Fans of Ellery Adams and Heather Blake will be charmed by this seaside cozy mystery series full of humor and heart, mermaids and magic Aleksandra Daniels hasn’t set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina in over twenty years. Ever since her mother’s tragic death, her father has mysteriously forbidden her from visiting her aunt and cousins. But on a whim, Alex accepts an … Alex accepts an invitation to visit her estranged relatives and to help them in their family business: an herbal apothecary known for its remarkably potent teas, salves, and folk remedies.
Bellamy Bay doesn’t look like trouble, but this is a town that harbors dark secrets. Alex discovers that her own family is at the center of salacious town gossip, and that they are rumored to be magical healers descended from mermaids. She brushes this off as nonsense until a local is poisoned and her aunt Lidia is arrested for the crime. Alex is certain Lidia is being framed, and she resolves to find out why.
Alex’s investigation unearths stories that some have gone to desperate lengths to conceal: forbidden affairs, family rivalries, and the truth about Alex’s own ancestry. And when the case turns deadly, Alex learns that not only are these secrets worth hiding, but they may even be worth killing for.
more
This is a great start to a new cozy mystery series with a unique protagonist. Alex is a risk management specialist who is recently unemployed and is visiting family in the seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina. She hasn’t seen them in many years and is reconnecting with them when her aunt is accused of murder. She sets out to prove that her aunt is innocent with some unexpected help. I loved the backstory of Alex’s family and all of the Polish references and food descriptions. The characters are unique and interesting and there is much more to learn about them and the town of Bellamy Bay.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This is a great story! I was hooked from the first pages.
The story features Alex, a woman who has recently quit her job in New York and lost her father. She is invited to visit her aunt and cousins in Bellamy Bay, North Carolina, whom she hasn’t seen in years, since her mother passed away. Immediately, you realize that Alex’s family is special, little things like them seeming to read her mind. I also love Alex’s German Shepherd Athena, who failed police K9 training because she is too friendly.
Alex’s aunt and cousin own a herbal remedy shop called Botanika. When an unwanted visitor from Aunt Lidia’s past comes to the store begging for a good luck potion, she is witnessed having quite a confrontation with him, but relents and gives him some tea. Later that week, the man is found dead, and Alex’s Aunt Lidia is arrested for the crime.
Alex learns that her family are descended from mermaids and are water witches. Alex is at a disadvantage because she grew up without magic as a mundane. Alex needs to learn how to shield her thoughts from others, and how to protect herself. Everything is not always what it seems. Add in the handsome witch Dylan, and a friendly but suspicious detective Jack. I really enjoyed this story with a plot twist at the end. I can’t wait to read more books from this series! I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good paranormal cozy mystery.
My thanks to #NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Alex Daniels returns to Bellamy Bay after 20 years for a visit to see her aunt, Lidia, and her cousins, Minka and Kamila. Brought there by a career change, Alex starts to help her aunt and cousins in their local herbal apothecary, Botanika. Not long after her arrival, however, Alex’s Aunt Lidia is arrested as a suspect in a murder. Alex knows she couldn’t have done it, but can she find out who did and save her aunt from serving time?
Meanwhile, the town gossip columnist has been spreading rumors that Alex’s family, the Sobieskis, and another family, the Wesleys, are descended from mermaids and have magical abilities of their own. Pffft… mermaids! Just another bunch of hocus pocus… right?
A Spell for Trouble is Esme Addison’s debut novel, and I loved every last page of it! Addison crafts her characters so skillfully and in depth that I was immediately sucked into the story and invested in what happened to each of them. The story played out in my mind like one of the best tv dramas I’ve watched. I immediately wanted to know more about the Sobieskis and what will happen next in Bellamy Bay.
For fans of tv shows such as Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Nancy Drew (the CW), or The Good Witch, this is a book that you do not want to miss!
This is an interesting being to a new series. The characters are entertaining and fun. As the characters are getting to know one another again, the readers get to know them as well. The mystery is full of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
A Spell for Trouble is the first in a new cozy mystery series set in the seaside town of Bellamy Bay, NC. After a twenty year estrangement, Alex reconnects with her mothers side of the family and learns they are rumored to be magical healers descended from mermaids. When Alex’s aunt is arrested for murder Alex begins investigating in hopes of finding the real killer.
This is a fun book, with likeable characters and a pretty setting. The mystery was engaging and the paranormal aspects are interesting and different from anything I’ve seen in other cozies as it is based on Polish folklore. Recommended for fans of cozy mysteries, particularly those with paranormal elements.
A great start for the series. Ready for the next one.
A SPELL FOR TROUBLE by Esme Addison
The First Enchanted Bay Mystery
When Aleksandra Daniels quits her job in Manhattan, she knows she needs time with family, even if she hasn’t seen her aunt and cousins in over twenty years. Ciocia Lydia and cousins Minka and Kamila welcome Alex with open arms and lots of Polish baked goods. Helping out in the family’s apothecary shop, Alex can’t help but enjoy the exotic teas and body care products, but is stunned when her aunt loses her temper on a customer. When the man is found dead the next day, it’s thought to be a terrible accident. However, when it’s discovered he was poisoned, Ciocia Lydia is arrested. Now it’s up to Alex to prove her aunt’s innocence, as that good looking detective thinks the case is closed. Can she trust her childhood friend? Or that nosy reporter? As Alex looks into the murder she also uncovers the truth about her family. Will she embrace her heritage or turn away from it as her parents did?
The first Enchanted Bay Mystery is a triumph! I love everything about it, from the Polish culture, to the family dynamics, from the paranormal to the police dog drop out. I love how food was weaved into the story. It’s such an important, yet common and everyday part of traditional Polish life and really adds verisimilitude. But there’s more. There is a lot of moral ambiguity to be found here. Difficult decisions must be made, sometimes with no clear positive option. I especially love that the characters are not all “good”. They all are shades of grey, some with darker secrets and leanings. I find a great affinity for Ciocia Lidia…and I could well imagine doing exactly what she did all those years ago. She’s a strong, powerful, good woman, but there is a very realistic edge. I find myself at odds with the “good” detective, and rooting for the childhood friend. But neither of these two are all good…or all bad.
My favorite aspect of A SPELL FOR TROUBLE is the Polish connection. I fondly remember my Ciocia Brunia, and calling her that as well as Aunt Bert! My mouth was watering when everyone was munching on kolaczki and pączki. But even more than that, I thought it was brilliant how the Sobieski family’s magick was entwined with the very real Mermaid of Warsaw.
A SPELL FOR TROUBLE introduces readers to a wonderful magickal world. Family and tradition are its foundation while a finely crafted mystery lies at its core. I can’t wait to see Alex rediscover more about her family, herself, and her magick. Now if only I had a slice of sernik and a cup of Calm Down tea!
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
What a fun and unique new cozy mystery series. It’s a paranormal, which is one of my favorites. The characters are intriguing, the mystery is interesting, and the location sounds like it would be a great place to visit. Recommended.
Thanks to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
A new witch series “An Enchanted Bay Mystery” from Crooked Lane Books, A Spell For Trouble is the debut cozy for author Esme Addison.
Characters in this book are somewhat eccentric and unique. Alex seems to be a bit on the distrustful side, and she takes some warming up too in order to truly be likable. After the first half of the story, readers will begin to enjoy Alex and get to know her. The fact that her personality evolves throughout this book is an excellent indicator of what she will become as other volumes are added to the series. Lidia is a beautiful character; she has depth and substance already and is easily understood. Alex’s cousins are complete opposites from each other, and from Alex, this works in the author’s favor. The characters will grow over time, but for now, they will hold the reader’s interest.
The setting of Bellamy Bay is enchanting. I hope we get to learn more about the town and the secret witch world that plays such an intricate part in this first book. The mermaid aspect of this story was a bit hard for me to enjoy. It seems a bit outdated and runs the risk of being too unbelievable. Hopefully, the author will give us more detail and bring the mermaid myth out of the stone age and into the 21st century.
The victim was common and ordinary in so far as not deserving what befell him. All of the suspects and there are enough to keep the mystery alive; even the witch ones are intriguing; all are easily believable with motives that can and should be interesting to most readers. The resolution of the crime is fraught with twists and turns and takes readers on a journey worth their time. I knew who the killer was almost as soon as the character was introduced, which made it difficult to continue reading to the end.
I found some aspects of A Spell For Trouble a bit too common, and other elements too far fetched. I found having a love interest and possibly a triangle this early in the series distasteful and not within the personality the author established at the beginning of the book for Alex’s character. The witchcraft aspects could have been done better, it seemed a bit hokey. I want to read the next installment if for no other reason than to find out more about Alex’s cat, Athenia. Overall this was a good beginning in a new witch based cozy series that has potential and room to improve.
Why didn’t my Aunt Lidia and cousins Minka and Kamila just tell me? Why didn’t my father tell me? Why did I have to find out from Dylan Wesley? Find out what, you ask? Find out that I am a witch descended from a mermaid. Wow! Now what? I left my risk management job in Manhattan and traveled to Bellamy Bay, NC to visit family I hadn’t seen since my mother died a number of years ago and I get hit with this unbelievable news. So while trying to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life I am helping out in my aunt’s herbal apothecary shop, Botanika. Sure, I witnessed Aunt Lidia’s confrontation with Randy Bennett. Sure he consumed the tea made from the tea leaves Aunt Lidia gave him but she didn’t give him the nightshade berries found in his stomach during the autopsy and that is what was determined to have killed him. I don’t believe Aunt Lidia killed him. Her magic is all for good. I believe she is being framed and I am going to prove it. After all that hunk of a detective, Jack Frazier, who I had, past tense had, a date with after meeting at the coffee shop, believes he has arrested the killer and really isn’t doing much further investigating. I will prove Jack Frazier wrong. Aunt Lidia is innocent!
I met this gorgeous woman at the coffee shop. I’m new to Bellamy Bay, moved here from Manhattan and left the New York City Police Department. Moved to be closer to family. Don’t know why I was instantly attracted to Aleksandra Daniels, but I was. Too bad I had to arrest her aunt for murder and our dinner date for Saturday night is off. She keeps trying to convince me her aunt is innocent and to look at these other possible suspects. She insists she is going to do the job I am not doing and find the real killer. This not good. Not good at all. And, oh yes,, this is no way to start a relationship in case you readers were wondering. I wonder if Aleksandra has a sign or something that says, “Detective Jack Frazier is an idiot.” Sigh.
A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addington is a super beginning to her Enchanted Bay series. Ms. Addington does a great job with this murder mystery. Aleksandra Daniels has lots of suspects to investigate and she sure gets into lots of trouble in the process. She and Jack are interesting characters. All the secondary characters help round out the story. The storyline is solid and I enjoyed following along with Aleksandra’s investigation. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it won’t be my last. This was a cute cozy paranormal mystery filled with lots of secrets and family history. I just loved the characters, the plot, and the writing. I was surprised to learn (I think this is right) that this is the author’s debut. It’s an excellent one. Alex was a very down-to-earth protagonist who learns there is magic in her family going back a long time. I loved the way the book played out, and I am anxious to see what comes next as I saw the author is hard at work on a sequel. If you like this genre, give this book a try. Highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.