{"id":7106,"date":"2026-06-20T06:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=7106"},"modified":"2026-06-20T06:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:14:07","slug":"marcus-x-figuerola-magic-city-mayhem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/marcus-x-figuerola-magic-city-mayhem\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus X. Figuerola: Magic City Mayhem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Magic City Mayhem<\/em> is a fantastic Miami adventure by Marcus X. Figuerola. I should first clarify that this is more of a thriller than a cozy mystery. There is also quite a bit of creative swearing, so for those readers who do not like to read that in their books I would avoid this one. Also, anyone squeamish about corpse descriptions, demons, and necromancy won\u2019t enjoy this adventure to its fullest. For those who enjoy a fantasy story in a modern setting with plenty of lore, world building, and creative use of magic systems and creatures, Magic City Mayhem<\/em> will entertain.<\/p>\n

Dr. Pablo Diaz is the protagonist of this adventure, and he’s a necromancer with a conscience trying to carve out survival for himself and his father. He works at the college of practical arts, which teaches magic and necromancy skills to those with the penchant for it, and works to bring closure to those who have lost a loved one. Unlike some of his peers, he does not charge a proverbial or literal arm and a leg for his services either. He cares for his town and for the people he serves. Another service he provides is counsel for the local police department, by helping murder victims give final testimony and possible leads to help catch their own killers.<\/p>\n

As fantastic as this world appears, magic can\u2019t solve all Dr. Diaz\u2019s problems. Overextending himself gets him into trouble with the skeletal Chancelor, the head of the college. While assisting the police in a new case, Mr. Diaz ends up getting involved with some less than savory individuals as new customers, and is even put at odds with his beloved college. Magic is going awry, creatures are appearing all over town in numbers he has never seen before, and all the while he seems to be the only practitioner concerned about it. He must solve the mystery not only of the initial murder, but also figure out what magical threat is growing and threatening all of Miami.<\/p>\n

I found myself drawn in by the prologue that set up necromancy and magic in this world, then ended up invested in the adventures of a necromancer with a heart of gold. Dr. Diaz is a man truly trying to do the right thing when everyone around him keeps telling him it either isn\u2019t worth it, or isn\u2019t his job. I recommend this book for any reader who enjoys deep fantasy and magical mechanics, as well as a protagonist willing to continue the good fight when everyone and everything seems determined to stand in his way. I personally love characters that have contradictions, and the concept of a compassionate and good necromancer really drew me in. I also found Marcus X. Figuerola\u2019s writing style to be easy to read and to follow, and it kept me engaged even when he was detailing how the magic system worked. The twists and turns will keep readers guessing as to what will happen next until the very exciting conclusion. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – Carla Schantz<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor’s note: necromancy is the practice of communicating with the dead.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Magic City Mayhem is a fantastic Miami adventure by Marcus X. Figuerola. I should first clarify that this is more of a thriller than a cozy mystery. There is also quite a bit of creative swearing, so for those readers who do not like to read that in their books I would avoid this one. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2536,949,2533,2532,2534,2535],"class_list":["post-7106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-bannermen-books","tag-carla-schantz","tag-magic-city-mayhem","tag-marcus-x-figuerola","tag-miami","tag-necromancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7106"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7113,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions\/7113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}