Arcane casebook series; Dan Willis. [print]

BOOK 1. In plain sight

BOOK 2. Ghost of a chance

BOOK 3. The long chain

BOOK 4. Mind games

BOOK 5. Limelight

BOOK 6. Capital murder

BOOK 7. Blood relation

BOOK 8. Hostile takeover

BOOK 9. Hidden voices

BOOK 10. Pound of flesh.

In plain sight: "In 1933 New York, there are two kinds of magic, the all powerful sorcerers who use their abilities to acquire wealth and fame, and the runewrights who scratch out what meager spells they can to make a living. Decidedly in the latter category, Alex Lockerby uses his magic to aid him in his work as a private detective, consulting for the police on cases with mystical ties. When a lethal magical plague is released in a Manhattan soup kitchen, the police fear it is a test for a more devastating attack. They call in the big guns, the FBI and their own consultant, Sorsha Kincaid, New York's resident sorceress. Wanting to help, Alex instead finds himself under suspicion because of his ties to the priest who ran the kitchen. With the FBI and their powerful and dangerous sorceress breathing down his neck, Alex has his book of runes, a pack of matches, and four days to find out where the plague came from or the authorities will hang the crime squarely on him."--Back cover

Ghost of a chance: When a bizarre string of locked-room murders terrorize New York, the police have no leads, no suspects, and only one place to turn. Now private detective Alex Lockerby will need every magical trick in his book to catch a killer who can walk through walls and leaves no trace. Unfortunately Alex's magic hasn't been working very well. He can't even manage to track down several truckloads of stolen goods, including one belonging to New York's preeminent sorcerer, Andrew Barton. To make matters worse, Alex and his clients are being stalked by a shadowy cabal with strange powers that Alex has never seen before. With the Ghost killer seemingly able to murder at will and the tabloids, the public, and Alex's clients demanding results, Alex will need a miracle to keep himself, his clients, and his reputation alive.

The long chain: "In a city the size of New York, things go missing all the time. When a Nobel-Prize winning Chemist vanishes without a trace, his granddaughter taps Alex to find him. Locating people is easy for someone with the best finding rune in the city, but when Alex tracks down the missing man, he has no memory of who he is or what happened to him, and his research is missing. Convinced that something larger is going on, Alex sets out to uncover the truth. Before he can learn anything concrete, however, the city is shrouded in a dense fog and that brings New York's resident sorceress, Sorsha Kincaid, to his door. She needs Alex's finding rune in order to trace the source of the unnatural fog, and she has no patience for his other cases. Now Alex must keep the volatile and powerful sorceress happy as he tries to unravel a tangled web of science, murder, and missing memories before the clues vanish into the ever-present fog."--Goodreads

Mind games: "Alex Lockerby's father once told him that It's the simple jobs that take the longest, and finding missing things is about as simple a job as Alex can get. When wealthy socialites hire him to track down their wayward daughter, finding her is easy, but that's just the beginning of his problems. As he's trying to deal with the no-longer-missing heiress and her family, Alex gets another case from a desperate young man. He wants Alex to prove his wife is innocent of murder, the only problem is that she was caught, red-handed. Alex takes the case, figuring it should be easy to prove what happened one way or another, but the more Alex looks into the murder, the worse it seems. The only thing he can't find is a motive. As Alex investigates he becomes convinced that both of his clients are being manipulated by someone with a bigger agenda. He knows he's on the right track when a would-be assassin takes a shot at him. Now Alex has to figure out who's running a deadly con game in Manhattan, hopefully before he and his clients become the sacrifice pawns."--Goodreads

Limelight: "Alex splits his time between chasing the homicidal bomber and helping Danny figure out what happened to a dead writer who was basing her book on Broadway's most famous murder. While the bomber continues to elude Alex, he becomes convinced that the writer was killed by someone who wanted the old murder to remain unsolved. Before he can pursue either case further, however, the feds show up, wanting Alex's take on a series of bizarre magic related deaths. Now Alex must solve the fifteen year old Broadway murder, catch a blast-happy bank robber, and figure out how average people are being killed by a mysterious, untraceable magic. All the while he has scant leads, even fewer suspects, and the inescapable feeling that he's being played."--Amazon

Capital murder: Hired by the widow of a murdered US Senator, Alex Lockerby is shocked to find out that she's the only one who seems to want the crime solved. Between the local police and the FBI, everyone wants this case over and done with, even if they have to sweep it under the rug just to make it go away. Not satisfied with the answers he's getting, Alex dives into the world of high stakes power politics and the inherent corruption that goes with it. Quickly he finds himself with more motives and suspects than he can manage, all while being pursued by a professional killer, a murderous thief, and a powerful crime lord from his past. With time running out to find the true motive for the Senator's murder, Alex must find the link between a bizarre theft, a missing alchemist, and legislation the murdered Senator was working on. If he succeeds, Alex might just have a chance to uncover a dark conspiracy that threatens the government itself, unless they get him first.

Blood relation: "Murder isn't uncommon in a big city, but when young women start turning up dead next to mysterious symbols painted in their blood, the police turn to Alex Lockerby to find the killer. Unfortunately, the bloody symbols aren't any form of magic Alex knows, leaving him precious little to work with and a nagging feeling that he'd better stop this madman before he finishes whatever spell he's attempting. Adding to the list of unknown symbols, Alex is called to the murder of a woman who worked with government secrets. She was found with strange coded markings written on a blackboard near her body. To make matters even more confusing, several robberies have been perpetrated by a highly skilled gang of thieves. Among the stolen articles were ingredients used by alchemists. These cases seem random and unconnected, but Alex can't shake the feeling that they're part of something bigger. With a brutal killer on the loose, Alex must figure out an unknown magic, catch a group of professional thieves, and learn what government secrets the murdered woman might have passed on .. and to whom. With luck, he might even be able to do it before the blood killer completes his dark ritual, and unleashes hell on the city."--Goodreads

Hostile takeover: "Manhattan real estate has always been to die for, but now someone is willing to kill for it and Alex Lockerby is right in their way. When Alex steps in to stop a gang of thugs trying to bully a client into selling his house, he suddenly finds himself neck deep in a world of shady deals and organized crime. Add to that the death of a highly placed runewright that looks like murder for hire, and Alex quickly finds himself with a price on his head and a target on his back. As Alex tries to stay one step ahead of the mob, Sorceress Sorsha Kincaid has her own problems. Cursed by the Legion, her magic is being slowly bled away, leaving her weaker and weaker. Despite Alex's best efforts, they've barely managed to slow the curse down. Now Sorsha has to face the two most important questions of her life; where is her siphoned power going, and what will happen to her when it's gone? With time running out, Alex must navigate a twisted vortex of corporate sabotage, mob murder, and dark magic that threatens to cost him everything he holds dear." -- Amazon

Hidden voices: "With war brewing in Europe, German troops have marched, unopposed, into Austria and many Austrians are fleeing their homeland. One of them is a brilliant alchemist with a top secret recipe that the Nazi's want, so someone is going to have to go to Austria and get him. Naturally, American spymaster William Donovan has someone in mind, Alex Lockerby. Oblivious of Donovan's designs, Alex finds himself embroiled in the murder of a broadway musician and pursued by mysterious magical forces. Now Alex must solve his case, and try to keep himself out of the machinations of nations all before a seemingly unstoppable force can find him and end him." --

Pound of flesh: One of the first things a private detective learns is that people have secrets, and people with important secrets, attract trouble. When a young woman is brutally murdered in a back alley, the police quickly turn to Alex Lockerby to help them. Hampered by the fallout from his own secrets, Alex goes to work, only to find the victim in this case had secrets of her own, starting with her identity.