A Wytch's Book Review Blog

A Good Dog's Guide to Murder by Krista Davis

Visitors are arriving in droves to spend Thanksgiving in the mountains of pet-friendly Wagtail, Virginia. Many of them are bringing dog and cat gingerbread houses to enter in the contest that will be held in the new convention center. Wagtail resident Orly Biffle bequeathed the land to the town in his will, provided that they not cut down the grand old oak tree on the property. Orly's children are mighty miffed that they didn't inherit the prime piece of property overlooking the lake.

Holly notices that Trixie and Twinkletoes, her calico kitty, are fixated on the big oak tree. Trixie barks at it as though she thinks it's a corpse! Just as contestants are spicing up their sweet gingerbread creations, the majestic tree drops an enormous limb. The mayor declares that the tree is dangerous and must come down. When a bulldozer churns up some roots, the tree falls over on its own accord revealing a body inside the trunk! Initially, everyone suspects this unsavory trick was Orly's doing. But it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to keep the truth under wraps. Trixie and Twinkletoes now have to help Holly sniff out some suspects and leash a conniving killer.

This is a fun episode in the life of Wagtail with Trixie (the corpse finding dog!) giving hints and tips at regular intervals during the telling of the tale.  This time we have a new convention centre about to be opened, just in time for Thanksgiving and a pre-Christmas Gingerbread House contest, however the man who gifted the land gave a stipulation that a certain tree must never be felled or the land reverts to his heirs.  The only problem is the tree is rotten and limbs are falling off so felling it is the only choice - before this can happen though the tree falls of its own accord, revealing a pair of shoes and a LOT of concrete!

Now Holly and Officer Dave (along with Trixie and Twinkletoes the cat) need to find out who was inside the tree, but it seems someone is determined to stop them and before long there is another death, along with with attacks and attempted poisonings, so Trixie needs to sniff out the killer before they come for Holly, her Mum or her Oma!

The White Magic Five and Dime: A Tarot Mystery by Steve Hockensmith

When Alanis McLachlan learns that her mother's been murdered, she's completely unsurprised. Not that Alanis had been given a glimpse into the future. That would be crazy, right? It's just that her con-woman mom, Barbra, was bound to cross the wrong people sooner or later. It's why Alanis was lucky to get out of her childhood alive - and why she hadn't spoken to her mother in decades.

But there is a surprise in store for Alanis. Barbra left her something in her will: a New Age shop in the tiny tourist trap town of Berdache, Arizona. The White Magic Five & Dime.

After going to Berdache to claim her inheritance, Alanis is drawn into the mystery around her mother's death. Did one of Barbra's customers finally get wise to her con-artist ways and take revenge? Alanis thinks she knows how to find out: She'll make those customers her own until she can find the killer. Alanis McLachlan, cynic and unbeliever, is about to become a tarot card reader.

With a little help from her mother's teenage apprentice and a snarky tarot how-to book called Infinite Roads to Knowing, Alanis begins bluffing her way through phony readings. But the more she gets to know the cards, the more she sees real meaning in them...and the closer the murderer comes to making her the next victim.

We open with Alanis McLachlan receiving a phone call, as a telemarketer she is expecting something similar from this call, however, it turns out to be a lawyer telling her that she is the sole heiress to her late (and estranged or 20 years!) mother. Somewhat surprised she packs up and heads to the small town of Berdache, only to discover a few things, a) her mother was murdered, b) there is a young woman/girl living in the apartment, c) her con mother was running a Tarot reading practice and d) someone is trying to run her out of town, even though she has just arrived.

Now Alanis finds herself trying to find out the truth, including why she was left everything, and in doing so she runs into the local, rather hunky, investigator and finds out more than she thought!

The Final Tap by Amanda Flower

March on Barton Farm can only mean one thing: maple sugar season. To combat the winter slump, resilient director Kelsey Cambridge organizes a Maple Sugar Festival, complete with school visits, pancake breakfasts, and tree tapping classes. Kelsey hires curmudgeonly maple sugar expert Dr. Conrad Beeson to teach the classes, despite misgivings over his unpleasant demeanor. It's a decision she ends up regretting when, before the first tree can be tapped for sap, Dr. Beeson turns up dead.

The maple sugar expert's death threatens to shut down not only the Maple Sugar Festival, but also Barton Farm itself. Kelsey must solve Dr. Beeson's murder to escape the increasingly sticky situation.

Amanda Flower has crafted another wonderful tale, this time it is the end of Winter, going into Spring and Barton Farm is showcasing the making of Maple syrup, including a tree tapping class.  Sadly Kelsey Cambridge's original pick to teach this has had to pull out and so Dr Beeson has stepped in, and whilst Kelsey is glad that she only has to endure the infuriating man for two or three days she is still stunned when he winds up dead, and one of the farm workers is tapped as the killer.

Now Kelsey has to navigate a tale that has more twists and turns than the hand drill used to open the maple trees for tapping, hopefully she can help solve the crime, the jobs/liberty of not one but two of her workers - and at the same time figure out what her ex and his new fiancee are planning - no pressure then!

A Midsummer Fang's Dream by Elle Wren Burke

Josie’s ready for the lazy days and lemonade that summer has to offer, but instead, she gets a cold and clingy redhead invading her turf. Does this summer have a return policy?

For years, Josie has cultivated a friendship with sexy medical researcher Calder, but she’s been too afraid to take things further. But along with the heat, summer brings a spicy transplant to Arteria Falls—Calder’s gorgeous and genius professor ex-girlfriend. Calder claims not to have known she was coming, but now that she’s arrived, he’s getting a little too close to her. A jealous Josie can’t stand the sight of them together, but she doesn’t have to look at them for long. Just after Josie has a public squabble with Calder’s ex, she’s murdered in her research lab.

Josie and Calder quickly become suspects, so Josie puts her PI license to work to find the real killer. It should be easy—not that many people could possibly want to kill the charming professor, right? But as Josie digs, she discovers that underneath the victim’s beautiful, confident exterior lie ugly secrets and shady schemes. And someone wants to keep those schemes buried deeper than Dracula’s coffin, and they’re willing to sacrifice Josie to do it.

But her life isn’t the only thing in peril—rising tensions between Josie and Calder might just wipe out their relationship before it even begins.

Can Josie salvage things with Calder before the victim’s co-conspirators put her in the morgue too?

These are a fun paranormal series of cozy mysteries, the protagonist is a disabled Vampire (in this world Vamps are rather like humans, but they live longer and cannot eat a LOT of foods - although there are some [wine, chocolate and coconut in all its forms are just three of them!] and they do need blood but they can buy this, oh and they live in Vamp centric towns with a few, well vetted, humans to fulfil some of the jobs), Josie owns and runs a Pet boutique, however, her Grandfather (who is missing) is/was a PI and he was training her up until his disappearance.  In this one Josie is upset when her almost boyfriend's ex turns up, she is stunning to look at, but spoiled and annoying and after a rather public spat .... dead!

Now Calder (the almost BF) is in the frame for her murder so Josie, her trusty wheelchair Zippy, and various friends will need to track down what happened and why before Calder ends up in the slammer and Josie ends up on a slab!

Death of a Wandering Wolf by Julia Buckley

Hana Keller is enjoying a day off from serving up tea and delicious pastries at her family's Hungarian Tea House when her downtime turns deadly....

The only thing Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection. She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figurine at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day. Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it. His reaction is peculiar--he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf. When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device. They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead. Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

Hana and Katie (her BFF) are at a sale, a local artist sells through stuff every so often to a) clear space and b) make sure he has enough ready cash for artist supplies.  Katie manages to spot a couple of things she thinks Hana will love, one of which Hana is stunned to see priced at $5 when she is certain that it is worth a hundred times that! The Artist (one Will Kodaly) says that the wolf figurine for him has bad memories and he is happy to let her have it for the price stated on the tag.  After getting that, a couple of picture and a sweater, she heads off to meet Erik and shows him the wolf he spots a tracker chip on the bottom, so the two of them head back to discuss it, only discover Mr Kodaly has been murdered!

Now Erik switches gear from attentive boyfriend to focused Detective (telling Hana the wolf will have to be taken as evidence, but she will get it back), then we start the roller coaster! Erik and Hana have an argument and almost split up, Hana finds two stunning blonde women in his apartment, she is being stalked and there are red herrings all over the show, this was a page turner and a half and I hope there will be more in the series.