Manhattan's night life just got weirder... It starts as a simple job—but simple jobs, when you're dealing with the magical world, often end up anything but. As a Retriever, Wren Valere specializes in finding things gone missing—and then bringing them back, no questions asked. Normally her job is stimulating, challenging and only a little bit dangerous. But every once in a while... Case in A cornerstone containing a spell is stolen and there's a magical complication. (Isn't there always?) Wren's unique abilities aren't enough to lay this particular case to rest, so she turns to some a demon (minor), a mage who has lost his mind, and a few others, including Sergei, her business partner (and maybe a bit more?). Sometimes what a woman has to do to get the job done is enough to give even Wren nightmares....

And you think magic is complicated? Once more Wren Valere's game plan has taken an unexpected direction. She'd agreed to a bargain with one supersecret magic-watching outfit to protect her partner and herself on their last job. But now the Silence is trying to wedge them apart. On the one hand, ever since she and Sergei began to talk about their "relationship" things have been tricky. On the other, though...Well, no one better try to stand between Wren and Sergei when danger is near! So now they are off to Italy in search of a possessed parchment (or maybe not possessed—all they know is that whoever reads it disappears). Still, when compared to what's going on at home (lonejacks banding together, a jealous demon, tracking bugs needing fumigation, etc.) maybe disappearing won't be so bad... As if!

Nobody said juggling a career and a relationship would be easy... Wren Valere used to have a simple life. Her partner Sergei would negotiate the terms of the Retrieval â�� all right, the theft â�� and she would use her magical Talent to carry it out. Paycheck deposited, on to the next job. Now? Her relationship with Sergei is even more complicated (sex will do that). Her fellow lonejacks are trying to organize against the Mage's Council. The nonhuman population of Manhattan is getting fed up with being ignored and abused. And the Council? Well, they have an agenda of their own, and it's not one the lonejacks are going to like. And Sergei is far too involved with the Silence, his former employers, for Wren's liking. When it comes down to choosing sides, the first rule of the lonejack credo is "Don't get involved." But when friends are in danger, and the city you love is at risk, sometimes getting into the thick of things is all you can do.…

Wren Valere is a Retriever, a thief who uses magic to 'retrieve' items for her clients. Her motto is 'Get the Job Done.' But when she stumbles across a dead body during the execution of a job, something makes her think it might be more important to find out who killed the man—and \how.\ With her partner Sergei, they investigate—and come up against a terrible, deadly secret... [Set in the 'Retrievers' universe.] Originally published in Murder by Magic, ed. Rosemary Edghill, 2004

Tales of mystery and the supernatural have long stirred the human imagination. Here are twenty original stories of diabolical crimes and magical solutions featuring some of today's top science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writers. From the Elizabethan era to the far-flung future, from the interstellar realm of the Eraasian Hegemony to the Las Vegas Strip, these ingenious whodunits (or whatdunits) are sure to baffle and delight every lover of mystery and the fantastic. From WorldCat - Contents: Introduction and Afterword by Rosemary Edghill Piece of Mind by Jennifer Roberson Special Surprise Guest Appearance by ... by Carole Nelson Douglas Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick Mixed Marriages Can Be Murder by Will Graham Case of the Headless Corpse by Josepha Sherman Death in the Working by Debra Doyle Cold Case by Diane Duane Snake in the Grass by Susan R. Matthews Double Jeopardy by M.J. Hamilton Witch Sight by Roberta Gellis Overrush by Laura Anne Gilman Captured in Silver by Teresa Edgerton Night at the Opera by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Tremble in the Air by James D. Macdonald Murder Entailed by Susan Krinard Dropping Hints by Lawrence Watt-Evans Au Purr by Esther Friesner Getting the Chair by Keith R.A. DeCandido Necromancer's Apprentice by Lillian Stewart Carl Grey Eminence by Mercedes Lackey

Wren Valere used to be almost invisible. But now she's not only being seen, she's getting involved. Recent attacks against nonhuman Fatae have escalated into hate crimes against magic users in general—humans included. With the Mage Council distracted by internal power struggles, Wren is guilted into stepping up as spokesperson for the fragilely united Fatae and lonejack communities. And, because the cosmos deems her without enough complications, her partner-lover Sergei is drowning in his own problems. But not only can't she help him she's the cause. With lives on the line, including her own, Wren's going to have to break the lonejack credo, ditch her long-cherished invisibility and take a stand. But burning bridges can be deadly.

The Cosa Nostradamus is in disarray; the Truce holding violence in check has been broken. Magical Manhattan is at war, and Wren Valere is left without her partner/lover Sergei, whose past loyalties keep him from her side just when she needs him the most. Hoping to keep herself occupied, Wren takes a job, but what should have been an ordinary Retrieval instead forces her to realize that it is time to do more. It is time for the Cosa to take the battle to the enemy. But she'll do it her way. The Retrievers' way. Sneaky, smart, and with maximum damage possible. What was lost will be found, what was stolen will be Retrieved. And this war will be ended, once and for all. Wren Valere always finishes the job. Always.

Wren Valere's job is driving her crazy. She's still Manhattan's most sought-after Retriever, but after last year's deadly confrontation with the Silence, all this magic-user wants is a break. With her apartment going co-op and her relationship with the demon P.B. putting stress on her romance with partner Sergei, is Wren finally ready to settle down to a more stable existence? Not likely. Because when you're good, trouble always finds you. Wren's next assignment puts her on the wrong side of a child-snatcher—and a collision course with her past. But to save a friend—and protect her future—Wren must pull off the most important Retrieval of her life…and for once magic isn't on her side.

Got vampires? Ghosts? Monsters? We can help! Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction! Meet our detectives, from these fine agencies. Danny Hendrickson—from Laura Anne Gilman’s Cosa Nostradamus series. Kate Connor—from Julie Kenner’s Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series. John Taylor—from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series. Jill Kismet—from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series. Jessi Hardin—from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series. Quincey Morris—from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series. Marla Mason—from T.A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series. Tony Foster—from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series. Dawn Madison—from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series. Pete Caldecott—from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series. Tony Giodone—from C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series. Jezebel—from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series. Piers Knight—from C.J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series. Cassiel—from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series. Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go “bump in the night,” but we are the ones who “bump back!”