By: Leighann Dobbs & Traci Douglass
Publish Date: August 23, 2016, Audiobook Release February 24, 2017
Format: Audiobook - 5 hrs 50 mins
Narrated By: Amy Rubinate
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Series: 1st in Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery series
Impression: Cozy Mystery with a dab of magic.
Synopsis:
When town trouble maker, Louella Drummond, drops dead in front of Isolde Quinn's pet store just minutes after threatening both Issy and her cousin Graeme, the police in the small lakeside town of Silver Hollow assume it's from natural causes.
... Until it's discovered that Louella was murdered.
Not just any murder, though. Murder by paranormal means. Dark magic that could only have been performed by a powerful witch. And every law-abiding paranormal knows that dark magic is forbidden and carries strict punishment at the hands of "the committee" - the mysterious entity that provides law and order within the paranormal community.
Being witches, Issy and her three cousins fear they are at the top of the suspect list. To make matters worse, a secret division of the FBI has gotten wind of the happenings in Silver Hollow and sent two agents to ferret out paranormal activity. Even worse than that, Issy is annoyingly attracted to one of them!
Armed with their unconventional posse of familiars, Issy and her cousins dodge the efforts of the 'real" police and the special FBI agents while following a twisty path of clues that lead to a shocking betrayal.
First Sentence:
Isolde Quinn flipped the sign in the window of her shop, Enchanted Pets, to Open.
Purchase At:
Amazon
Audible
My Thoughts and Summary:
*I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.
The description of the book works well to tell you about it, so I'm going to skip the description I usually do.
Okay. I'm sold on the little extras in a story. Amy adds tinkling music as the title is read, and I just loved it. Amy does well with giving small personality differences when Issy and her cousins are together talking. There are little tone and attitude feel to them as she speaks. Amy has made it easy for me to forget she's narrating. This is a good thing! That means the story comes through strong, she's letting the story evolve through her and itself. Well done.
The story moves rather fast in talking to suspects and leads. I liked the quick moving of details and not getting caught up in details. I didn't feel as we missed anything, just that the story moved along a a good pace to keep me interested.
There are photos that Issy is looking for that could incriminate her cousin Gray. Though, I'm not sure what the hard push for these photos is. I'm wondering what else would be in the photo other than Gray in his birthday suit in the woods. There has to be more, right? And the strange feel we get from Gray and another character... we learn a bit about what his ritual was for in the end. But, as I went through the book I started to pick up that magic and witches is kept at a secret and that's what the photo's would have damaged for Gray, make him look like a witch with the town and get in trouble with the council.
I enjoyed the relaxing, cozy mystery here. Sometimes it's nice to take a slower pace then the high octane fights and rush. This was just that for me. You don't have the high suspense thriller heart-thumping worries. Or high action. It's exactly what the book is classified as, a cozy mystery. With a dab of paranormal. There was danger, but nothing that felt like our Quinn family was next on the list to die, though in the end there is a chance.
Issy works with different cousins and other paranormals in town to get to the bottom of the magical case. I found the characters to all be kind. I enjoyed them and their familiars. Even the one character that wasn't really a friend, she starts to grow into more. Nice creation here. Issy and her cousins are great together. I almost got the feel as if they were siblings more than cousins. It's a very tight family network here. And seeing them interact with their different familiars and each others was cute. But I think I really enjoy Brimstone, he's like a mysterious character. Brimstone is a stray cat that isn't anyone's familiar, yet he talks. We don't know when he'll show up.
The best way to solve a mystery is dig in, ask questions, and keep thinking when a suspect doesn't pan out at first try. It may lead you to the true culprit. And Issy does just this.
I enjoyed the relaxing mystery here and enjoyed the characters with their familiars. I would like to continue with the series as it's a story that's easy to relax and just enjoy.
**If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!
You are always so awesome with audio. How do you find the time?
ReplyDelete