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I love a spunky redhead. I love a spunky redhead who ties into the earth magically. I love a spunky redhead with a gay best friend who reads minds. I love a spunky redhead who falls for a man who elicits drool in a black tight t-shirt and just so happens to channel necromantic energy.

Battis contributes all the fun and readability of the urban fantasy genre, but isn't afraid to let a verbose vocabulary add to the writing. This academic bent shines forth in the diversity rainbow of characters that parade through the novel; Battis manages to cultivate this diversity just shy of the line of too much, celebrating within the variety the many differences that do not see written attention frequently. While occasionally slipping into a digressive queer theorist mode, it is never long enough to turn attention away from the character building.

As an added plus, the OSI (Occult Special Investigation) novels blend elements of forensic mystery solidly with urban fantasy - think Kathy Reichs researching magical crime, further helping elide the distinctions between genre novels.

A Flash of Hex manages that difficult step in being an even better novel than its predecessor, establishing continuity and developing its worldview. Our spunky redhead Tess has some growth to pursue, and I for one cannot wait to read more about her love interest fleshing out his tight black t-shirts. ( )

A Flash of Hex is the second book in the OSI (Occult Special Investigator) Series. Urban Fantasy with a CSI touch, this book delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Tess's biological father (who we learned in the first book was a demon, but not much else), as well as expanding the dynamic between Tess and Derrick, as well as Tess and Lucian.

On a personal level, I enjoyed this book much more than I did the first one. The characters seem much more comfortably written this time around, with dialogue seeming to flow well and action that didn't feel forced.

For anyone looking for a break from the normal Urban Fantasy/Paranormal worlds, I recommend giving this series a try. I will once again be looking forward to the next installment.