Claire flees from a Seattle crook to an Otherworld barbarian tyrant. Not a whole lot of improvement there. One threatens with a gun, the other swings a broadsword. This novel won the EPPIE for Best Fantasy of the Year.

This is an alternate cover edition - ASIN: B0028TXSAK When Seattle astrologer Claire Carmody met a warrior in his mythical world, she adjusted to drafty castles and no coffee. Now Tarvik follows Claire to modern Seattle, and this time he is the one who has to adjust to a world of traffic, crime, and jealous ex-boyfriends while helping Claire save Mudflat from evil. This is Part 2 continuing Claire and Tarvik's adventures from Tarbaby Trouble.

Between working two jobs in Seattle to pay the bills, Claire fights off con-men and ex-boyfriends and tries to supervise a teenager. All Claire really wants is a little peace and a lot of quality time with her guy. But at least her current problems are all human. And then a nonhuman murderer moves into the neighborhood and targets Claire. It's enough to make a fortuneteller wish she didn't know any magic. As her small bit of inherited skill compounds her troubles, she and Tarvik must depend on wits and sword to survive. Will they find the Saran wrap in time?

Somebody is trying to get rid of Claire. Her scudzy cuz counts off her enemies, but he doesn't think any of them are killers. Okay, there is always a first time. Whether it's poisoned pizza or a rotting corpse, adding extra magic is a bad idea. Toss in an angry witch, a jealous ex-boyfriend, a bitter employer, a weird exorcist, a heartsick chum, plus a haunted house, and trouble escalates. With a friendly troll in her basement and a hunky warrior upstairs, the pacifist shouldn't be the one swinging a sword. Except... Claire lives in Mudflat. Here thieves and con men hide out among the honest magics, and a killer can blend right in until it's time to murder. And that's only the beginning of what the killer wants.

When her boyfriend's ex-fiancée moves in, Claire has to keep a sharp eye out. Tarvik-s ex comes complete with her own stalker, plus instructions to lure Tarvik back to his homeland where sorcery waits to enslave him. And gee, the invitation doesn-t include Claire. Mudflat is the Seattle neighborhood where old magic lives, including a mage, a coven, a thief, a conman, a wizard, and other neighbors ranging from friends to killers. If they aren-t hanging around Claire-s back gate, it-s because they are already in her kitchen. The distance from Claire-s house to the graveyard keeps getting shorter.

Last week ghosts attacked my cousin, a sidewalk attacked me, a wild bear moved into the back yard, my boyfriend's ex moved into our house, and a funeral ended in murder. Last week was easy compared to this week.

Knock Claire on the head and her boyfriend starts polishing his sword. But how can he fight an unknown enemy? And do any of the bride magazines explain how to cover black eyes with makeup, or what to do when the troll is missing? Toss in a series of break-ins and robberies and a smash wizard tricked into wearing a bunny costume, and Claire's problems are just getting started. And then her cousin Jimmy disappears...

A museum in Mudflat is a last straw in the battle to avoid attention and it brings out the worst in the residents. Claire knows the dangers of swords and guns and black magic, but is there really such a thing as death by digital?