Tag: paranormal cozy mystery

Review:  Morning Glories & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 6) by Corrine Winters

Rating: 4⭐️

Morning Glories & Murder is the sixth novel in Winters’ Willowmere Cozy Mysteries series and I find that, in a 17 book series, there’s elements of this that I still love and others that I find less appealing at this point. 

Number one is the gorgeous language and the absolute beauty of the words Winters uses to convey a sense of character or atmospheric magic in her work. Succinct, poetic and witty, I love the expression of her voice here.  

Her ability to create a mystical, living almost sentience that flows from the dirt and wood in Willowmere is amazing. It’s believable in feeling both ominous and beautifully ancient simultaneously. 

The murder mystery each book is occupied with are also good. But each has felt a bit flat because of there’s been so much time spent on a convoluted, investigative work that apprehending the culprit is a rushed affair, concluded all too briefly. 

Relationships too are sparsely linked, dryly written about and even more weakly linked. The reader must infer from bits of information where different relationships might be headed, if anywhere. I’m actually ok with that. 

But it’s with the main character of Maeve Everhart where I personally have the most problems connecting. She’s been hinting at having considerable power but time and again she’s attacked. Yet Maeve is passive against violent aggressive tactics or undermining maneuvering. 

Throughout story after story, she avoids taking evidence to the town’s sheriff, keeping clues to herself ( sometimes losing the key material), waiting and watching for “the soil” and Whim, the familiar to point to a possible motive or culprit. 

It’s frustrating to read. Because essentially it’s wandering around as the culprit continues to escalate “evil doings” right until the last few pages. Then it’s boom, it’s whoever. Done. 

Here she’s personally attacked in a number of ways, professionally, personally etc. And again, it’s an approach of “ idk, not sure what I can do about it “. 

For me, I’m not sure if this type of character is worth the effort. Love the language, not connecting with any but the cat, a snarky wry individual on his best days. 

Think I’ll give it a rest for now. Come back later when I need a hit for sentences like this: 

“From his perch atop the hanging planter by the window, Whim offered a disdainful yawn and flexed one white-tipped paw. “It’s not the rosemary. It’s the coming crowd. You can feel the potpourri energy swelling already. Too many amateur aromatherapists. Not enough dignity in the ceramics.”

Sigh. 

Not a fan of the covers, which doesn’t match up with the tone of the book. 

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries (17 book series):

1 Mildew & Murder (2025) 

2 Moss & Murder (2025) 

3 Marigolds & Murder (2025) 

4 Mulch & Murder (2025) 

5 Magnolias & Murder (2025) 

6 Morning Glories & Murder (2025) 

7 Milkweed & Murder (2025) 

8 Mulberries & Murder (2025) 

9 Mint & Murder (2025) 

10 Moonflowers & Murder (2025) 

11 Marjoram & Murder (2025) 

12 Mandrake & Murder (2025) 

13 Meadowfoam & Murder (2025) 

14 Mayapple & Murder (2025) 

15 Mallow & Murder (2025) 

16 Mist & Murder (2025) 

17 Mosswine & Murder (2025)

Buy link:

 Book 6 of 17: Willowmere Cozy Mysteries 

Blurb 

Willowmere’s Summer Artisan Faire was supposed to celebrate beauty, craft, and memory. Instead, it begins with the discovery of a beloved potter’s body beneath her own shattered booth.

Maeve Everhart wasn’t looking for another mystery. But the clay doesn’t lie—and neither does the soil. As whispers of sabotage echo through the town’s sunlit streets, she’s pulled into a web of rivalries, forgeries, and unfinished work that someone was desperate to keep buried.

With her greenhouse rattled by secrets and old friendships tested by fire, Maeve must piece together a broken charm, a fractured legacy, and the truth that lives in what Petra left behind.

Because in Willowmere, every creation carries intention—and some were made to remember what others wanted to forget.

Get ready for a whirlwind mystery and cozy thrill ride in this paranormal cozy mystery. Get under a blanket and be prepared to be immersed!

Publication date

May 21, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

151 pages

Book 6 of 17

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries

Review:  A New Beginning: A Millie the Miracle Cat Cozy Mystery by Courtney McFarlin

Rating: 3.5

A New Beginning: A Millie the Miracle Cat Cozy Mystery by Courtney McFarlin has so much potential in the overall series storyline and engaging characters that I wish I actually enjoyed the book more. 

Initially, how McFarlin started to develop her character and her initiation into the small town of Timber Falls, Colorado was a terrific setup. 

Olivia Sutton is fleeing Portland, a failed marriage, a recently remarried ex, and lots of memories. She’s made arrangements to buy a bookstore in a small town in Colorado she’s never seen from a woman she’s only talked to on the phone. 

She’s got a doubting best friend in Portland telling her to return, and all her belongings packed in her car.  Right away I’m invested in this woman who desperately wants a new beginning. 

She’s met with drama, murder and a mystery. And a town of strangers, some of whom slowly become friends. 

Especially a small group of older women, who I just adore. They rank high as some of the best characters and aspects of the story. 

Then there’s Millie, the cat she adopts. 

This is the element I feel derailed the book for me. 

Take Millie away or change certain parts of this cat’s “personality” and we continue to have a really good mystery series set in a believable place, filled with credible characters a reader can connect with. 

Add in Millie, the woowoo factor and you’ll find, imo, a story at odds with itself. Both an emotional journey and interesting mystery series or an over the top “woowoo” tale that rides the line of  goofy talking cat from outer space or whatever. Honestly, that element gave me a narrative whiplash when it popped up, because it was so unexpected in the way the author introduced it. 

Anyway, for me, Millie kept taking me away from the story and developing relationships with the other characters.  Just odd.  So much that I’m probably not going forward with the rest of the series . 

Check it out and decide for yourself if this is something you might enjoy. 

A Millie the Miracle Cat Cozy Mystery (5 book series):

A New Beginning #1

Stacked Against Us #2

Volume of Lies #3

Poison Pen #4

The Plot Thickens #5

Buy link

        A New Beginning: A Millie the Miracle Cat Cozy Mystery

    

Blurb 

Olivia Sutton just moved to Timber Falls, a little town hidden in the mountains of Colorado, with the goal of starting fresh and leaving her past firmly in the rearview mirror. She’s got a plan and some hard-earned savings. How hard could starting over be?

While she’s scouting locations to start a new bookstore, she discovers a bedraggled stray cat, and something far more sinister.

Will the people in her newly claimed hometown believe she’s innocent? Is she losing her grip on reality or is her new cat capable of strange things?

Join Olivia and Millie the Cat as they work together to save Olivia’s reputation, find a killer, and begin living their new lives.

Review: Marigolds & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by Corrine Winters 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

“It smells like someone overwatered ambition,” Whim muttered from beneath the herb stand, his tail flicking toward a pot of mint that looked more like mush.

It’s Spring Planting Weekend in Willowmere and the commentary is flowing fierce. 

My favorite paranormal mystery is back in force. High quality language, mystical imagery, scenes that feel both gothic and cozy along with a haunting landscape follow Maeve and Whim, her familiar, when beloved florist Marigold Bloom is found dead, holding a bouquet of flowers whose language sends a bite instead of a message of love. 

We get an excellent story, a serious mystery and series of clues to lead to a complex albeit mystical investigation. 

However, the language and phrases by the author just continue to delight me. Clever and creative, conveying a sense of humor and character with a conciseness that is perfect. 

Example:

“Good morning, Dorian.” 

He tipped his glass. “The garden’s looking well-fed. Much like the town’s curiosity.” 

Maeve shook her head and tried not to smile. Dorian was charming, curious, and a little too good at circling truths without landing on them.

That’s Dorian Quinn owner of the Lavender Lantern, one of the several unique community members of Willowmere. 

Always a tad too charming, too much, too perfectly put together, even at a murder scene, sipping a cocktail. 

There’s an ongoing sense of grief and hidden secrets that are unraveling under Willowmere now that Maeve has returned home. Secrets that her great aunt Hazel knew about and helped seal. 

Along with her familiar, Whim, and Silas Merrick, a local beekeeper, one death at a time, (one story at a time) the secrets are being revealed. 

It does make me wonder, like that old joke about (Midsomer Murders) Cozy Mysteries, how many people are still living at the end of the series in such a small village?

I’m throughly enjoying the process, the mystical elements, and the fabulous writing. 

I’m highly recommending this for anyone who loves great writing, interesting mystery attached to a bit of mysticism. Haunting and poetic. 

Not a fan of the covers, which doesn’t match up with the tone of the book. 

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries (17 book series):

1 Mildew & Murder (2025) 

2 Moss & Murder (2025) 

3 Marigolds & Murder (2025) 

4 Mulch & Murder (2025) 

5 Magnolias & Murder (2025) 

6 Morning Glories & Murder (2025) 

7 Milkweed & Murder (2025) 

8 Mulberries & Murder (2025) 

9 Mint & Murder (2025) 

10 Moonflowers & Murder (2025) 

11 Marjoram & Murder (2025) 

12 Mandrake & Murder (2025) 

13 Meadowfoam & Murder (2025) 

14 Mayapple & Murder (2025) 

15 Mallow & Murder (2025) 

16 Mist & Murder (2025) 

17 Mosswine & Murder (2025)

Buy link:

        Marigolds & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 3)

    

Blurb 

The garden blooms again… but something beneath it never died.

Spring in Willowmere is in full swing, and Maeve Everhart is trying to keep her hands in the soil and her heart out of trouble. But when beloved florist Marigold Bloom is found dead among her foxglove and rue, the scent of grief is laced with suspicion. The bouquet wasn’t accidental. And neither is the silence blooming in its wake.

Everyone in town has something to protect—some secrets are personal, some are poisonous, and some are old enough to be buried in the land itself. As whispers curl beneath fresh blossoms and intentions are masked with petals, Maeve finds herself unraveling a plot that roots back generations… and may still be growing.

Because in Willowmere, the soil remembers. And this time, it might not forgive.

Get ready for a whirlwind mystery and cozy thrill ride in this paranormal cozy mystery. Get under a blanket and be prepared to be immersed!

date

May 14, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

149 pages

Book 3 of 17

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries

Review:  Moss & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Corrine Winters 

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Moss & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Corrine Winters is another excellent read in this mystical mystery series by Corrine Winters. 

I confess to reading them for the lyricism of Winters’ language and the intelligence of her sentences. The beauty and almost poetic nature of the narrative is what continues to draw me to this series. 

There’s the very essence of strangeness that wraps around the characters and town from the beginning of each story. The soil itself is hiding dark secrets, rejecting something or someone that is not completely welcome in Willowmere. And it’s talking, in its own way. 

Maeve Everhart and her cat, the familiar Whim, are listening. 

What Maeve is isn’t ever revealed. At least not yet. But human she’s not. Nor are all who live there. Everyone has hidden secrets, hidden agendas, and Willowmere itself a foundation based upon lockes and hidden knowledge. A foundation that’s slowly becoming undone. 

The mystery here is who poisoned Howard Fisk. The investigation is one of listening, to the land, the community and all that is left unsaid.

As Whim, the snarky familiar often reflects upon when a certain unpleasant woman makes an appearance. 

“Whim made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “She’s the kind of person who alphabetizes her sins.”’

I could actually quote passage after passage. But it’s a quick terrific read at 135 pages. They all are. 

I’m highly recommending this for anyone who loves great writing, interesting mystery attached to a bit of mysticism. Haunting and poetic. 

Not a fan of the covers, which doesn’t match up with the tone of the book. 

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries (17 book series):

1 Mildew & Murder (2025) 

2 Moss & Murder (2025) 

3 Marigolds & Murder (2025) 

4 Mulch & Murder (2025) 

5 Magnolias & Murder (2025) 

6 Morning Glories & Murder (2025) 

7 Milkweed & Murder (2025) 

8 Mulberries & Murder (2025) 

9 Mint & Murder (2025) 

10 Moonflowers & Murder (2025) 

11 Marjoram & Murder (2025) 

12 Mandrake & Murder (2025) 

13 Meadowfoam & Murder (2025) 

14 Mayapple & Murder (2025) 

15 Mallow & Murder (2025) 

16 Mist & Murder (2025) 

17 Mosswine & Murder (2025)

Buy link:

        Moss & Murder (Willowmere Cozy Mysteries Book 2)

    

Blurb 

The past wasn’t buried. It was sealed. Now the earth wants it back.

Spring has come to Willowmere, but something in the soil still remembers winter’s dead. When a beloved gardener dies under mysterious circumstances, Maeve Everhart senses more than grief clinging to the air. The town whispers heart failure. Maeve hears the hum of old magic—something patient, poisoned, and planned.

As moss curls into forbidden spirals and long-lost artifacts surface from the dirt, Maeve digs deeper into a mystery tangled in land deeds, vanished women, and truths rewritten by those desperate to keep power. Her only allies: a sharp-eyed cat who talks too much, a quiet craftsman who never asks the wrong questions, and the land itself—if she can learn how to listen before someone silences her too.

Because the boundary has cracked.

And what was hidden never meant to stay quiet.

Get ready for a whirlwind mystery and cozy thrill ride in this paranormal cozy mystery. Get under a blanket and be prepared to be immersed!

Publication date

May 12, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

135 pages

Book 2 of 17

Willowmere Cozy Mysteries

Review:  The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening: A New Zealand Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Naomi Kuttner

Rating: 4.5 🔍⭐️

Another great new to me author, another new book and series that I found absolutely fascinating and thoroughly entertaining.

Naomi Kuttner’s new paranormal cozy mystery is unusual in its use of multiple main character voices to provide the story. It took me a while to get the feel for the flow and framing of how these three highly detailed, yet very different characters would be pulled together to form a compelling trio of unlikely friends who solve a mystery. Or mysteries. 

The town of Te Kohe, New Zealand exhibits plenty of main character energy on its own, due to its unique community and character, including its citizens who have a tendency to reveal unexpected sides to themselves. 

It starts with Dante, a retired assassin, who’s moved to Te Kohe, New Zealand and now, mostly due to his choice of homes, finds himself living with a life he never anticipated. He expected isolation, and instead he gets a nonstop flow of visitors, and then a gardener. 

That arrival of Charlie Wilson, a lovely gardener with his own secrets, sets off an entire ripple of events and murder mysteries to solve. The redoubtable Eleanor is right there , to help them, especially Dante, navigate through the town in their investigations. 

Each is such a fantastic character. Dante has been focused on his work as an assassin so now adjusting to being an actual person who’s a part of a team and community is a challenging process. As written by Kuttner, Dante’s personality is realistically chilling in places, hilariously lacking in social skills, and his growth is a result of his own decisions to act on Charlie’s behalf. Eleanor is one revelation after another, a woman of strengths, ingenuity, and a hidden past. And then there’s Charlie, a young man whose story is the basis for the mystery. 

Set in New Zealand, the story and characters are well defined by their location and their respective nationality. From the nature, plants and fauna ( I had to look up several of the birds and trees Charlie referenced to my delight), to the languages and foods, I absolutely knew I was in a small town community in New Zealand. That dynamic of the real nature of a type of place where everyone knows everyone is a prerequisite of a cozy and Kuttner has it down. 

The small trio of strangers that becomes friends through mystery investigations is a fascinating and great storyline.  It fit perfectly into the classic cozy format albeit with a paranormal addition of ghosts here. 

There’s no romantic element between the three main characters. They are, at least here, firmly in the friend zone.  Eleanor appears to have the promise of one in the future with a great side character.

The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening: A New Zealand Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Naomi Kuttner is just terrific. Self published, it’s full of amazing twists, great storylines, wonderful characters, and a fascinating town of citizens to explore. 

I can’t wait for the next book to be released. 

Highly recommended for lovers of cozy mysteries and fantastic stories.

Retired Assassin’s Guide (2 book series)

The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening #1

The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Orchid Hunting #2 – Dec 16,2025

Buy link 

        The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening: A New Zealand Paranormal Cozy Mystery

    

Blurb 

Dante has come to the small coastal town of Te Kohe, New Zealand, for a fresh start in life. But he doesn’t want to open a BnB, or save a charming bookshop, or start a romance with a single mother in need of rescuing.

He just wants to forget about his past career (which involved a lot of dead bodies) and have everyone leave him the heck alone. Unfortunately for Dante, life has other plans…

  • Publication date: January 25, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 471 pages

Review:  Magic & Marriage (Starry Hollow Witches Book 15) by Annabel Chase 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Reality tv comes to Starry Hollow and it doesn’t go well. Naturally.

The paranormal version of The Bachelorette’s show, Natural Selection, arrives in Starry Hollow and immediately becomes a nightmare.

Especially as Ember’s hired by the contestant’s grandmother to sabotage the contest. The story turns into a mirror of family images, tightly wrapped expectations, and ridiculously rigid boundaries. 

Again it’s also the lovely side characters and moments that make the story, the small important reflections and conversations that allow Ember to become more self aware and able to make better choices. 

Great storytelling and characters. 

Such cute covers that change ever subtly. 

Starry Hollow Witches series:

Box set 1-10:

Magic & Murder, Book 1

Magic & Mystery, Book 2

Magic & Mischief, Book 3

Magic & Mayhem, Book 4

Magic & Mercy, Book 5

Magic & Madness, Book 6

Magic & Malice, Book 7

Magic & Mythos, Book 8

Magic & Mishaps, Book 9

Magic & Maladies, Book 10

—-

Magic & Misdeeds (Book 11)

Magic & Monsters (Book 12)

Magic & Misfits (Book 13)

Magic & Misfortune (Book 14)

Magic & Marriage (Book 15)

Magic & Midnight (Book 16)

Magic & Mirrors (Book 17)

Magic & Mistletoe (Book 18)

Magic & Mutiny (Book 19) – finale 

Buy link

        Magic & Marriage (Starry Hollow Witches Book 15)

    

Blurb 

Welcome to Starry Hollow where spells were made to be broken.

When a television show called Natural Selection decides to film in Starry Hollow, the whole town is abuzz. The paranormal version of The Bachelor is the talk of the nation and the ideal vehicle to show off the town’s charm. Everyone is excited—except the chosen bachelor’s grandmother. The wily old woman doesn’t want him to marry any of those gold-digging floozies and hires Ember to join as a bachelorette and disrupt the competition. Ember’s uneasy about the job—and her unease only grows when one of the bachelorettes ends up dead. 

With a television show capturing every move, Sheriff Nash has his work cut out for him, but luckily he has Ember on the inside.

Can Ember and the sheriff find the killer before another bachelorette is eliminated—permanently?

Magic & Marriage is the 15th book in the Starry Hollow Witches humorous paranormal cozy mystery series.

  • Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: February 3, 2022
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 234 pages

Review:  Magic & Misfortune (Starry Hollow Witches Book 14) by Annabel Chase 

Rating: 4.75⭐️

This was a really terrific story, a more emotional one, using the missing ring to move Ember’s narrative forward through this harrowing time in her life. 

Aunt Hyacinth is still using Ember’s decision to make Ember and Marley’s life miserable, as Hyacinth’s vendetta against her continues. Now jobless, Ember turns to becoming her own boss and starts a private investigator business with Raoul. And the missing ring investigation becomes a case of theirs. 

Ember’s breakup with Alec, who fired her, sees her reconnecting with Granger, but as friends, as she tries to find her way through her romantic relationships. 

It’s multiple threads but all will eventually have a common theme and emotional connection. It takes time and some wonderful moments but Chase never fails to amaze me with how thoughtfully and consistently these stories pull together. And how Ember and her found family grows stronger and develops deeper than when they start. 

It sends me happily through to the next book and stage in the series. 

Ember’s life is magically transforming as is Marley’s. The Rose family itself is undergoing a new phase. 

It makes for great storytelling and memorable characters.   Love this!

Starry Hollow Witches series:

Box set 1-10:

Magic & Murder, Book 1

Magic & Mystery, Book 2

Magic & Mischief, Book 3

Magic & Mayhem, Book 4

Magic & Mercy, Book 5

Magic & Madness, Book 6

Magic & Malice, Book 7

Magic & Mythos, Book 8

Magic & Mishaps, Book 9

Magic & Maladies, Book 10

—-

Magic & Misdeeds (Book 11)

Magic & Monsters (Book 12)

Magic & Misfits (Book 13)

Magic & Misfortune (Book 14)

Magic & Marriage (Book 15)

Magic & Midnight (Book 16)

Magic & Mirrors (Book 17)

Magic & Mistletoe (Book 18)

Magic & Mutiny (Book 19) – finale 

Buy link

 Book 14 of 19: Starry Hollow Witches 

Blurb 

Welcome to Starry Hollow, where spells were made to be broken.

Misfortunes never come alone. When a valuable jewel goes missing, Ember Rose is tasked with tracking it down. She quickly learns that the jewel wasn’t hidden away for its monetary worth but for safety because the jewel has the power to bring misfortune to its possessor. When the negative consequences start piling up, throwing one obstacle after another in her way, Ember turns to magic to find the jewel before it can wreak havoc on the entire town of Starry Hollow.

Will Ember locate the jewel in time or will the wheel of misfortune roll through town and crush the hopes and dreams of everyone she holds dear—including her own?

Magic & Misfortune is the fourteenth book in the Starry Hollow Witches humorous paranormal cozy mystery series.

  • Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: July 1, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 212 pages

Review:  Magic & Misfits (Starry Hollow Witches Book 13) by Annabel Chase 

Rating: 5✨🪄⭐️

Magic & Misfits (Starry Hollow Witches Book 13) hits close to home with Bentley continuing to investigate the cold case murder of Sheriff 

There’s so much to Magic & Misfits, it’s hard to imagine which part is actually more heartwarming or compelling. As Ember and Marley deal with the aftermath of Aunt Hyacinth’s rigid rejection of their relationship due to Ember’s refusal to give up Ivy’s magic, we see the multiple ways this has consequences on their lives. From bullying at school to Ember’s loss of her job, and much more. 

But it allows for the author to demonstrate that Ember and those around her have the ability to make a new path and find new opportunities. Ones that bring Arnold Palmer, the pink fairy armadillo into their lives, sees a change in her romantic relationships, and gives a cold case a fresh perspective and the chance to be solved.

This is definitely one of my favorite stories in the series. Every storyline is beautifully crafted, every character and their role so well written and the narrative flows from humor to real raw pain , through the gamut of emotions scene by scene.

It makes for great storytelling and memorable characters.   Love this!

Starry Hollow Witches series:

Box set 1-10:

Magic & Murder, Book 1

Magic & Mystery, Book 2

Magic & Mischief, Book 3

Magic & Mayhem, Book 4

Magic & Mercy, Book 5

Magic & Madness, Book 6

Magic & Malice, Book 7

Magic & Mythos, Book 8

Magic & Mishaps, Book 9

Magic & Maladies, Book 10

—-

Magic & Misdeeds (Book 11)

Magic & Monsters (Book 12)

Magic & Misfits (Book 13)

Magic & Misfortune (Book 14)

Magic & Marriage (Book 15)

Magic & Midnight (Book 16)

Magic & Mirrors (Book 17)

Magic & Mistletoe (Book 18)

Magic & Mutiny (Book 19) – finale 

Buy link

        Magic & Misfits (Starry Hollow Witches Book 13)

    

Blurb 

Welcome to Starry Hollow, where spells were made to be broken.

Bentley Smith is tired of being the red-headed stepchild in the office of Vox Populi and is determined to prove his mettle by warming up the cold case involving Sheriff Nash’s murdered father. The deeper he digs, however, the more uncomfortable he becomes when the information he unearths implicates one of Starry Hollow’s very own. Meanwhile, Ember is dealing with the fallout from her refusal to give Aunt Hyacinth the power she craves, which has greater consequences than she anticipated. 

Will Ember be able to sustain the fairytale life she’s built in Starry Hollow or will it all finally crumble to dust? 

Magic & Misfits is the thirteenth book in the Starry Hollow Witches paranormal cozy mystery series.

  • Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: January 7, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 198 pages

Review:  Magic & Monsters (Starry Hollow Witches Book 12) by Annabel Chase 

Rating: 4.5🪄✨⭐️

Another excellent book, another unusual mystery and murder investigation!  

This murder investigation finds Ember assigned to cover the reemergence of retired Creature Hunter Winston York who comes to Starry Hollow to discover an elusive creature who’s there to lay her egg and then disappear into the ocean.

Things immediately turn dark when York is found murdered and his fame hunters are all in town seeking the same creature. 

There’s plenty of storylines here to dive into, from the creature herself and the nature vs exploitation angle, to Ember’s self confidence and the Ivy Rose history/magic aspect of the series that’s getting ever stronger and darker. 

Plus the romantic element of Ember’s life is getting more interesting, and coming under a more realistic scrutiny than previously dealt with by Ember. 

All done with great dialogue, full on action and lots of magical moments. 

Fabulous series and storytelling.

A highly recommended book and series to be read in the order they are written in. 

Starry Hollow Witches series:

Box set 1-10:

Magic & Murder, Book 1

Magic & Mystery, Book 2

Magic & Mischief, Book 3

Magic & Mayhem, Book 4

Magic & Mercy, Book 5

Magic & Madness, Book 6

Magic & Malice, Book 7

Magic & Mythos, Book 8

Magic & Mishaps, Book 9

Magic & Maladies, Book 10

—-

Magic & Misdeeds (Book 11)

Magic & Monsters (Book 12)

Magic & Misfits (Book 13)

Magic & Misfortune (Book 14)

Magic & Marriage (Book 15)

Magic & Midnight (Book 16)

Magic & Mirrors (Book 17)

Magic & Mistletoe (Book 18)

Magic & Mutiny (Book 19) – finale 

Buy link:

        Magic & Monsters (Starry Hollow Witches Book 12)

    

Blurb 

Welcome to Starry Hollow, where spells were made to be broken.

Starry Hollow is abuzz when the famously reclusive Creature Hunter, Winston York, emerges from retirement after a rare sighting of an endangered magical creature and Ember Rose is assigned to cover the story. Florian and Aster are thrilled with this development because a new documentary by York would mean an influx of tourists to the magical seaside town. Excitement quickly turns to horror, however, when York dies during filming. What seems like an unfortunate accident starts to look more like murder to intrepid reporter Ember.

Can Ember solve the crime before the killer renders her extinct?

Magic & Monsters is the twelfth book in the Starry Hollow Witches paranormal cozy mystery series.

  • Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC
  • Accessibility: Learn more
  • Publication date: June 2, 2020
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 204 pages