Item: Moonlight Duology
Rating: 5
Author: artisanb

Moonlight Duology by Yurie Kiri
Series: Murder and Magic Books 1 and 2
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Moonlight Duology: Murder and Magic Books 1 and 2 by Yurie Kiri

Yurie Kiri’s novel “Moonlight Beach” won the 2020 Hollywood Book Festival’s award for Genre Fiction is packaged here in the “Moonlight Duology” with its sequel “Moonlight Canyon”. These two books have been described as something like Carlos Castaneda’s “The Teachings of Don Juan…” combined with Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” only more intense.

Now “Moonlight Duology” has just been selected as the winner in the “Sequels” category for the 2023 Los Angeles Book Festival.

Moonlight Beach: Murder and Magic Book 1

Rancho, California, is an exclusive, seaside hamlet in Southern California, where the rich reside in peace and comfort, tucked away behind gates and protected by private security while pursuing various passions both sexual and financial.

At least that’s how it used to be…
Rancho’s bougie residents no longer live in paradise. Now it’s more like hell. Sun, sand, surf and sex just aren’t that much fun when everything’s covered in blood.

What Is Shattering The Idyllic Community Of Rancho, California?
Grisly death. Bodies washing up on nearby Moonlight Beach. It’s downright disconcerting to the privileged one percent living in their gated communities in one of SoCal’s ritziest enclaves. Worse, they have no idea what or who is behind the slaughter.

Is It Sharks? Something Supernatural? Greedy Venture Capitalists?
Maneaters are known to inhabit the waters off Moonlight Beach, but shark attacks are rare. What about magic, sexual rituals? A coven of witches who live nearby love to practice their craft. Or could it be the venture capitalists, whose latest company harvests human organs for transplant, exploiting the vulnerable to save the wealthy elite?

The Violence Shows No Signs Of Ending
Two more people are killed on a cliff overlooking the beach – and all their organs are missing. This bloody terror isn’t slowing down. It’s accelerating. What the hell is going on? They better figure all this out before more people get butchered or, God forbid, Rancho’s inflated property values plummet.

Moonlight Canyon: Murder and Magic Book 2

Terrible Things Are Happening In Silver City
Susan and Anne left Moonlight Beach for a vacation in the rural paradise of Silver City, just south of Moonlight Canyon but they found the scenic area under attack and have to scramble to protect themselves. Half-eaten, mutilated bodies are showing up in public places if not burned beyond recognition. The peaceful residents of Silver City are in a panic. Horrible murders shouldn’t happen here. Evil like that is reserved for the big cities, right? Wrong.

Are Drug Smugglers To Blame?
A powerful, south of the border, drug kingpin named Senor Tito Ocotillo could be responsible. Tito’s biker gang, the Coyotes, are very capable of murdering their enemies, burning the bodies or putting them on public display as a warning to others. Senor Ocotillo doesn’t care what people think, he’s focused on using his drug sales to finance the purchase of the biggest bomb he can find… what could he do with that?

Could It Be Space Aliens? Or Ancient Native American Rituals?
Tina, a beautiful, powerful TV news woman whose reports lead some people to believe that space aliens are now dismembering people to study us, links up with Susan and Anne. After even more brutal murders, Senor Ocotillo wants to use a mysterious Native American woman’s magical kiva to open up a portal to the underworld. Goddess help us if he succeeds but whatever is terrorizing Silver City must be stopped and fast before this pastoral heaven becomes a living hell.

Artisan Book Reviews:

Written in a superior duology format, Moonlight Duology by Yurie Kiri comprises Book 1, Moonlight Beach and Book 2, Moonlight Canyon in Yuri Kiri’s, Murder and Magic series, and is an engrossing must read novel for adult readers. Moonlight Duology: Books 1 and 2 feature some of the same fantastic characters in two epic stories and dark adventures to save themselves and Katomi from various evil forces.

We begin with Moonlight Beach Book 1 by Yurie Kiri which investigates strange and unusual shocking crimes and cold-blooded murders mysteriously taking place at an unsuspecting popular quaint and charming beach town in California. This dark, and gripping story is engrossing and fascinating. Due to the frequent acts of violence being committed within the community, the paranormal spirit realm via witchcraft and dark magic must be conjured up.

When Anne, Diane, Susan, and Mary run a transcendental ceremony to call Katomi, a powerful witch who becomes trapped inside one of their bodies, only the women’s shared strength can protect Katomi from Roy, a serial killer and shaman who has been preying on unsuspecting women. However, Roy is a force to be reckoned with himself. As the women work to channel Katomi between themselves to kill Roy and stop his murderous run, mayhem ensues. Will the women be successful, or will darkness prevail? Moonlight Beach is an incredible mystery, complete with unique and fascinating magical elements, and unnerving suspense. Readers who love mystical dark magic, witchcraft, paranormal activity, murder mysteries and crimes that are unique to these genres will find themselves indulging in Moonlight Beach with its incredibly shocking, unbelievable storyline and satisfying plot.

In Moonlight Canyon, the second book in Moonlight Duology, Anne and Susan are called again to Katomi’s service to protect Katomi’s power from nefarious sources. This story opens with Tito and his coyotes murdering a woman named Jane. While the men thought the murder was easy, Jane knew better—she had hidden herself from Tito’s power so that she could reappear when she was needed. When Anne and Susan take a road trip and stop at a roadside pottery barn, they end up saving an older woman from those same coyote’s clutches. Anne and Susan are suddenly thrown back into a misogynist world intent on allowing evil forces to prevail. The mystery, the suspense, and the magical elements make this such a captivating, shocking and unique story to read.

Moonlight Canyon is filled with dark elements like witchcraft, paranormal activity, murder, and scenes of heinous crimes. Yurie Kiri has woven a gripping tale that will keep readers in anticipation, guessing about how it will conclude. Readers who love darker tales will be in total awe and will fully enjoy the unusual one-of-a-kind storyline. The thought-provoking, mysterious, and enthralling plot elements are so original and fascinating that only award-winning author, Yurie Kiri can create them.

Both books alone offer action packed adventures that will have readers reeling.

Together, in Moonlight Duology, these books offer such a pleasure for adult readers and fans of these genres and similar genres. Both books feature mystical mayhem and dark magic in such a prominent way, but they also both speak to the collective power of women. After reading the author’s note on the very first page, I was hooked. What an interesting story—and to hear that it originated from the author herself overhearing a conversation at a Mexican restaurant. That someone’s actual real-life murder spurred the events that transpire in this book? Some things are just too dark and twisted to make up. Yurie Kiri adeptly created a spine-tingling narrative with full-bodied characters and an interesting plot in these books. The mystery, the suspense, and the magical elements make this such a unique story to read.

For readers looking for unusual magical systems and exciting paranormal explorations, or a gut-wrenching murder mystery to solve, Moonlight Duology by Yurie Kiri is an absolute must read! The two books and stories contained within will offer readers everything they want in an outstanding read and will provide a stimulating incredible escape; plus, elements they did not even know existed or that they needed, but certainly do.

Readers are sure to love the action, the staggering adventures, the fluid writing, and the suspense that only the brilliant and imaginative mind of Yurie Kiri can provide! Moonlight Duology is one of the absolute best novels I have read in the murder mystery, crime, and paranormal genres. It is completely original with unique characters and an unbelievable, engrossing, and gripping plot and storyline. Artisan Book Reviews highly recommends Moonlight Duology, Books 1 & 2 in the Murder and Magic series by Yurie Kiri. Book read and reviewed by Mary Rosenthal for Artisan Book Reviews.