Oona Crate may be a natural magician, but all she wants to be is a detective. Her uncle, the Wizard of Dark Street, permits her to resign as his apprentice to pursue her dreams and advertises for a new apprentice. He goes so far as to place an ad in the New York Times even though few folks from the regular world believe in fairies, let alone the world between. That's what Dark Street is, you see - the buffer between human and fae. The Wizard is the last line of defense should the fairy world break through the gates and try to overtake Manhattan and beyond.

With the applicants for her position gathered at Pendulum House, Oona signs away her rights as apprentice. Before her uncle can choose her successor, he is stabbed by one of two legendary knives crafted at the end of the Great Fairy War. One knife kills, the other instantly imprisons its victim, generally transforming him into an animal first. The gathered crowd doesn't know which of the two was used but with no wizard or apprentice on premises to legally stop it, the house will be confiscated by the local mob, torn down, and the land used for an amusement park. Oona only has a day or two to figure out if her uncle is alive, restore him to human form if he is, find out who threw the knife, and stop the destruction of her home (and quite possibly the World of Man right along with it).

The idea of a buffer world between fairy and the Earth we know is not a new one. It has recently been used quite successfully in several other books and series, most notably The Edge books by Ilona Andrews. However, this is the first time I remember seeing it in a young adult book. It works, but really serves more as a mechanism for presenting a magical world that's not too different from our own. The story is centered on Dark Street - the only world our heroine has ever known - and the other two realms exist only as mysterious otherwheres. The world presented is cohesive and interesting, but it doesn't really have the feel of a world in the middle or focus on trying to balance between the various realms. If that's what you like about these boundary worlds, this may not be the book for you. At the very least, we could have gotten more than a glimpse of late 19th century Manhattan and the book could have felt a bit more of that time.

On the other hand, the book works as fantasy, works as mystery, and even works as a coming of age story despite a minimum of noticeable character growth. It's more a broadening of viewpoint than a change of maturity level. Regardless, Oona is a fabulous character. Twelve years old and responsible for the death of her mother and younger sister thanks to a magical accident, Oona is part urchin, part prodigy, part hurt little girl, and all tomboy. She's determined to outsmart the local cops - not hard to do with the current incompetent crop - and avoids magic at all costs, even when magic could solve her problems. She'd rather rely on brains and observation. Brains and observation do her proud, but she eventually discovers that a little magic can come in handy too.

The mystery here is also well constructed, a blending of traditional human motives and the magic of the world balanced nicely to feel both exotic and yet traditional. Oona may not quite be up to Sherlock Holmes caliber - yet - but she has a keen eye for detail and a logical thought process that made solving the mystery fun without making it seem magical or automatic. She worked for the solution, which is as it should be.

In case you can't tell, I really enjoyed The Wizard of Dark Street. It combines mystery and urban fantasy with traditional themes often found in young adult or children's books aimed at the older age range. If you like those sorts of books, give it a try for yourself.

Recommended: Yes