Bayou Moon - Andrews, Ilona [1]
—Library Journal
“An intriguing world.”
—Locus
“Fans of urban fantasy will delight in Ilona Andrews’s alternate-universe Atlanta.”
—Fresh Fiction
“The strong story line coupled with a complex alternative history . . . will have readers hoping for more.”
—Monsters and Critics
“Magic Bites is an enchanting paranormal whodunit that takes the supernatural into new, natural directions.”
—The Best Reviews
“A unique world laced with a thick plot full of strife, betrayal, and mystery.”
—Romance Junkies
“The plot moves along at a pleasant clip, and the world-building is interesting and well done.”
—Romantic Times
Ace Books by Ilona Andrews
The Kate Daniels Novels
MAGIC BITES
MAGIC BURNS
MAGIC STRIKES
MAGIC BLEEDS
The Edge Novels
ON THE EDGE
BAYOU MOON
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for authors’ or third-party websites or their content.
BAYOU MOON
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the authors
PRINTING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / October 2010
Copyright © 2010 by Andrew Gordon and Ilona Gordon.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eISBN : 978-1-101-44354-5
ACE
Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
http://us.penguingroup.com
To Gene and Jane Blankenship:
You’ll never read it, but we wouldn’t
have made it without you
Acknowledgments
A book is always a team effort. This one was no exception. We’re deeply grateful to Nancy Yost, our agent, for putting up with numerous e-mails and phone calls, and being the lone voice of sanity in our big, fiery sea of crazy. We’re also grateful to Anne Sowards for her constant support and encouragement. Without the two of you, our books would never see the light of day.
We would like to thank the following people: Michelle Kasper, production editor, and Andromeda Macri, assistant production editor, for taking the manuscript and turning it into a book, and for always finding an extra day or two to give us a little bit more time; Joan Matthews, copy editor—we’re sorry about the confusion with the names and the general state of the manuscript, and we sincerely hope we didn’t give you an aneurysm; Victoria Vebell,