Seven and A Half: A Nkosiphile Dlamini Case

Step into a New York that hums with hidden magic and into a case that defies every law, written and unwritten.When NYPD Detective Nkosiphile Dlamini is called to a brownstone on West 112th Street, he finds a flawless chalk circle on the floor, the faint smell of burnt sugar, and no trace of Imani Beam, the Egyptology student who lived there. It is not a crime scene he can process with standard procedure. It is a door, opened with a key made of lies.What begins as a missing persons case quickly unravels into a global conspiracy stretching from the underground markets of Manhattan to the ancient bathhouses of Cairo, from resin soaked jungles of the Amazon to the aurora lit tundras of Siberia. A counterfeit coin stamped with an ibis that should not exist is more than a black market artifact. It is a node in a dangerous design, a key others are willing to kill for.To find Imani, Dlamini must enter a shadow world where rival factions struggle for control. The Daughters of Neith, a coven of witches who believe museums are thieves. The Green Veil, a goblin syndicate with flawless logistics and ruthless efficiency. And brokers like the elusive Krazhak, who trades in secrets and punctuation, selling commas where others sell periods.Aided by a disillusioned museum curator, a Russian scientist who listens to the sky, and a coffee vendor who knows the real price of curses, Dlamini must learn new rules. He must bargain with forest shamans, silence chants that ride telephone poles, and outwit witches who use the Northern Lights as a microphone. His tools are not only his badge, but chalk, copper coils, wood that remembers, and a stubborn refusal to feed the hungry magic he carries in his pocket.SEVEN AND HALF is a genre defying thriller where modern detective work collides with ancient magic. It is a story about the lies cities tell, the artifacts that remember their true owners, and the cost of closing a door that was never meant to be opened.A detective story for readers who know the most dangerous mysteries are written in chalk, not blood. Blending forensic procedure with hidden world fantasy and international intrigue, SEVEN AND HALF delivers a gripping investigation that spans continents and belief systems.Perfect for fans of Rivers of London, American Gods, City of Stairs, and readers who look at city skylines and wonder what they are hiding.Dive into the first chapters and discover a world where streetlights may be sentinels, rivers have appetites, and the most dangerous criminals trade in narratives, not narcotics.Your next obsession begins here.