This is another interesting episode in the PUPI series. The Pups have two cases to work on this time and the one that they were least expecting to blow up in their faces is the one that does. Meanwhile, Bonnie and Venec are trying to deal with the Merge each in their own ways. Bonnie favors denial; Venec is more about control. To paraphrase Bonnie, she isn't going to let herself be pushed around by some kind of magic that has decided she and Venec will make beautiful babies. But, at the same time, ignoring the Merge isn't making it go away.The Roblin, a mischief imp, has also come to town and has decided to focus on PUPI. This isn't really a good time for chaos to be let loose in the city. He seems especially interested in Bonnie because her magic is somewhat unusual. He manages to get her evicted from her apartment. However, that's OK with Bonnie because she has a line on an apartment where Wren (from the Retrievers series) lives. This meeting with Wren helps me anchor the story in time. I was wondering but now know that these novels are taking place a little earlier than the Retrievers novels. Bonnie is a particularly interesting character to me. I like her attitude about living her life. I like her accurate self assessment of her abilities. And I very much like her relationship that might be easing into a romance with Venec.This is a very satisfying entry into the series and will please those who have enjoyed the first two books - Pack of Lies and Hard Magic.
