If you are looking for a new mystery series to try out, I recommend Reginald Hill's Joe Sixsmith novels, starting with Blood Sympathy. So far, it's the only one I've read, and it happens to have some magic allusions. (The others may not). Joe is a PI operating in Luton, England. Mr. Hill assures us that this Luton is not the real city of that name, so any resemblance, etc. etc. Never mind. His novel is more than just a mystery story. It's a discussion of political, cultural, and social issues facing England in the latter part of the twentieth century.
Joe is a black PI who has opened up shop after he loses his regular union job. Silly man--he thinks being a PI would be easier work. He lives alone with his cat Whitey. Whitey's got black fur, and he is without a doubt one of the best cat characters I've met in a long time. He eats fried English breakfasts, drinks beers and loves riding around with Joe on his investigations, which of course means that he gets involved, and gives Joe advice. If you are lucky enough to live with a cat, you know that every cat thinks this is his or her job. What is realistic about the Joe-Whitey relationship is that only Joe understands Whitey's advice (the beer drinking and fried breakfasts I'm not so certain about, but I've heard of cats eating grapes, so perhaps...).
Two of Joe's clients bring him "magical" problems. One tells Joe he has had a dream that he has murdered his family. Joe feels compelled to call the cops and report the possibility--of course they find nothing and are very annoyed. Then, it happens, and Joe is naturally somewhat concerned. The other practices witchcraft and wants Joe to recover a charm that she claims her husband's mistress is using against her. This client actually has money to pay Joe so he's particularly enchanted by her case, even though he finds her somewhat off-putting. The mistress, by contrast, is quite seductive. After he succeeds in getting the charm back, she becomes ill mysteriously, he sneaks the charm into the hospital, and she suddenly gets better. He finds this truly weird, and Mr. Hill gives us no explanation; we're allowed to come with some for ourselves. The second client, Gwen, comes to Joe through a recommendation from his acquaintance, a solicitor who was at school with her and who's a confirmed skeptic, and who has trouble telling Gwen that Joe is any kind of believer in the paranormal. Instead she tells Gwen that Joe has "blood sympathy," which conveys to Gwen that he has inherited some kind of feeling for the paranormal--hence the novel's title.
Blood Sympathy is well written, as are all Mr. Hill's books. Following Joe along his journey to solve his clients' problems, I learned a little British criminal procedure, a little British police procedure, and a fair amount about British race relations, which I'll check out in some non-fiction works. Although it's out of print, used bookstores should have copies.
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