The Improvisers
Set in 1931 during Prohibition, this third in the Murder and Magic series boasts a unique fantasy world where magically charmed curios are highly prized. Barnstormer and bootlegging aviatrix, Velma Frye, works for the magic rights group Magnolia Muses, and is plenty rich enough to have dropped her vocation of illegal bootlegging of magical potions in favour of travel in search of enchanted items. Connecting a pocket watch and a music box to magic-incited violence, Velma plane-hops across America to wherever similar incidents have occurred, taking possession of the offending items and returning them to Magnolia’s safekeeping. Along for the ride, much to Velma’s chagrin, is magic-wielding reporter Dillon Harris, who, armed with camera and typewriter, turns out to be quite a good clue-tracker, although putting it all together to make sense puts them both in danger.
In my first foray into this series, I found myself enchanted by the 1930s vibe. The enterprising Rhodes clan are an appealing bunch, and Velma a vibrant, sassy character I would happily take to the skies with. Glover is an awesome storyteller, subtly weaving in backstory to make this episode stand alone well. The catalyst is Jeremiah Sitwell’s failed invention of a dangerous now-missing machine, which someone is trying to find and repurpose for nefarious ends. The search takes Velma home to Bramble Crescent, to her disabled sister Carolyn, a no-nonsense woman who presides over the family-owned Beacon Inn, where all the trouble may have started in the 1870s. Grandparents Hetty and Benjy Rhodes, practitioners of celestial magic, play cameo roles here, but they are compelling characters, and their role as undertakers adds a further layer to the story. Velma is inspired by Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to gain a pilot’s license. This excellent series holds great potential for magical realism readers.
