This is a fun and lighthearted paranormal cozy with a whimsical ensemble cast, and punny titles. The setting is the fictional small tourist town of New Camel. Main protagonist (witch, amateur sleuth, and potion shop owner of the titular Abracadabra) is nearly 30-something Kailyn Wilde. When one of her best friends from high school is murdered at their 10 year high school reunion, she steps in to solve the crime.
The returning main characters - the trio of magic shop owner and telekinetic powerhouse Kailyn, her slightly dithery-but-sweet Aunt Tilly, and Merlin (yes, that Merlin) are back solving another murder.
I will say that for the paranormal cozy mystery subgenre, this one is well written. It's silly and somewhat humorous. It is well plotted and the dialogue is well written. Despite being the 5th book in the series, it does work as a standalone, and all the necessary backstory is written in. The series as a whole reminds me nos
I enjoyed the book a lot, but must admit that my suspension of disbelief suffered more than a few dings every time Kailyn's mother and grandmother showed up (as clouds whose color changes reminded me of some sort of afterlife mood rings). Readers in search of pure escapist fantasy could find a nice read here. The physics involved (or counfounded) over the paranormal parts of the plot (Kailyn is a telekinetic), will require some mental gymnastics to get around.
The language and plot are fairly clean (a few 'hells' and 'damns' but nothing worse), and there's only implied consensual (off scene) sex, nothing that would scandalize anyone's auntie.
Three and a half stars, rounded up because the author is quite adept and it's a fun read, it's got lots of cats, (and I love Merlin).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment