A Trinket for the Taking
by Victoria Laurie
Pub Date: Nov 26 2024
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Van Dalen has a gorgeous day planned for her 200th birthday: driving her new Porsche, admiring the cherry blossoms abloom in her adopted city of Washington, D.C., and a little pampering. But her boss has other ideas. A powerful artifact has been stolen, and he fears it’s causing chaos in the unmagical world . . .

The rich and connected Ariti family has suffered a string of suspicious deaths, with no signs of foul play. Yet each member has died in the way they feared most. As the enchanting agent most skilled at blending in with mere mortals, Dovey must find answers and retrieve the dangerous trinket.

There’s just one unexpected wrinkle: By the time Dovey arrives at the art gallery where the Ariti patriarch died, FBI agent Grant “Gib” Barlow has taken control of the scene. Dovey needs his cooperation to investigate—but she’ll have to hide her abilities, and her true objective, from a man who uncovers deceptions every day. And as they inch nearer a deadly truth, both will face danger even the spellbound would be lucky to survive . . .

Prolific writer Laurie has created a fascinating world where the “unbound” (regular humans) live alongside the “bound” (mostly immortal mystics). Main character, 200 year old Dovey Van Dalen, is charged with retrieving a valuable and potent trinket that is likely the cause of a mysterious death. The bodies begin to pile up and Dovey is forced to join forces with an unbound and very handsome FBI agent.
As a fan of the author’s more traditional mysteries, I wasn’t sure about venturing into this mystical territory. However, Dovey and friends are appealing and fun, her pet hedgehog is a great sidekick, the mystery is solid and the book is chock full of Laurie’s trademark humor. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a magical mystery series. After all, there are more trinkets to wreak havoc and Dovey has nothing but time.

A Trinket for the Taking follows Dovey Van Dalen, a 200-year-old mystic who specializes in the procurement of magical objects, called trinkets. When one of the world’s most powerful trinkets goes missing, a trinket that can kill just about anyone who looks at it, Dovey is assigned to recover it by her employer and lover, Elric.

The case is far from easy for Dovey, who finds herself chasing a thief and a killer who is slowly working through murdering each member of a wealthy unbound family. Things are more complicated, as she grows closer with the unbound FBI agent also working the murders.

This was my first foray into any of Victoria Laurie’s work, and the world-building that went into this novel alone had me hooked. It felt both magical and real, two important aspects for a novel that takes place in the here and now while weaving more magic into our world. I found myself starstruck by the mystic world that Laurie created but never out of my depth. I felt like one of the unbounds in the novel, ready to learn and be dazzled by the mystic world hidden around me.

As while I love a well-built world, I’m always in a book for the characters. Dovey grew on me as the book progressed. While she still focused heavily on the price tag that came with everything she and the people around her wore, her personality softened with her time around Grant. Well, maybe less softened and moreso that we caught a better look at who Dovey really was behind her person she felt she had to be with Elric and the other cutthroat mystics.

I really do hope that Laurie decides to return to this world in the future. A Trinket for the Taking felt like a nice opening foray into the mystic world, and I would love to see where else Laurie would be interested in exploring within it. What do the other Pandora trinkets do? What is life like in the territories of some of the other powerful mystics? Will Dovey confront her lessening love for Elric, and what will he do if she does? I’ve been left intrigued, and I hope this won’t be the end for the mystic world.

I have to admit that I struggled with this book. I made several attempts to read it, but in the end, I really don't think this book is for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the advanced copy of this book.

Alright, what a fun story! I loved Dovey immediately. She’s kind of living a dream life if we’re being honest. I also really liked Grant. The mystery was so fun and intense and I ate it up! Can’t wait for more.