Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
Series: Diana Tregarde Investigations #1
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
Diana Tregarde is a romance novelist, that is what pays her bills but her greater duty is within the realm of the supernatural as a Guardian. Mark Valdez is still a Catholic but this detective went to college with Diana and learned that there are other powers out there. A major case has undeniable traces and so Diana is called in to consult but she is in a strange place with unfamiliar traditions. Searching for and fighting unfamiliar magic will not be easy.
Over a decade ago my sister handed me what was actually the second book in this series, so now I finally read the first book. I did finally learn that this is definitely a series where it doesn’t matter the order. It is interesting that this first volume actually introduces Diana outside of her natural habitat (Part of what I love about book two is where Diana lives). First published in 1989 this book does show it’s age, especially with this cover! Diana’s standard dress is a leotard with jeans. I’m pretty sure kids today don’t know what a leotard is unless they do gymnastics and they could never imagine wearing one in public. There are other details as well though none that made me chuckle quite as much.
There are times when I wanted to throw things at Diana and Mark for not catching on, even though I knew there was a reason they weren’t. I think it is just a dilemma that arises when the reader is given access to information way in advance of the characters. The story takes place over a much longer period of time then you would expect based on the pace. There is a degree of diversity and it is not just because the magic here is not of western origin. Diana also talks about and deals with issues happening back home. I felt like Mark’s personal connection to the case might have been a bit too much coincidence. Really I enjoyed it but I it is not my favorite of Lackey’s work.
