If You've Got It, Haunt It - Review

Title:  If You’ve Got It, Haunt It

Author: Rose Pressey

Series: A Haunted Vintage Mystery #1

Synopsis: “Cookie Chanel has a passion for fashion – and a murder mystery to Solve!

     “Cookie Chanel has opened her own vintage clothing boutique, It’s Vintage; Y’All, in the charming town of Sugar Creek Georgia.  Always on the lookout for stylish second-hand steals, she attends the estate sale of deceased socialite Charlotte Meadows.  But she gets a lot more than she bargained for when Charlotte’s ghost appears before her – offering fashion advice and begging Cookie to find out who murdered her.

     “As the persistent poltergeist tags along and a possibly psychic pussycat moves into the shop, Cookie sorts through racks of suspects to see who may be hiding some skeletons in the closet.   Do a clothing store owner and a disembodied socialite have a ghost of a chance of collaring a killer – or will Cookie’s life be the next one hanging by a thread?”

Review:  I needed something light after my last read, which was dark and heavy. (If that interests you see my review of The Vanishing by Sophia Tobin here)  Any novel written by Rose Pressey that I’ve ever read has always been entertaining, light and fluffy to read.  If You’ve Got It, Haunt It was no exception.  I enjoy reading about vintage clothing connoisseurs, and I enjoyed Cookie as a character.  Cookie is a reluctant detective.  Solving mysteries and hunting for murderers is not really her idea of a good time.  She just wants to live her quiet life and run her vintage clothing store.  Charlotte bullies her into it, like that scene from Ghost where Patrick Swayze annoys Whoopie Goldberg until she agrees to do what he wants.  Here’s a video in case you don’t remember that scene:

     If you are looking for a serious, edge of your seat, thrill ride of a read this is not it.  If you are looking for something more light hearted and fun then definitely give the A Haunted Vintage Mystery series a try. 

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

If you like this book you may want to read:

Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery #1) by Juliet Blackwell

Caught Dead Handed (Witch City Mystery #1) by Carol J. Perry (Read BookGirlR’s review here)

Tails, You Lose - Review

Title:  Tails, You Lose

Author:  Carol J. Perry

Series: Witch City Mystery #2

Synopsis: “After losing her job as a TV psychic, Lee Barrett has decided to volunteer her talents as an instructor at the Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts -- known as “The Tabby” – in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts.  But when the school’s handyman turns up dead under seemingly inexplicable circumstances on Christmas night, Lee’s clairvoyant capabilities begin bubbling to the surface once again.

     “The Tabby is housed in the long-vacant Trumbull’s Department Store.  As Lee and her intrepid students begin work on a documentary charting the store’s history, they unravel a century of family secrets, deathbed whispers – and a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels hidden right below the streets of Salem.  Even the witches in town are spooked, and when Lee begins seeing visions in the large black patent leather pump in her classroom, she’s certain something evil is afoot.  But ghosts in the store’s attic are the least of worries with a killer on the loose…”

Review:  Tails, You Lose is a perfect continuation of the Witch City Mystery series.  The world that Perry has created is opened up to us as we learn about the Tabby and the secrets that lie below the town.  The character development continues as Lee grows in her career choices as a teacher, and with the persistent development of her psychic abilities.  My favorite character is still O’Ryan the cat.  His character has developed a lot from the first book in the series; he is more magical in this book, which I loved.  I read Tails, You Lose from cover to cover in a single Sunday afternoon.  There were a lot of “edge of your seat” moments in this book.  It is a great book and I highly recommend this series for fans of cozy mysteries, and for fans of the paranormal.  If you missed my review of the first book in the series you can find it here: Caught Dead Handed.

     I love this series and can’t wait to read more.  As of right now there are five books in the series, but there are two more coming out this year.  It Takes A Coven releases on February 27, 2018 and Bells, Spells, and Murder releases on September  25, 2018. 

Publisher:  Kensington

If you like this book you may want to read:

Look Both Ways (Witch City Mystery #3) by Carol J. Perry

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum(Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum #1) by Kirsten Weiss

Brownies and Broomsticks (Magical Bakery Mystery #1) by Bailey Cates

Caught Dead Handed - Review

Title:  Caught Dead Handed

Author:  Carol J. Perry

Series:  Witch City Mystery #1

Synopsis:  “Most folks associate the city of Salem, Massachusetts with witches, but for Lee Barrett, it’s home.  This October she’s returned to her hometown – where her beloved Aunt Ibby still lives – to interview for a job as a reporter at WICH – TV.  But the only opening is for a call-in psychic to host the late night horror movies.  It seems the previous host, Ariel Constellation, never saw her own murder coming.

     “Lee reluctantly takes the job, but when she starts seeing real events in the obsidian ball she’s using as a prop, she wonders if she night really have psychic abilities.  To make things even spookier, it’s starting to look like Ariel may have been an actual practicing witch – especially when O’Ryan, the cat Lee and Aunt Ibby inherited from her, exhibits some strange powers of his own.  With Halloween fast approaching, Lee must focus on unmasking a killer – or her career as a psychic may be very short lived…”

Review:  I have a weakness for cozy mysteries involving cats, coffee, or the paranormal.  I call it my guilty pleasure, and for a long time I was embarrassed by it because cozies have a reputation for being fluffy or silly and for being full of clichés.  Well, yeah, that’s kind of true.  But I still enjoy them.  Sometimes it’s nice to read something you don’t have to think too much about. 

     Caught Dead Handed is a fun bit of fluff.  I enjoyed the characters, especially the cat, O’Ryan.  I think it would be fun to be a call-in psychic hosting late night horror movies on television.  Lee and Aunt Ibby are likable characters.  With a cozy you are pretty much guaranteed that everything will wrap up nicely in the end, and your favorite characters will be okay, but I was still compelled to stay up late to finish and find out what was going to happen.  I look forward to reading the rest of the series. 

Publisher:  Kensington

If you like this book you may want to read:

Tails You Lose (Witch City Mystery #2) by Carol J. Perry

A Familiar Tail (Witch’s Cat Mystery #1) by Delia James

Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery #1) Juliet Blackwell

Wicked Witch Murder - Review

Title:  Wicked Witch Murder

Author:  Leslie Meier

Series:  Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Synopsis: “When the bewitching Diana Ravenscroft comes to quiet Tinker’s Cove and opens Solstice, a quaint little shop offering everything from jewelry to psychic readings, Lucy Stone writes her off as eccentric but harmless.  Even after Diana gives her a disturbingly accurate reading, Lucy can’t help but befriend the newcomer.  But not everyone in town is so enchanted.  And when Lucy stumbles upon a dead body near her home, she can’t shake the feeling that something sinister is lurking in the crisp October air…

          “Convinced Diana is an evil witch, prominent businessman Ike Stoughton blames her for a series of recent misfortunes, including Lucy’s gruesome discovery and his own wife’s death, and rallies the townsfolk against her.  But after Lucy learns the murder victim was a magician and close friend of Diana’s, she starts to wonder who’s really stirring up a cauldron of trouble.  By Halloween, her suspicions lead her to a deadly web of secrets – and a spine-chilling brush with the things that go bump in the night…”

Review:  Cozy mysteries are one of my dirty little secrets.  I call them fluff books, and I love them.  These cute little novels don’t play with my emotions and I don’t get so involved that I can’t put them down, but I still look forward to picking them back up.  For those who are confused and wondering, what is a cozy mystery?  Don’t be embarrassed, it took me awhile to figure it out too.  Click here to go to a page that explains cozy mysteries.

          I love how the Lucy Stone Mystery novels are all based on holidays.  I picked up Wicked Witch Murder right before Halloween and had planned to read it during the holiday.  However life had other plans, as that’s when I started getting sick.  I also bought another of these cozies, Turkey Day Murder and had planned to read that one during Thanksgiving, but I was still too sick to feel like reading.  So I am now catching back up on all of this reading I had planned to do.

          I love everything about this novel.  Diana Ravenscroft is delightfully eccentric and naïve, and Ike Stoughton is a bad guy that I found it easy to dislike. I love the change in the heroine that this novel shows.  When Lucy first meets Diana she doesn’t believe in witchcraft or witches at all, but by the end of the novel she has changed her mind.  Rebecca Wardell reminded me of my mother and my nana and I wish that she was real so I could be her friend.  I couldn’t figure out the who-done-it until it was revealed at the very end of the novel.  I had many theories, but they all ended up being wrong.  This novel was amazing, as are Leslie Meier’s other Lucy Stone Mysteries. 

Publisher:  Kensington Publishing Corp

ISBN: 978-0758229304

If you like this book you may want to read:

Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier  (ISBN: 978-0758228895)  First book in the Lucy Stone Mystery Series

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle (ISBN: 978-0425192139) First book of the Coffeehouse Mysteries