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Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Darcy Merriweather and her sister, Harper, hail from a long line of witches who have the power to grant wishes using spells. They've come to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts, to join the family business, but they soon find themselves knee deep in murder. Until three weeks ago, Darcy and Harper were working dead-end jobs and trying to put their troubles behind them. Then their aunt Velma delivered a bombshell: They're actually Wishcrafters-witches with the power to grant wishes with a mere spell. Wanting a fresh start, they head to their aunt's magic-themed tourist town to master their newfound skills. But their magic fails them when a wannabe witch turns up dead-strangled with Aunt Ve's scarf-and Ve's sweetheart, Sylar, is found looming over the body. Ve is standing by her man, but Darcy overheard Skylar wish that the victim would disappear-forever. With Harper distracted by her handsome new crush, Darcy is determined to sleuth her way to the truth. But it'll take more than a wish to unravel this mystery...… (more)
User reviews
A town meeting is called to address the theft problem in the village. There's a pickpocket on the loose, and business owners are concerned the crime spree will scare away the tourists. At the meeting, Darcy is introduced to several town residents, both magical and mortal (though she's not sure who's a crafter and who's not). She also meets the very handsome and charming Nick Sawyer, a former military man and police officer hired to catch the thief.
The meeting takes an ugly turn when a wannabe witch is murdered in the alley behind the bookstore, and Aunt Ve's boyfriend Sylar is found hovering over the body. Sylar is arrested, though the evidence against him is weak, and of course, Aunt Ve is distraught.
Darcy can't believe that her aunt's kind and lovable beau is a killer, so she does some investigating of her own. She finds out that the victim had more enemies than you could shake a wand at, and the town is full of juicy secrets.
What I loved:
The setting: I loved the Enchanted Village with its many magical-themed shops. The town had a very cozy feel - it's a place I'd love to visit.
The intriguing characters: The book had a large cast of characters, but each of them was unique and easy to remember. I liked how the village was home to many different types of crafters and familiars, all with different kinds of magical talents.
The well-constructed mystery: This was not an easy one to figure out (which I love). There were plenty of possible suspects and plot twists to keep me guessing. Darcy was a very clever sleuth!
The budding romance: I love cozy mysteries with a hint of romance, and Darcy & Nick's is setting up to be a good one, though they have some obstacles to overcome first.
The fantastic twist revealed on the last page: Read it and find out what it is. ;-)
What I didn't love:
The magical secrets: For some reason, Aunt Ve wouldn't share a lot of info regarding the craft with Darcy and Harper. A lot of stuff they had to figure out on their own, which didn't make sense. Aunt Ve should be teaching them not keeping them in the dark.
Overall, this book was a captivating beginning to the Wishcraft Mystery series, and I can't wait to read more!
Velma lives in Enchanted Village, near Salem, Massachusetts, which specializes in shops focusing on the magical. What
Velma owns a business called "As You Wish", which purports to do anything its clients request. This is made easier by the fact that her (and her nieces') particular gift is "wishcraft". Yes, granting wishes. There is a stringent set of rules that they must follow, which takes some time to learn.
At a town meeting, Velma's beau Sylar has a disagreement with an unpleasant woman, and says he wishes she'd go away forever. Later that evening, Darcy discovers her in the alley, apparently strangled, with Velma's scarf around her neck. Of course, Sylar is the prime suspect, and the lackadaisical police chief isn't investigating any further. Certain that Sylar is innocent, Darcy and Harper decide to help Velma prove it.
Heather Blake is a pseudonym for Heather Webber, the author of the Nina Quinn mystery series and the Lucy Valentine series, and she's very good at what she does. Darcy, Harper and the other inhabitants of Enchanted Village are enchanting characters, and it will be fun to get to know them.
The second book in the series, A Witch Before Dying will be published in August 2012.
*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.
I enjoyed this mystery. It is the first in the series so it suffers a bit from first book syndrome. All the characters and the town have to introduced. We have to get the backstory on Darcy and others. And being paranormal, there is world building involved. This slows the book a bit, but not so much that I did not enjoy the story. The mystery is pretty good. I really liked Darcy and some of the other characters. The romance is fun so far. I will definitely be reading the second book in the series.
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 3.75
First Thought when Finished: I am not sure where my original review of It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake went (this is a re-read for me) but it was fun coming back to the beginning of the series to refresh
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, Done Reviews
BTW, Heather
Darcy & her sister (wish-crafters) have gone to live with their
After a town meeting, the newest & most obnoxious resident, Alex(andra) has been found dead by strangulation in the alley. Alex wanted very badly to be a "witch" and worked at "crafting" herbals which made many people break out in hives & boils.... Alex also had a secret that she claimed would prove she was "one of them".
Aside: According to the story, powers were hereditary, and what one power a witch had depended on one's parent. A witch could marry a non-witch, but if the witch disclosed their power, they would lose it but it would be passed to their children. If the witch died the power would pass to the spouse, but the spouse would be unable to use the power...
Back to the story: Alex's Harry Winston diamond watch is missing and Aunt Ve's scarf is found around the dead woman's neck. Aunt Ve's boyfriend, who is found standing over Alex's body, was once dating Alex and is arrested.
Darcy meets Nick, a former detective w/ a a young daughter, they fall for each other & work to discover who really murdered Alex.
There were several entertaining instances of Darcy's "wishcrafting" gone awry but it was fun and fit in well with the rest of the story.
I have the 2nd & 3rd in the series on my reading table....
My reactions:
If I didn’t need this for a challenge to read about witches this month …
The premise is pretty lame. I quickly got tired about the whole “wishcrafter” mythology – not to mention all the other Crafters in the village. For there are Curecrafters, Bakecrafters, Halfcrafters and even a Vaporcrafter among the residents of the town.
The murder plot (main reason to read a cozy mystery in my humble opinion) was moderately interesting. There were plenty of suspects and red herrings to keep this reader – and the central characters – guessing. And there’s an somewhat interesting subplot pickpocketing crime spree that further distracts the investigators.
I also thought the romantic interest was handled fairly well, with a nice promise of more to come. But I’ll probably never know what happens between Darcy and Nick, because I have no plans to continue this series. At least it was a fast read.
I really like cozy mysteries. It’s probably one of my favorite genres. But only if it’s done right. This one wasn’t. Between the narrator’s cringe-worthy voice characterizations and a MC who seemed closer to 13 than to the 30 she’s supposed to be, I was
The MC is a divorcee who still loves her ex and professes she will not have another relationship because men are icky. Then, we are treated to long passages about what the local soldier-cop-detective does to her stomach when he’s in her area. See a gastroenterologist, for Pete’s sake and get a grip. At her age, it is ridiculous that she cannot deal with her libido, return a snappy comeback to a snarky comment directed at her, and can’t decide if her jailbird sister is innocent or the likely suspect in a rash of thefts.
The thefts are related to tourists getting their pockets picked. A city leader presents this as a major issue because the town is being hit with tort claims by the ripped-off tourists. Really? Looks to me like aomeone needs to familiarize themselves with a few legal concepts.
Okay, so much for my pet peeves. Most of them, at least.
The MC and her sister were completely unaware of their magic talents until their father dies. An aunt enters the picture, tells them about their magic, and brings them home to her northeastern small town that happens to be full of witches. Cute, cuddly, spun-sugar witches who sell cakes and teas and soaps. Except for the victim. She’s a wanna’-be witch who makes potions and lotions. Poorly.
Here we are, four months after discovering her magic gifts, our heroine is using her mad skills like a virtuoso. She can’t figure out if her sister is a thief, but she’s going to suss out whoever killed the non-witch witch. If she ever gets her fluttery stomach under control.
Ugh. Enough, already. Unbelievable MC, uninteresting support characters, and an unlikable victim. Nah, time to move on.