. I hope there are more books to come in this series.
Lex hasn't told anyone about her issue, though. She mostly agrees to go to Atlanta to help Maven. The latter's been working to set up a countrywide government for the Old World. If Lex convinces Calhoun to lend his support, Maven's project will be one step closer to becoming reality. In preparation for this, Maven's also been teaching Lex about Old World politics. Calhoun is known for being rather...eccentric. Lex thinks Maven has a low opinion of him, but the latter denies this, claiming Calhoun's just unusual. The guy did earn a funny nickname, because he turned four of his buddies and dubbed them the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
When Lex gets to Atlanta, she is impressed by Calhoun’s estate. As a cardinal vampire, he’s very wealthy. Lex wonders how he can get away with having a house like that in the middle of Atlanta. Calhoun tells her that there are magical wards around the perimeter. They work even if someone were to look toward the estate from the sky. Anyway, Calhoun explains more about his problem. Atlanta has a special kind of ghosts that Calhoun calls the Unsettled. They were Civil War soldiers when alive. The city has thousands upon thousands of them. However, several of these ghosts have suddenly vanished from a couple of locations. Calhoun suspects that a boundary witch is banishing them. That’s why he summoned the most powerful boundary witch he knows of.
Calhoun also has personal stakes in the situation. His family comes from a long line of boundary witches. The Calhouns are known for refusing to activate that magic. This heritage is why Calhoun can see ghosts despite being a vampire. There is only one living Calhoun left: Odessa, Abner’s thrice-great niece. She’s too old to activate her magic, but there’s still an issue. Calhoun thinks someone is after Odessa, wanting to use her to breed more boundary witches. This is something Lex seriously condemns, which is another reason Calhoun sought her out.
This is Lex’s first major case where she must play a major investigative role. She usually relies on her boyfriend, Quinn (a vampire enforcer working for Maven) for that. He is forbidden from setting foot in Atlanta or anywhere near, incidentally. This means Lex has to work by herself, though she still has Calhoun’s resources. It doesn’t take long for the main antagonist to strike. They attempt to kill Lex, and their methods make Calhoun conclude they know a boundary witch is after them. Fortunately, Maven has a spy in Calhoun’s ranks who comes to Lex’s aid. She also sends an additional reinforcement: Tobias, a werewolf in Boulder’s new pack. He’s very loyal to Lex after she helped cure his insanity.
One evening, there’s another attack. This one takes everyone completely by surprise. It’s a weapon of sorts that perhaps not even Maven has heard of. Lex is shocked to discover this weapon is based on boundary magic. She understands why the culprit has been stealing ghosts. This leads Calhoun to redouble his efforts to find the rogue boundary witch. Meanwhile, Lex goes to the local witch clan to see if they know anything about the boundary weapon.
I’ve enjoyed every book in the Boundary Magic series. They keep getting better, and Boundary Haunted raises the bar again. Lex faces new challenges and learns more about what boundary magic can do. She’s become powerful and knowledgeable. The change in setting was also welcome (although Colorado wasn’t getting old). Quinn and Maven had significantly reduced roles, but that was needed to allow room for Calhoun and his household. Given the plan Maven has been cooking, I can’t wait to see more of her. I hope there are more books to come in this series.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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