Maskerade (The Witches of Discworld, #5) (Discworld, #18)

by Terry Pratchett

[brokentune]

Right! Let’s do some good!’ she said, to the universe at large.

Need I say anything more about the Granny Weatherwax, the speaker of this line? She is still one of the best characters in fiction. In Maskerade, Granny and Nanny are faced with the difficulty of being a coven of only two witches. They need a third. Because, as we know, two witches is not a coven, it's an argument. There has to be a third to settle the argument - or act as a buffer.

Unfortunately, Agnes, the hopeful addition to Granny and Nanny, has set her mind on pursuing a musical career, and not on becoming a witch. So, Agnes joins the opera where she is cast as the vocal lead. but as she is blessed with a good personality and nice hair rather than, erm, "looks", her choice may not be all that she hoped for.

Also, there is the slight matter of unexplained deaths occurring at the opera.

In a twist of previous books in the series, Granny turns into a quasi Miss Marple in Maskerade, and Nanny is at hand to explain Granny's use of headology to perplexed by-standers.

What's not to like?