Arcanum Academia by Christopher C. Newman
Silver Publishing
Contemporary, Suspense/Thriller, Mystery, Magic
ISBN: 9781920484972
Reviewed by Jo




Detective Allen Franks along with his partner Detective Debbie McMasters are on the case hunting down a serial killer who is hunting in their local college.  Female college students are showing up not just assaulted and killed but with clues around them that neither detective can figure out.  No angle they have tried seems to have panned out.  That is until the night a coven of college students is discovered performing a sexual ritual.  It seems that their High Priestess is also on the hunt for this killer, using her skills at tracking.

Cassandra Radcliffe is the High Priestess who is willing to risk her education in order to find and stop the killer.  When Allen seems willing to listen to Cassandra’s mystical explanations, she opens up about what she knows of the symbols, and items found at the sites.  The danger ramps up as Allen, Debbie, and Cassandra have an uneasy partnership directed toward stopping a person who has no qualms at killing to achieve his goals.  The body count rises as the hunt leads to long-ignored mystical legends and rumors.

The uneasy partnership becomes a bit closer as they work to unravel clues and stop the killer before he has the chance to disappear.  During this time Allen learns that Debbie has more feelings for him than just being his partner, and wonders if he deserves a second chance at love.  When the killer nabs Cassandra, Allen and Debbie put all their skills detectives to locate and stop him before he adds one more to his body count.  In a battle of police wits versus magic, can the police win?  And when the dust finally settles, can everyone make it out safely?

Two detective partners learn about magic and love while on the hunt for a serial killer.  Arcanum Academia pits the police against a serial killer who is using magic to achieve his goals.  I was blown away by the intensity of both the characters and the plot, as I read away.  Having the story told from the male point of view was an eye opener and yet very refreshing.  I was totally enthralled with Allen, Debbie, and even Cassandra as the pages turned to find yet more twists.  To say I really didn’t want to put this book down before I finished it doesn’t quite seem enough.  There is so much I would love to tell you about the plots’ twists and turns, and yet I want you to have the firsthand experiences that I did.  I will say that the twists, turns, and suspense had me totally engaged and the romance was wonderful to watch between two characters who had both been knocked down by love before.  The final battle was huge and I was unable to put the book down until the last page was turned.  Mr. Newman is a new author to me but I will be watching for more of his wonderful works now.  Arcanum Academia is a suspenseful thriller with a ribbon of romance that runs throughout.  A keeper that is already asking to be re-read to look for anything I might have missed the first time.  For anyone who wants a different look at romance and loves a great suspenseful thriller, I Joyfully Recommend Arcanum Academia as a must read.