What’s a witch to do when the meanest man in the county drops dead in his coleslaw during her shift at the local barbecue joint? Noelle does what any good Southern girl would do: she flicks a wrist to clean up the mess, then thanks the stars for doing the world a favor. She should have known nothing’s that easy.The Magical Oversight Committee is on her back because she can’t keep her unruly … unruly little sister in line and the hunky new city-slicker sheriff would like to take her to dinner, except he suspects her of murder. To top it off, her cursed miniature donkey is being particularly calamitous and the old hens at the local beauty parlor are laying bets on her love life.
A skydiving best friend and a bossy, living-impaired aunt become the least of her worries when the killer decides to bump up the plan by bumping her off. Can she figure it out in time to save all that she holds dear, or will Noelle be next on the list of folks who’ve turned up dead?
If you like laugh-out-loud southern wit, magic, and murder, you’ll fall in love with this witchy cozy mystery series!
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Sweet Murder is the first in a laugh-out-loud series of witch mysteries with fantastic characters and great twisty murders. I highly recommend this Southern-fried spin on witch cozies.
I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud a few times because Noelle is such a sassy character. Can’t wait to read more!
“Sweet Murder” earns 5/5 All-You-Can-Eat Buffets with a Side of Magic!
My introduction to Tegan Maher’s work was through her delightful short story, “Bubble, Bubble, Here Comes Trouble,” in the 2017 “Witch and Treat: A Collection of Paranormal Cozy Shorts.” So, I was very comfortable entering her world of Witches of Keyhole Lake. I can be finicky about my paranormal stories, no juvenile hocus-pocus for me. I’d like the magic to weave easily into the character’s lives and the community, and Tegan does just that with magic almost being a behind the scenes issue. Every first book in a series, of course, introduces a backstory and character connections that determine whether or not a reader will become a fan, so here we learn about a delightful dynamic and community full of dramatic possibilities which have entertained and made me eager for more. Our main character Noelle Flynn is a witch, not something everyone knows for sure, who lost her mother as a pre-teen and ‘dumped’ at her Aunt Adelaide’s farm by her dad. Now years later and after the sudden death of her aunt, she has taken possession of the farm, is guardian to her often contentious sixteen-year-old sister Shelby, haunted by Aunt Addy who chose to not cross over but remain in her non-corporeal form, and frustrated with a miniature donkey Max who had been cursed into his current form by angering a sixteenth-century witch. It all works…just your typical ‘dysfunctional, yet loving’ family who can do a bit of magic!
This first story grabbed my interest right off with Noelle rushing to get to work in her reliable, yet seemingly junky, pick-up truck. However, the brakes go out, and her fear keeps her from even attempting to use her magical talents to stop the impending crash. She is curiously saved from ultimate injury by a little maple tree, but as she escapes from the truck, she has a creepy feeling she’s being watched. But, the biggest ‘creepy’ feeling comes when she learns the brakes weren’t just worn out, but the lines were cut…it was on purpose! Wow, Tegan, I couldn’t put the book down from there: Fourth of July culinary competitions? Crooked, mean-sprinted sheriff nemesis dead? New, handsome with a capital ‘H,’ deputy? A whole town of suspects? Tegan entwines all this together in a well-written mystery with a myriad of delightful characters, a couple of “Oh my!” twists, and even a few giggles out loud. I loved it!
This was a fun and fast read for Sweet Murder and my first by this author. I loved the magical elements and how they were woven into the all to human story of the lives of the two sisters. Well done and kept me glued to the screen. Looking forward to book 2 in this series.
When the fair comes to town for the one hundred year, Joelle and her finance Hunter are in attendance when a murder happens in the Fortune Teller’s tent. When word gets out, faster than a spreading fire, of a “beloved” family member being killed, people start coming out of the woodwork and want answers. This was a great book with almost all the old crew of Keyhole Lake trying to be helpful. I read this book straight through as it was a page turner and I just couldn’t put it down. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
What a fantastic plot, keeps you guessing until the very end, full of unpredictable surprises, unexpected twists and turns, betrayal, exciting adventures, secrets, surprises, betrayal, and true friendships. No one is exactly who you think they are, there are some wonderful friends, wacky ghosts, good witches, weird chaos, and evil villains. There is blackmail, murder, and magical mayhem, the guilty and the innocent all have one thing in common they all had reason to murder the sheriff, so who did? Read it and see! Loved it, at least a ten star story!
Noelle is a witch in a small town of Keyhole Lake. Hank, the sherif is crooked, a bully and the meanest man in town. Hank drops dead in his coleslaw during Noelle’s shift at the local barbecue joint? Noelle does what any good Southern girl would do: she flicks a wrist to clean up the mess, then thanks the stars for doing the world a favor. But that’s just the beginning.
Noelle meets the new deputy, Hunter who came from a big city and they start seeing each other. After Hank dies Hunter takes over as sherif but does not work well in the small town and Noelle offers to help but he doesn’t want her help at first. The old hens at the local beauty parlor are laying bets on her love life. Noelle’s aunt, Adelaide is a ghost that pops up from time to time to help out and check on Noelle and her sister Shelby.
This was a fun cozy mystery to read and I enjoyed reading it on these snowy days.
I have enjoyed all of the books I have read in this series so far. Tegan is an excellent author and you will not want to stop reading her.
Excellent, easy, fun read.