Mad Queens Inc. Books in Order

Mad Queens Inc. is Deborah Wilde's urban fantasy series about women in midlife whose magical abilities are far more useful, and far less legal, than outsiders realize. Tovah Silver runs the agency with her three best friends, taking on problems without an official license. Their work requires competence and a willingness to find ways around restrictions, but the secrets they share make every encounter with magical law enforcement a risk.

The setting is Vancouver, where Tovah and her friends operate within a magical society that underestimates them. Their perimenopausal magic is dismissed as unimportant, while each woman hides a forbidden second ability. That combination makes their position difficult. They can do more than people expect, but proving it could expose them to prosecution. The friends' mutual trust is therefore part of the agency's foundation as well as a source of personal support.

Keeping a secret is harder when using it saves your life.

In Golem for Broke, an assassin golem pushes Tovah into using her concealed magic. Surviving the encounter leaves another problem when Nikolai Azarov discovers enough to question her explanation. As Vancouver's only golem maker, he has knowledge she cannot easily dismiss. He demands a dangerous bargain instead of handing her over, creating an uneasy connection between them. Tovah must deal with his leverage while investigating the threat and keeping the authorities from shutting down her agency.

Shift Show places Tovah at a New Year's gala where an apparently straightforward assignment turns her into a murder witness. A client then asks the Queens to establish that his magic was stolen and used in the killing. His story might be useful, but that doesn't make it trustworthy. Investigating other people's concealed actions is especially awkward when the investigators must prevent scrutiny of their own. A warning about deception closer to home adds a more personal uncertainty to the case.

Nikolai remains part of that complication. His connection to Tovah includes attraction and irritation, as well as the fact that he is her brother's best friend. The romantic thread develops alongside the magical investigations rather than giving her a separate, simpler problem to solve. Meanwhile, the four Queens' friendship keeps the series grounded in women who have already accumulated experience and know the value of having dependable people beside them when circumstances become difficult.

Begin with Golem for Broke, then continue with Shift Show for the developing agency story and Tovah's relationship with Nikolai. The tone combines magical mystery, humor and a gradually developing romance. The women aren't looking for permission to become capable; their practical difficulty is finding room to use abilities they already possess. Each case puts that problem into sharper focus, forcing Tovah to protect the people she trusts while solving mysteries that could reveal exactly what the Queens have been hiding.