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Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML:Double, double toil and trouble, A witch's life is quite a muddle. The Full Moon crystal shop in North Harbor, Connecticut, offers healing stones for all sorts of ailments. Unfortunately, there's nothing among the gems that can help owner Violet Mooney learn how to wield the magick she inherited from both sides of her family�??the legendary Ravenstar and Moonstone clans. As if being an apprentice witch weren't difficult enough, Violet's tutors are her estranged mother Fiona, a sister she never knew she had named Zoe, and a familiar in the form of a black cat, Xander. Between learning spells, Violet is being investigated by the Magickal Council. A reporter out to debunk spiritualists was "genied"�??her soul imprisoned inside a bottle�??in Violet's shop, and she can't prove she didn't do it. Meanwhile, her non-magickal life has become complicated when one of her crystal shop customers, Nicole St. James, goes missing and turns up dead, a victim of murder. Determined to solve both crimes, Violet taps into powers she doesn't understand, much less control�??and finds herself conjuring up both supernatural and mortal enemies. . . Praise for Witch Hunt "Zippy and fun, with an otherworldly hook that's further enhanced by characters with a little magic of their own." �??Kirkus Reviews… (more)
User reviews
In this second book in a cozy mystery series, Violet is a crystal shop owner with recently-unveiled magical powers. When a troubled customer goes missing, she sets out to investigate, uncovering sordid secrets in her hometown--even as other
I didn't read the first book, but that didn't make it difficult to get into this one. The plots are fairly straightforward. I was left with many frustrations and questions as I read, though. So much of the book's prolonged drama is because people aren't engaging in basic levels of communication, which is exasperating. The magic here doesn't seem to have any rules. Witches can teleport wherever. Violet is treated like she's incredibly powerful, but I saw no evidence of that whatsoever. She's willfully ignorant about magic in general, and that seems to largely be the case to drag out the magical subplot. I was mystified as to why she was serving on a local magical-governing board.
Genies and their powers seem to be set up to be the big bad guys in this world, and though they aren't described here as having an origin here, it made me uncomfortable that the one Arabian/Middle Eastern aspect was elevated to such a dark role. I hope that more nuance comes into play in future books.
The mundane mystery at the heart of the book is the best part, but I couldn't turn off my author/editor mode to relax and enjoy the loose magical worldbuilding.