Shiloh Harrison, Federal Marshal in the Paranormal Investigators Unit, just got back from an assignment. She is looking at a night of hot sex with her boyfriend Vincent, and a welcome three-day break, when her phone rings; it's business, of course. The agency's third in command, Novak, informs her that their boss is missing, and there is a situation that requires her immediate attention: a Master vampire is holding a trailer park hostage. But there's more: vampires and werewolves have disappeared in the past six months, and it is only the tip of the iceberg; something nefarious is afoot.

STRAY MAGIC is the first book of Strays , and it promises to be a great one! Humans have known about vampires and werewolves for several decades, but the other paranormals have remained closeted: Shiloh is half djinn, Novak is an incubus, the two other members of the team are Kathleen a half vampire, and Jaxon a stag skinwalker (how awesome is that!). While Kelly Medin's paranormal beings correspond for the most part to what we are used to, their social structures and hierarchies differ somewhat, and some of it is terribly exciting. I felt there was a bit of info dumping at the beginning, which is often unavoidable when one has a whole world to build, but it didn't slow down the pace and I got used to it quickly. Speaking of pace: I am astounded that the author could elegantly maintain the punishing pace at which the action unfolds; there is not a single moment of respite, and this accomplished without undue frenzy; it simply never stops until the ending that will knock your socks off!

STRAY MAGIC is told in the first person from Shiloh's point of view, and she is awesome! She felt very real to me: she's a dedicated federal agent, she acts rationally, she doesn't have annoying little quirks or sayings, she is not needlessly violent; Shiloh is in fact rather different from what urban fantasy heroines I have seen, she is more relatable, in my opinion. She is a badass, but not to such extreme that she comes off as invincible, although she has some amazing powers. The Master vampire who is causing the trouble, Woodrow Tennyson, is one of the most mesmerizing, fascinating, enthralling creatures to ever appear in a book. I could nearly feel his presence, his power, his aura, and what writing skills it takes to accomplish that! And his hair! I won't say a word about it, but what visuals! The dialogues are also outstanding, and again I was struck at how different Tennyson's voice is, compared to the other characters: his speech is formal, precise, and slightly stilted, while everyone else speaks like you and me. He is dangerously irresistible. And a bit annoying to Shiloh, with all his rules and regulations.

I love the camaraderie within the Paranormal Unit, and they are not merely embellishments to make Shiloh look good; they form a real team, and they are all great individuals with their own "specialties"; Novak's are particularly original; oh the possibilities! There are some startling plot twists throughout, and more to come. While STRAY MAGIC does not end on a cliffhanger per se, the story arc will continue in the next installment (plural, I hope!). How exciting to discover a fresh new urban fantasy series to look forward to!