Title: Devil’s Track (Detective Mahoney Series, #4)

Author: Julie Hiner

Release date: April 27th, 2023

Huge thanks to Julie for sending me a digital ARC of her newest!

I connected with Julie a few years back now, and we were both involved with the HWA Alberta chapter (not sure if that’s still happening or not, I’ve heard nothing lately), and it’s always great seeing not only an Albertan author releasing new work, but also a Canadian.

Julie is known for her heavy metal horror, works that feature heavy metal or have it as one of the narratives throughout.

I’ve not read any of the previous Detective Mahoney series, and honestly, when Julie offered this up, she never indicated that I’d need to have read the previous ones. I don’t think you’re missing anything and if you are, it most likely is related to Stella and her father, which I feel like this novel fills in a lot of what you might’ve missed anyways.

What I liked: Detective Stella Mahoney is an up-and-coming detective in Calgary, Alberta, living in the shadows of her father’s legendary career as one of the cities top detectives. She’s trying to walk the line between straight laced public servant and die hard metal head who likes to party on the weekends.

In this one, a body is found, displayed in such a way that Stella immediately suspects the potential for witchcraft to be involved. After some sleuthing and a discovery of a mysterious song, she follows that lead with the help of, Jake, a guy capable of tracking down information online. Hiner expands on Stella’s dislike of people throughout and does a great job of really pushing her buttons by mixing in a partner and showcasing just how much Stella has to battle to be seen separate from her father’s legacy.

I really enjoyed the pacing throughout, the story rumbling along and really keeping the reader on their toes.

As the clues begin to fall into place and Stella and her partner dedicate their time to connecting the dots, Hiner never lets up, but also continues to infuse our main character with a solid amount of doubt, which really humanizes her.

The ending was a blast, with Mahoney coming into her own and really showcasing her internal and external strength.

What I didn’t like: I actually found the chapters dedicated to Val and Damaris – our antagonist’s – to slow things down. I was fully rooted to seeing Stella connect the clues and get to the bottom of it, and I don’t know if I needed to see the other side of things. It was hard to make any connection with them and I didn’t find it really added any tension.

Why you should buy this: From start to finish, this is a really engaging and rollicking crime-fiction, thriller, with a lot of information infused within to really give the witchcraft aspect depth. Hiner has really created a character that readers will instantly come to like and as this is book four, that’ll give you time to go back and read the first three before we undoubtable get a fifth installment.

This was a blast.

4/5