There’s a new witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts . . .
When Lee Barrett joins a former student’s bridal party as maid of honor, she expects cake tastings and dress fittings. But wedding planning becomes more peculiar than Lee’s scrying talents could ever predict. There’s a magical baker, a best man with a checkered past, and a talking crow named Poe as the ring bearer. There’s also a kindly old man dead under his apple tree—one of a series of unexplained deaths hanging over the Wiccan community . . .
With witches dropping dead before they even come out of the proverbial broom closet, Lee’s best friend, River, fears she might have somehow unleashed a terrible curse on the city. Now, aided by Poe and her clairvoyant cat, Lee sets out to investigate. Are lives being claimed by vengeful supernatural forces—or by something more shocking? She soon discovers, casting light on the wicked truth can be one killer commitment . . .
Praise for the Witch City Mysteries
“This rewarding paranormal cozy series debut will have Victoria Laurie fans lining up to follow.”
—Library Journal on Caught Dead Handed
“Perfectly relaxing and readable.” —Kirkus Reviews on Look Both Ways
I generally enjoy the books in this series, and I should have enjoyed this one more; it had elements designed to appeal to me, like a murder of crows (collective noun not crime), an old spell book that won't burn, whose 17th century owner's ghost wants back, a current string of crimes that may or may not be connected to modern day Wiccans. Stolen art.
For the most part, I did enjoy it, but there was just a little something missing. It could very well be my mood; I'm still displaying shades of slump now and again. This may have affected my engagement with the book. It could also be the wedding planning bit that's tangentially a part of the plot. Or the egregious number of continuity errors the editor didn't catch; something I don't remember this series suffering from before.
Mostly, I think, that MC just wasn't quite focused enough to really involve the reader in the story. She had all of these intriguing things happening to/around her but for the most part, never involved her. The exception are the visions she had throughout the story, usually whenever she looked at a reflective surface. Her acceptance of them in this book was a relief, and I enjoyed these scenes a lot, as they imparted information about the mysteries.
It was a good story though, even though I keep rambling on about the nit-picky stuff. It held my attention while I was reading it and I was interested in seeing the mystery solved.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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14 July, 2018:
Finished reading
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14 July, 2018:
Reviewed