Maddy Madrigal doesn’t believe she’s magic. If she were, she wouldn’t be busting her butt every day working for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Occult Affairs division, rounding up the strange and nasty entities unleashed by the last earthquake. At forty, if she were magic, she’d have less aggravation and more money. So, when a security job opens up in an exclusive gated community, she takes it. Better money, great perks, and best of all, no entities. At first, her problems are solved—the job’s great, she’s made new friends, and a good-looking man has caught her eye. She even has time to cook her favorite Mexican dishes while her new cat watches, though there’s something not quite right about him. But the fancy neighborhood she was hired to protect hides a something supernatural is attacking the residents, and as Maddy tries to unravel the mystery, she discovers a secret of her she may have inherited magical abilities from her famous great aunt, a Mexican witch. With monsters roaming the hilly streets, residents up in arms, and her boss breathing down her neck, Maddy must decide how far she’s willing to go to preserve her new life. Barely Magic is the first book in Maddy Madrigal Mysteries, a new urban fantasy series from Debra Castaneda, the award-winning author of The Monsters of Chavez Ravine and the Dark Earth Rising series including The Root Witch and A Dark and Rising Tide.

Maddy Madrigal stands as the last line of defense against a rising tide of paranormal chaos that threatens to take over her neighborhood in the bustling heart of Los Angeles. An old spell safeguarding her exclusive community is on the brink of collapse, and ravenous, legendary creatures are right outside the gates on the verge of breaking in. Maddy’s magic isn’t yet strong enough to repair the spell, and the people writing her paychecks demand solutions, fast. Beasts and bosses aren’t Maddy’s only problem—a greedy developer has his eye on her home, and she suspects someone’s trying to kill her, too. As creatures breach the gates, Maddy must find a way to tap into her inherited magic and unleash the power she needs to save her community. Somewhat Magic is the second book in the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries series of urban fantasy books by award-winning author Debra Castaneda.

For Maddy Madrigal, preserving the peace in her exclusive neighborhood feels like walking a razor’s edge. Her grasp on her newfound magic is tenuous at best. And now, there are disturbing signs the spell she cast to keep supernatural entities at bay may be beginning to falter. But when an actress is found brutally murdered in her home—her body covered in bite marks—Maddy’s detective and magic skills will be pushed to the limit. She not only faces a crime that defies explanation, she’s also up against an abrasive police detective determined to undermine and humiliate her. As victims mount and tensions boil over, Maddy must unravel a web of conflicting clues and seek help from unlikely sources. Are the murders the work of a serial killer? A rogue supernatural creature? Or, worse, something new and unknown? With dark forces rising in the nearby woodland called Phantom’s Pass, Maddy must harness her bruja magic, rally her allies, and confront her own demons for a showdown that will blur the lines between hunter and hunted. Desperate Magic is the third book in the Maddy Madrigal Mysteries series of urban fantasy books by award-winning author Debra Castaneda.