Reprinted EditionWhen 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 … 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. . .
“Clever. . .a neat little cozy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Keeps fans coming back for more.” —RT Book Reviews
“The warm, small-town ambiance and the persevering Lucy Stone make this a winner for cozy fans.” —Library Journal
“I like Lucy Stone a lot, and so will readers.” –Carolyn Hart
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I usually enjoy visiting Tinker’s Cove esp at the Holidays but I was disappointed in this mystery. It is marketed as a Halloween story but the story begins in the spring and only ends during Halloween. While out on a walk with dog Lucy stumbles across a body. Lucy does make some attempts to solve the crime but most of the book is taken up with the divide in the town between Diana, a local Wiccan, and Ike, a local determined to drive Diana out of town. The mystery part of this book was not very good but I did enjoy visiting with many familiar characters. Read the earlier Trick or Treat Murder for more enjoyable Halloween Visit to Tinker’s Cove
Another good book by this trusted author.
They can’t all be winners.
What I liked about :Wicked Witch Murder”:
It’s over – Seriously. I just…I wish I had anything else good to say about this one, but I don’t.
What I didn’t care for:
The subject matter – It wasn’t even all the witches and Wicca being in the spotlight, but it was completely out of character for this series. When it surfaces in The Bibliophile Series, it fits much more organically, probably because of the overall tone and location. Here, it just felt awkward. Add in the paranormal and supernatural, and I felt like I stepped, unsuspectingly, into an entirely different and uncomfortable series.
The obvious soapbox – The forced criticism of intolerance was beyond blatant. It was also rather one-sided and uninformed. Not to mention that every time this series has attempted to get soapbox-y, it falls on its face. This isn’t that type of series. When it forgets who it is, it fails miserably. Thankfully, it doesn’t make this mistake often.
The extremes – While they were more evident with the Stoughtons (and what they represented) than with the coven members, extremes were there for both. They were equally obnoxious and irritating.
The lack of forward motion in Lucy’s story – It felt like this story was unnecessary when it came to the Stones.
The way the mystery was handled – A couple of times, I thought we might get an angle that made a little sense. The two big reveals were weird and disappointing.
Ultimately, I would have abandoned this book all together, if it were my first encounter with this series or even just early on. Since I know, after getting this deep into the series, that this is an anomaly (I hope this isn’t a preview of an unfortunate change in direction for it), I persisted, just in case there might be some ongoing storyline advancement; even knowing how I feel about it in retrospect, I wouldn’t have skipped it purely because it’s part of a series I’m invested in and if a reference is made to any of it in the future, I want to be able to catch it. I do plan to continue with the series despite this disappointing installment and hope that it this was just a little stumble in a series I otherwise have enjoyed.
Usually I like this series and love to read holiday themed stories. However this mostly takes place in the spring and summer not the fall. While I appreciate the author tried to do something different than her usual type of stories this just did not work for me.
Read them all so that you will get to know the characters and enjoy their friendship.
I don’t remember much about this book, but I did give it a Very Good rating.