Book picks similar to
Necessary Evil by David Bussell


audible
urban-fantasy
paranormal
fantasy

Hexed Detective


M.V. Stott - 2018
    But when she triggers a magical hex that renders her invisible and traps her in her hometown, escape seems impossible.Rita soon finds that Blackpool has some hidden secrets: magical artifacts, fashioned in Heaven, a fallen Angel, buried beneath the sea in a glass prison, and living nightmares in fine suits and animal masks that can turn your mind to soup.Thrust into a world she doesn’t understand, Rita finds herself trying to solve a case that by any sane measure is unsolvable.Worse still, the only person she can turn to for help is a self-confessed liar, cheat, and--according to him--the future king of Great Britain.

The Soul Engine


R.L. King - 2020
    Nick Morgan knows there’s no magic in the world, no matter how much he wants to believe. Magic is for suckers—but fortunately for his job as a sham fortune teller to Hollywood’s fading stars, there are plenty of those around. When somebody starts peddling a new miracle beauty potion to the town’s never-ending supply of wannabe actors, Nick’s suspicious—but his suspicion becomes terror when it turns the niece of his best client horrifically ugly and kills her right in front of his eyes. While tracking down the source of the potion, Nick encounters Bron, a mysterious young woman who’s as troubled about the stuff as he is. But as he joins forces with her to investigate, Nick is about to learn some shocking truths—not just about the potion, but about his own history. The Soul Engine is the first book in an exciting new urban fantasy series set in the world of the Amazon-bestselling Alastair Stone Chronicles. You don't need to be familiar with the Stone Chronicles to enjoy Happenstance and Bron. If you like sharp, fast-paced urban fantasy that proves men and women can be buddies without becoming lovers, check it out today!

Curse of the Phoenix (The Arcane Irregulars Book 1)


Dan Willis - 2021
    When one of his officers calls him out to an unusual crime scene, Danny realizes that it’s terrifyingly similar to something the department thought was dead and buried. Now he has to find a madman before the story hits the papers and the city explodes into chaos.Across town, Agent William “Buddy” Redhorn of the FBI has two problems. He’s been assigned a potentially career-ending case with magical ties, and his sorceress boss is out of town. The case involves a stolen statue that belongs to the government of Brunei, but the more he chases the thieves, the more bodies begin to drop. Bodies affected by a strange, unknown magic.Resolving to work together, Danny and Redhorn have to catch a cold-blooded killer, recover a stolen artifact, all while keeping everything out of the press. If they don’t, it will be more than their careers that will die when the curse of the Jade Phoenix descends on New York. Important Note: Curse of the Phoenix takes place in the Arcane Casebook universe. If you haven't read any of those, you might want to start there.

The Devil You Know


Mike Carey - 2006
    It may seem like a good ghost buster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle--but there's a risk: Sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London - just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That's OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off...

Witch Is When It All Began


Adele Abbott - 2015
    Private investigator, Jill Gooder, has been hired to find a serial killer because, as usual, the police can't buy a clue. Jill, the not so proud owner of a crazy, one-eyed cat, probably can't expect too much help from her PA/Secretary, Mrs V, who spends all day knitting. And just in case all of that wasn't bad enough, Jill's just about to discover she's a witch. ...break out the custard creams.

To Kill a Unicorn


John Corwin - 2020
    The fae rule Gaia.Cain used to kill for the fae. The only human to become a member of the Oblivion Guard, he killed one time too many and had enough. Leaving it all behind wasn't as easy as turning in a resignation. But the fae had trained him well and soon it was they who bargained for him to leave Feary and live in exile in Gaia.Now a tracker for an assassination and bounty hunting agency, Cain doesn't kill anymore. When his mission to track a teenage girl goes horribly wrong, he and the girl end up on the run from powerful forces the likes of which he's never seen before.That's because the fae have been hiding a terrible secret. The gods aren't dead. In fact, they're very much alive and killing humans they deem too powerful to survive. The girl is in their crosshairs and now he is too.To make matters worse, Cain discovers he's dying from the curse of Cthulhu. The cure? Eating a living, beating unicorn heart. Cain thought unicorns were extinct, but a mystery party offers him salvation: a unicorn for the assassination of the leader of the Mages Guild.With the gods, the fae, and the rest of the supernatural world hunting the hunter, the odds don't look good. But Cain has survived too much to give up now. And the high and mighty are about to find out what real fear feels like.

The Vanity Case (Sondra Blake, #1)


Niall Teasdale - 2018
    Officer Sondra Blake of the NYPD went insane overnight and spent the next decade in a mental institution hastily set up to handle people like her, people afflicted by the magic which had suddenly appeared on Earth. In 2018, Sondra is the most senior detective in the NYPD’s Arcane Crimes Unit. Presented with a new partner, Sondra gets no time to train him as they are thrust into a new murder case with some worrying overtones. A young woman has aged to death in a few minutes while apparently collecting a barrage of disease symptoms she could not possibly have. Someone has used demonic magic to kill her, and the only suspect is the suave, handsome leading actor of an action movie being shot in New York, Dillan Archer. With tension rising toward riots in Orctown, Sondra and her partner, Clarke, must track down a serial killer who has remained undetected for decades before the current run of victims ends and the killer vanishes again for another seven years.

Boundary Crossed


Melissa F. Olson - 2015
    So when two vampires try to kidnap the baby, it quickly turns into a fight to the death—Lex’s death, that is.She wakes up to two shocking discoveries: she has miraculously survived the fight, and baby Charlie is a “null,” gifted with the ability to weaken supernatural forces...and a target for creatures who want to control that power. Determined to guarantee her niece’s safety, Lex makes a deal with the local vampires. She sets out with the mysterious—and undead—“fixer” Quinn to track down whoever’s responsible for the kidnapping, sharpening her newfound magic skills along the way. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her powers become.Boundary Crossed is a dark, thrilling journey into a world where the line between living and dead isn’t nearly as solid as it appears...

Something from the Nightside


Simon R. Green - 2003
    That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.

Infernal Justice


N.P. Martin - 2019
     My name is Ethan Drake and I’m a police detective…and I got plenty darkness to give. So does my partner, who’s a demon, and frankly, a royal pain in my ass. But occult investigators are in short supply in the PD, so what are you going to do? Anyway, we just caught a bodysnatching case that has the stench of occult workings all over it. Seems someone wants to summon something bad into this world, something that threatens the very fate of humanity. I could care less about the fate of humanity myself, but hey, when it’s your job, you gotta do something, right? Only my job has been made harder by a demon who’s decided it wants me as a vessel, and will stop at nothing until it gets what it wants. Internal Affairs are also gunning for my badge over the murder of some guy who deserved it, and on top of that, I’m trying to solve the murders of my ex-wife and daughter. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the snarkiest Hellicorn in the known universe… You know that thing threatening all of humanity? I might just let it succeed… Harry Bosch meets John Constantine in this gripping urban fantasy noir thriller. Grab your copy of the first book in the ETHAN DRAKE SERIES today!

Maybelle's Secret


Terri Reid - 2018
    When she is able to see the ghost in the old Victorian house across the street, she wonders if her abilities have returned. Investigating the house, she discovers that the ghost, Maybelle Finders, has a family secret that is keeping her from moving on. Will Mary be able to help Maybelle repay old debts? And is Maybelle really telling Mary all there is to know about the secrets in the old house?

Razor: Becoming a Hero


Wilkie Martin - 2019
    he decides to die, not by his own hand, but in heroically helping the vulnerable. Since the peaceful Cotswold countryside offers limited opportunities for heroism, despite the presence of some weird and dangerous inhabitants, he ventures further afield. To his annoyance, new and unlikely friends mysteriously appear everywhere he goes, foiling his plans and sending him back to square one. Will he succeed or will he come to terms with his grief first? Was his wife as blame free and perfect as he thought or will lurking suspicions of infidelity be proved right? 'It was ironic that having nothing left to lose except his life, his life had become interesting again.'

School of Necessary Magic Full Boxed Set - Alison Brownstone: Entire Alison Brownstone School of Necessary Magic Series


Judith Berens - 2019
    Facing mountains of homework, that cute wizard, mean girl cliques, and mastering magic alone is nearly unbearable.Enter her new best friend, Izzy. Izzy has a past that could get someone killed.Too bad she can’t remember a thing.She's a teenager with no idea who she is or what the power is growing inside her.Becoming fast friends is a no brainer. Better to tackle the trials and tests awaiting them together.Especially when they involve dark magic, malevolent forces, and a lost dragon egg.Welcome to the School of Necessary Magic. Not since Hogwarts has learning been this magical…or dangerous. For the first time ever, you can get the entire Alison Brownstone School of Necessary Magic in one giant boxed set! All 8 books are included for one low price. Dark is Her NatureBright is Her SightWary is Her LoveStrong is Her HopeWicked is Her SmileStrange is Her LifeDetermined is Her PathEpic is Her Future

Ink Witch


Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2016
     Three years ago, the gods abandoned us. We've been alone ever since. Kat Dubois is immortal, and she’s retired. She’s long since hung up her sword and left assassinating immortals to someone else... anyone else. She’s now a hard drinking, sass-flinging Seattle tattoo artist with the innate ability to read people’s fortunes using her charmed deck of tarot cards. Her days of bloodshed are over, and she has nothing but time — an eternity, in fact — to hide from her past. Until someone from her past shows up on her doorstep with news that her beloved older brother and mentor, Dominic, has gone missing. Kat may be the only person with the right skills — and access to the right magic — to track him down. She must confront her past if she’s to have any chance of finding and saving her brother. She must fight her demons. She must embrace the power within her. She must become the Ink Witch. MORE BOOKS IN THE ECHO WORLD: ECHO TRILOGY Echo in Time Resonance (an Echo Trilogy novella) Time Anomaly Dissonance (an Echo Trilogy novella) Ricochet Through Time

Graves Pact (Landon Graves Book 1)


Matthew C Stinson - 2015
    Though he keeps the supernatural aspects of his life secret, a murder case threatens to bring him out into the open. But that’s a minor concern compared to what will happen if he doesn’t catch the killer before the completion of a powerful ritual that will bring about the apocalypse. Landon must exploit the dark side of his nature and delve into the hidden world of the supernatural in order to stop it. Graves Pact is an action-packed urban fantasy with a wry sense of humor.