Allison Beckstrom is reluctantly growing accustomed to
having the ghost of her Dad lodged in her head. She has
agreed to work partially under the aegis of The Authority
and use her network of Hounds to help maintain an uneasy
peace while keeping the city safe from the darker side of
magic.
When she begins to see shades of dead magic users walking
into and out of ordinary citizens, and a deadly plague with
no non-magic cause starts dropping people like flies, she
finds herself horribly handicapped. Someone has created a
deep-seated change in Allie's talents. Every time she draws
on magic she becomes ill and passes out. Still, she
struggles through the maze of bureaucracy in The Authority
hoping to find some assistance.
But someone in the authority doesn't give a good goddamn
that citizens are dying, in fact if Allie didn't know better
she'd think Bartholomew Wray was taking advantage of the
situation to weaken those who could help Allie stem the
tide.
Devon Monk has done an excellent job of tying together
strands from the previous books in the Allie Beckstrom
series and forwarding the multiple story lines in this, book
seven in the series. It would serve a reader well to read
the books previous to MAGIC ON THE LINE before opening this
one to gain the best possible experience (that is no
hardship, Allie Beckstrom is one of the best Urban Fantasy
heroines out there).
Monk takes risks with her writing
that other authors may not feel comfortable attempting, in
her quest to wring the best possible story from within the
world she has created. Kudos to her, because as long as she
keeps riding that wild tiger, her fans can count on having
another unique glimpse into the life of Allie Beckstrom.
Allison Beckstrom has willingly paid the price of pain to
use magic, and has obeyed the rules of the Authority, the
clandestine organization that makes-and enforces-all magic
policy. But when the Authority's new boss, Bartholomew Wray,
refuses to believe that the sudden rash of deaths in
Portland might be caused by magic, Allie must choose to
follow the Authority's rules, or turn against the very
people for whom she's risked her life.
To stop the plague of dark magic spreading through the city,
all that she values will be on the line: her magic, her
memories, her life. Now, as dead magic users rise to feed
upon the innocent and the people closest to her begin to
fall, Allie is about to run out of options.