A Witch Before Dying: A Wishcraft Mystery (Wishcraft Mystery, #2)

by Heather Blake

Darcy Merriweather is Salem’s newest resident Wishcrafter—a witch who can grant wishes for others. While Darcy isn’t able to grant wishes for herself, she does possess a certain knack for solving problems—including the occasional murder…

When Darcy is hired by Elodie Keaton to clean up her missing mother’s disorderly home, the Wishcrafter is certainly up for the task. After all, the motto of her Aunt Ve’s personal concierge service As You Wish is “No Job Impossible.” But beneath the piles of old newspapers and knickknacks Darcy discovers something much more disturbing—Patrice Keaton’s body.

Darcy’s determined to give Elodie peace of mind by investigating her mother’s disappearance and death. Patrice was last seen over a year ago after a fight with her Charmcrafter boyfriend. Was her murder a crime of passion? Or were Patrice’s troubles caused by the Anicula, a wish-granting amulet? Now Darcy has to not only find a killer, she has to find the Anicula—before the power of ultimate wish fulfillment falls into the wrong hands...

• ISBN10: 0451237633
• ISBN13: 9780451237637
• Publish Date: 7 August 2012 (first published 1 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
• Imprint: Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451237637

Reviews

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

This is a fun series and I'll definitely continue listening to it when I'm in the mood for a light, easy listen. But A Witch Before Dying didn't exactly blow me away. It was just nice. But it was perfect for the stressful week when I listened to it - a no stress listen.

I do have to say that the mystery was great. I was on my toes up until the reveal, trying to figure out who committed the murder. And I do love the small town setting, with all the accompanying shenanigans.

The thing is, I'm not sure if part of why I couldn't figure it out wasn't that there were TOO MANY SHENANIGANS. So much was going on & there's so many people - I couldn't keep them all straight. It fits - a small town is going to have loads of people and they'll all be interconnected like this, especially when a good portion have a big shared secret of being crafters. Its just a lot to keep track of.

I think this is one of those series you want to read back-to-back so that the characters start to really seep in. Too bad I'm not in the mood for more right now.

The crafter world is also lots of fun, and even though the rules are a bit ridiculous, they keep it interesting. There was a bit too much repetition of the rules at the beginning, but I guess that's better than being lost.

One note on the narration - Coleen Marlo is quite good, with a wide range of voices for the characters. My only complaint would be that Darcy (the MC) sounds a bit too old to me! She's supposed to be my age - 30s - but she sounds older to me like 45 or 50. Not a big deal, though.

If you enjoy small town charm with characters you'll love - especially if you can keep them straight - then A Witch Before Dying is a cozy mystery for you. Its fun and light, perfect for when you need a mind break :)

[Baroness Book Trove]

CAUTION! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK YET. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

This book is such a good one as well. The reason for this is because of the whole thing that just like the first one it seems like you are a detective as you go through everything that Darcy does as you try to figure out the killer. Plus who knew that someone who is a hoarder will have something that will help you grant wishes without having to go to a Wishcrafter.

With each new book we get new characters in the books and with each new character becomes a lot of new things. They are all very lovely and I love them very much. The reason for that is because with each new character there is a whole lot of new possible choices for them.

And with each new character new motives as well. Plus a killer that you would never think of before killed Patrice. It's just so amazing how anyone could get wrapped up into a story that you swear are real. Just like this one. And I also give this book a five stars as well.

If you would like to read any more of my reviews please go to my site: http://baronessbooktrove.blogspot.com/

[MurderByDeath]

The second in the Wishcrafting mystery series, A Witch Before Dying is, I think, my favorite of the two so far. Both are excellent, but the first one felt like it had a tiny bit of silly in it, and this one did not. What it did have is some absolutely hysterical moments of dialogue - Archie had me laughing out loud - and a better explanation of some of the types of magic in this particular universe. The mysteries behind the murder and a rash of break-ins was very well crafted, with a good number of possible suspects and an ending I didn't guess at - I thought for *sure* I knew who the baddie was and was totally wrong.

Ms. Blake has created a charming world, with a very likeable cast of characters and great dialogue. I'm looking forward to reading many more books from the Enchanted Village/Salem.