A MelanieM Review: Midsummer Law (Midsummer #3) by Megan Derr

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Kirby Hindon is Sheriff in MIdsummer, a magical, supernatural town. On the easiest day, the job carries with it a almost constant list of surprises and supernatural happenings that most Sheriffs never have to deal with. But one of the toughest parts of his job is notifying the next of kin when someone is killed. That’s the Kirby is facing now. Hobgoblin Kerry Greyling is dead and Kirby needs to contact his brother as next of kin. The biggest surprise appears when Kerry’s brother, Merry, shows up to collect his belongings.

Merry is Kerry’s twin brother but they were alike only in appearance. Where Kerry was dark, Merry is light as well as powerful. In fact, Merry shimmers from head to toe. He is a well respected and sought after clothing designer whose clothes are just as unique as Merry. What happens when a lonely Sheriff who also happens to be a witch meets up with an equally lonely hobgoblin? Anything is possible in the town of Midsummer.

Midsummer Law picks up after the events of Midsummer Curse. All the towns people are dealing with the aftermath of Ferdy the gremlin’s curse and the death of Kerry Greyling, Ferdy’s ex and all round rotter. It’s been left to witch and town Sheriff Kirby Hindon to notify the closest kin of the deceased and depose of the body and personal belongings. But what happens next is as unexpected to those involved as it is just what they need.

I love the town of Midsummer that Megan Derr has created. A place where all the paranormal and supernatural belong, its both a haven and locus for events and relationships of all types. We’ve had werewolves and kind of weres, weres and gremlins, vampires and vampire hunters and now a witch in search of love in the most unlikely of places. Kirby Hindon has always existed on the secondary layer of the other stories as a character. He arrives to haul off the culprit or at the ending of a nasty culmination of events. Now he’s at the front of his own story and we get a better look at a lonely man with never enough time to practice his magic.

Merry Greyling, twin brother to the nasty Kerry Greyling, is a lovely delight of a character. A sought after clothes designer, he wears what he makes, along with artfully applied makeup in unusual color combinations. He’s powerful, quixotic, and lonely. Hmmmm, where can a partner be found for him? Derr brings these two together over the death of Merry’s brother and let the rest of the journey to love fall gently into place.

I say gently because there is no drama to be found here, that occurred in the previous story. This is just two beings trying to work out a long distance relationship and it contain the commonplace errors and miscommunications one would expect of such an attempt. It gradually works itself out along the way as Derr starts to fold in the characters for the next short story in the series, Midsummer Baker.

This is a very quick read with none of the depth of the first two stories. There is no mystery involved, just two beings in search of love. I did love the surprise that was Merry and wish we had much more of him and Kirby’s relationship. We get a few answers to some left over questions but that’s it. I missed the variety of characters and the layers to the plot that the other stories had, although the romance is a lovely one. There were also one or two editing issues. A moment where Kirby looks at Kirby (it should have been Kelly), easy enough to catch and fix but wasn’t.

Midsummer is a town guaranteed to pull you into its stories and relationships. There is so much to discover here and so many more beings to meet. I hope Megan Derr continues to develop stories in this series. I can’t wait for more to come.

Cover art by Megan Derr. She does a terrific job in branding the series and yet makes each design relevant to the story within.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press All Romance eBook (ARe) Amazon Midsummer Law