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New Tricks | 
| Author: John Levitt
Publisher: Ace
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $2.45
You Save: $5.54 (69%)
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 34477
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0441016561
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780441016563
ASIN: 0441016561
Publication Date: November 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Former enforcer Mason would normally be concerned with finding ghosts and vampires stalking the Castro section of San Francisco. Fortunately, Halloween provides the perfect explanation for the abundance of ghouls. But someone is trying to possess his old flame, Sarah. Now, with the help of his magical dog Louie, Mason must uncover the black magician responsible.
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| Customer Reviews:
mason and louie rock December 27, 2008
4fabfelines (Shelbyville , TN)
Mason is a kind of anti- practitioner. He is reluctant at best, he would rather play jazz music and chill out. So when he gets another problem presented to him, he does so with reluctance.
When other practicioners come up dead, he starts investigating. Old friends show up and soon he finds out all is not as it seems to be.
Something is not adding up, black practioners come into the mix, and what is truth and who is causing the deaths bugs mason.
Soon he is up to his eyeballs in trouble.. bridge people are not whom they seem to be, Ifrits are not what he thought and where did they come from anyhow???
this is another great installment in the Mason and Louie series..
entertaining and fun, this is second in the series and ends with questions and a teaser for another
 Clever urban fantasy December 8, 2008
H. Grove (Maryland, USA)
"New Tricks" has a slow, introspective pace to it that some will love (it has a nice noir-ish feel), but won't be to everyone's taste. The plot is solid and enjoyable. While I was able to guess at the culprit, there were sufficient red herrings and questions remaining that I was never entirely sure until the end. The world is wonderful---it has a smoky urban fantasy feel, with Mason's beloved jazz curling in-between the pages (I probably would have gotten even more out of the book if I knew much about music, but that lack of knowledge didn't interfere with my enjoyment). The characters---particularly the side characters surrounding Mason---have plenty of life to them.
Mason himself is an intriguing hero. His reactions to things were very much not stereotypical, particularly not young-single-male stereotypical, and that made him a fantastic lead character.
Unfortunately, my one real complaint is that the villain didn't fare so well at the end. Which is odd, because there were plenty of indications of depth before that. Somehow at the end most of those dimensions dropped away and we ended up in cheesy villain land. This doesn't stop me from recommending this book, however, as the majority of it is quite good!
Another Winner December 5, 2008
Nordic Review (Salt Lake City, UT USA)
New Tricks is just as good as Dog Days, the first in Levitt's series. Mason's character is a bit more developed and you get to know him better. The plot is another winner, and so are the characters. I particularly enjoy Levitt's conversational first person writing style. So many authors are caught in the mode of "old school" writing but Levitt proves that this more casual approach makes the story intimate and realistic. I look forward to the next in the series.
humorous serial killer urban fantasy November 27, 2008
Harriet Klausner
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
In San Francisco Mason is a magical practitioner who no longer works for Victor as an enforcer keeping mage users from abusing their skills. The work is too dangerous and he wants to spend more time learning and performing his music. On Halloween, Victor and Mason search for a friend who failed to meet them as previously arranged. When they find Sarah, she is catatonic as if someone tried to possess her, but failed. The same crisis happened in Portland so Victor sends for enforcers to search for those behind the killings the Sarah incident won't be repeated
Rolando and his sister Josephine come to San Francisco; they tell Victor and Mason that they believe Byron, a dark mage, was the killer. He left Portland and the homicides stopped there immediately; he came to San Francisco and the murders started there. Mason breaks into Byron's home; when he is caught the accused does not act in any way like a killer. Mason meets Montague who insists he has a technique to identify the culprit. However when Mason arrives at Montague's home, he finds him dead, but also begins to realize who the killer is. When the murders abruptly cease, everyone sighs with relief assuming it is over except Mason who believes the killer lives and is planning the next homicide.
Mason is a courageous caring soul who combines moxie, magic and vulnerability and that endears him to readers. His companion, an Ifirt is a magical creature who looks like a dog. He plays a key role keeping Mason alive and helps him try to ferret out the killer. In some ways the charming Lou steals the show in this humorous serial killer urban fantasy. Jon Levitt is a welcome addition to the urban fantasy genre.
Harriet Klausner
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