High Spirits: A Haunted Haven Mystery by Carol J. Perry

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Maureen Doherty has had a lot of life changes recently, not the least of which is inheriting an inn in Florida through rather mysterious circumstances.  Not just any inn, either:  a haunted inn.  Fortunately, the dead tolerate the living well and vice versa.

Now all Maureen has to do is make the inn profitable.

Well, that and solve the murder of one of the guests.

I am a long-time fan of Perry’s Witch City mysteries set in Salem, so I decided to give this series a try.  As in that series, the main character is an intelligent woman with a connection to the supernatural, but isn’t fazed by it. More importantly to me, the supernatural elements don’t automatically solve the crime.  She also gives a good supporting cast and gives the heroine other concerns to occupy her between clues.  In this case, she’s working a new promotion for the inn:  a dinner and a movie combo, using the town’s old theater and a schedule of Christmas movies, such as the The Bishop’s Wife and Home Alone. Perry tends to toss in names of classic movies or tv shows in her books, and I am delighted to see someone else remembers some of these gems.

I did enjoy the book and will read more in the series.  However, I picked this one up with the idea of going back and reading the first one later, but that idea was quashed in the first pages as we are told who the murderer was in the first book. In fact, just in case the reader didn’t catch it the first time, the information is repeated.  If you want to read them all, I would suggest reading in order, unless you’re more interested in the characters and setting and less in solving the mystery.

My only other quibble is with the police officer on the case whom I found annoying. Then again, I wasn’t crazy about the police detective in the Witch City  mysteries either, but for somewhat different reasons.

The ghosts add a lot to the story, just by being fun. Maureen can see and interact with them, and so can her dog, Finn.  In fact, fashionista ghost Lorna reads Finn stories between finding new outfits and accessories.

Books in the series are:

Be My Ghost

High Spirits

Haunting License

The Spirit Moves

Double Knot Untied (November 2026)

To Conjure a Killer by Clea Simon

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Becca Colwin, witch detective, is walking home from her job at the New Age shop Charm and Cherish when she sees a kitten darting into the street.  Becca springs into action, chasing the kitten into an alley to rescue it—and finding a dead body in the process.  It’s not just any dead body either:  the deceased is Becca’s former boyfriend, Jeff. 

Of course, that’s when the police show up.

While Becca isn’t arrested, she is a person of interest in the slaying. After all, she was found standing over the body.  In order to clear her name, Becca is going to have to use all her powers, supernatural or otherwise, in order to solve the case.  This means she’s going to have to find out about the people in Jeff’s life and about the software program he was working on—one that people are saying could have been an electronic game changer.

Fortunately for Becca, she’s not the only one on the case.  Her three cats also have a vested interest in keeping her out of jail—and her cats are the ones with actual supernatural powers.

Nowadays, there are many mystery series with some otherworldly touches, but this series stands alone in that, unbeknownst to her, Becca’s cats are the ones with magic.  In fact, Becca’s belief that she has powers is due to luxury loving Harriet deciding to conjure up a more comfy pillow.  Harriet and Laurel, the two older cats, are more concerned that Becca bring home the cat food and attend to their every need, while Clara is devoted to Becca as her person and tries to help in every way she can.  The new kitten adds a layer of intrigue to the story as well:  is she just an ordinary cat or is she a witch cat as well?

The characters are well drawn.  Becca is an appealing protagonist, with her kind heart and empathetic nature. There are some intriguing supporting characters as well, especially the enigmatic Elizabeth, whose sister owns Charm and Cherish. The suspect gallery in this one is quite good.  But I have to say that the cats steal the show—as well they should.

A Fatal Glow by Valerie Wilson Wesley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Odessa Jones, recently widowed, works in a real estate office, hoping to earn commissions but to supplement her income, she has returned to catering.  It was a lot easier when her husband was alive and she could count on him to take some of the chores; but Dessa is a determined lady. When she lands a lucrative job catering a party at a wealthy businessman’s home, it looks as if her luck might be turning—except for that bit of glimmer she sees, a sign that something unfortunate is about to happen.  Dessa has been blessed or cursed with the ability to see glimmers around people that give her some indication of what they are feeling, and if they are lying. Hoping that the glimmer means something else, Dessa takes the job, only to have her employer die at the gathering.  The death seems suspicious, so the police want to question Dessa and the co-workers she enlisted to help out—and they seem to be looking for a motive.

This is the second in the series but you needn’t have read the first to enjoy this one.  I liked the first one well enough to want to read the second, and this one is even better.  Wesley does a very good job with her characters.  I like that Odessa is an adult, unlike so many cozy mystery heroines who are chronologically grown-ups but whose behavior signals immaturity.  She is level-headed, kind, and willing to deal with her problems. She cares about other people, including her co-workers and the now fatherless businessman’s young son, but she isn’t intrusive. She doesn’t try to pry into everyone’s lives any more than she would want someone to pry into hers. She is perceptive but for the most part non-judgmental.

Dessa has a maturity and understanding of human nature that I find appealing. The hint of supernatural abilities are interesting but don’t operate as a deus ex machina—Dessa figures things out on her own.  There’s a realistic feel to this story that is lacking in some other cozy series I read.  It makes for a pleasant change.

And why, yes, there is a cat! His name is Juniper.

 The mystery was a good one and, even if some aspects were left as speculation, I was well satisfied.

The first book in the series is A Glimmer of Death. The third book, A Shimmer of Red, is due out summer 2023.

An Incantation of Cats: A Witch Cats of Cambridge Mystery by Clea Simon

Reviewed by Jeanne

Becca Colwin is slowly adjusting to her new chosen profession as a witch detective—that is, someone who investigates mysteries that have a connection to her witch community. The trouble is that business is very slow and she needs to earn some money sooner rather than later so she is hopeful when a young woman turns up with a problem:  she thinks someone is trying to use magic against her.  Becca promises to find out what she can, hoping that her nascent powers are up to the task. Becca has been diligently studying the Craft, but her spells just haven’t produced much in the way of results, except for the thrilling time that she somehow managed to conjure up a pillow. Problem is, she’s not sure how or even why she produced the pillow. She’s been waiting for another real breakthrough, but it seems to be very slow in coming.

Fortunately, unknown to Becca, help is at hand in the form of her three sister cats: chubby orange Harriet, always on the lookout for treats and comfort; critical Siamese Laurel who thinks Becca needs a boyfriend; and plump little calico Clara, who adores her person and tries to look out for her, despite the lack of encouragement from her sisters.  The three felines come from a long line of witches’ cats and have powers of their own—in fact, it wasn’t Becca who conjured the pillow but Harriet. Becca is young and can be rather naïve, so Clara is worried that her beloved human may be getting herself in too deep, especially when a person connected with the case turns up dead. 

This is the second in the Witch Cats of Cambridge series, but you don’t have to have read the first one in order to enjoy this one.  Most of the story is told from Clara’s point of view as she determinedly follows along on Becca’s investigations, hoping to keep the young woman out of trouble—something Laurel would probably characterize as the blind leading the blind.  There’s also an intriguing subplot about Becca’s heritage which may hold part of the key to her relationship with her cats.

Becca is very new to the investigation business but what she lacks in experience she makes up with determination.  She quickly realizes that the hardest part is figuring out who she can trust and that truth is not as easy to come by as it should be.

While the mystery was well done, it was the cats I loved—but then I am often more impressed by characters than plot in whatever I read.  There’s an interesting dynamic among the three whiskered sisters, all of whom have strong and distinct personalities. Sweet Clara is especially appealing because of her spunk and devotion.  Laurel and Harriet are more interested in their own comforts and pleasures, and tend to pick on Clara. Cat servants will certainly recognize the wiles employed to get Becca to do as her cats please, and may suspect their own felines of having some supernatural powers.

Becca, while oblivious to the machinations of her cats, is becoming a bit more secure and self-assured in her own life.  She is struggling to make ends meet, but she is certain that she’s found her calling.  I like the way that she is taking control of her own life, and not dependent on the approval of others.  She is currently single (a state Laurel wants to change) and while she’s open to a relationship, she doesn’t define herself by it. I find this refreshing in a cozy series.  I like a bit of romance, don’t get me wrong; but I weary of heroines who whine and pine over a guy.

The ending was extremely satisfactory, leaving me wanting more. (It’s not a cliff-hanger, per se; more an opening up to possibilities.)  I am quite intrigued by the introduction of one particular character who may have a larger role to play in the series.  I do hope Ms. Simon has another story available soon.

The first book in the series is A Spell of Murder.  You can read the review here. 

Note:  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of the book as a gift, with no expectation of a review, favorable or otherwise.