Whose funeral will be next? For residents of Salem, Massachusetts, the day after Halloween brings empty candy wrappers, sagging pumpkins, and a community-wide identity crisis. That is, until Lee Barrett’s TV production class suggests extending the spooky season with the traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos. But when the students discover not all of Salem’s dead are resting in … Salem’s dead are resting in peace, the post-October blues don’t seem so bad after all . . .
As if a series of haunting graveyard visits isn’t disturbing enough, Lee and her policeman boyfriend connect the crime to an unsolved missing person case. Driven by a series of chilling psychic visions, Lee calls on her cleverest allies—including her shrewd cat, O’Ryan—to go underground and dig up the evidence needed to put a lid on a cold case forever . . . before the latest headstone in town has her name on it!
Praise for the Witch City Mysteries
“Perfectly relaxing and readable.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This rewarding paranormal cozy series debut will have Victoria Laurie fans lining up to follow.” —Library Journal
“[A]n entertaining story that keeps readers guessing until the very twisted and eerie end.” —RT Book Reviews
more
The day after Halloween brings a slow return to normal in Salem, Massachusetts. Just when the holiday approaches, Lee Barrett’s TV production class suggests extending the spooky season with a traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos. Unfortunately, not all of Salem’s dead are resting in peace; some may even be hanging around in the cemetery the class chooses to focus on and so does murder.
Lee and her class experience a few haunting graveyard visits. When one of her students asks her to help solve a murder, Lee and her boyfriend connect the crime to an unsolved missing person case. Lee’s psychic visions heat up; Lee uses her shrewd cat, O’Ryan to find the evidence needed to close the cold case before she ends up joining the ghost community forever.
—
Series: A Witch City Mystery – Book 5
Author: Carol J. Perry
Genre: Paranormal Cozy
Publisher: Kensington
Carol Perry’s, Grave Errors, the fifth book in her “A Witch City Mystery” series is filled with everything a reader would expect from a series set in Salem, Mass. Witches, Ghosts, and murder combine to make an intriguing plot. Lee Barrett returns to investigate another murder mystery, only this time she has to convince her boyfriend, and everyone else that a murder took place.
Grave Errors has a unique premise which allows the reader’s imagination to run wild. The characters are believable without being caricatures. All of the characters have quirks and idiosyncrasies allowing the reader to learn more about them as they revisit the characters in each new book. Lee’s aunt, Isobel is still a favorite character but does not play as big a role in this book as she has in the prior volumes.
The setting of Salem is the perfect location for murder and ghosts. The historic nature of the Salem Witch Trials is also the ultimate setting for magic, witchcraft and the main characters new found abilities to develop. Visions abound each time Lee looks at any shiny surface, and in particular the photo of the black shoe hanging on a wall behind her desk.
Salem’s old cemeteries are filled with myths and legends of the dead. However, the use of one of those legends in this book lends to credibility and entertainment with a twist of history. The story of Giles Corey is real. Mr. Corey was accused of witchcraft as was his wife Martha during the Salem witch trials. After he was arrested, Corey refused to plead guilty and was subsequently executed by pressing. Pressing entailed the use of large rocks and boulders piled on top of the accused to restrict movement which crushed the victim’s lungs and vital organs. Corey’s execution is the only example of this method being used in American history. Mr. Corey never gave in or admitted to the crimes for which he was accused. He died two days later after enduring horrendous torture.
In Ms. Perry’s book, she embellishes some of the details of Mr. Corey’s death, but the location in which it took place could well be accurate. The execution is believed to have occurred in a field adjacent to the prison where Mr. Corey was held. The field later became the Howard Street Cemetery, which opened in 1801.
The plot and use of history throughout this story makes for an interesting and entertaining read. Readers will be anxious to turn each page to find out who the murderer is and whether or not old Giles gets his revenge once again. Grave Errors is highly recommended to readers who love the paranormal, witches and history.
Publishing Date: August 29, 2017 – Pre-Order Now
Grave Errors by Carol J. Perry is the fifth story in A Witch City Mystery series. Lee Barrett is teaching a television production class at Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts that is focusing on interview skills and investigative reporting. The annual class assignment is to produce a video involving some aspect of Salem’s history and the students have decided to highlight Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Dorothy Alden, one of Lee’s students, is taking the class for personal reasons. Dorothy’s sister, Emily passed away recently from an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. Dorothy believes her sister was murdered and is looking for proof. She hopes the class will give her the skills she needs. Lee wants to help Dorothy and is quickly drawn into the investigation. With the aid of her visions, O’Ryan (her cat) and her detective boyfriend, Lee sets out to get answers and closure for Dorothy.
Grave Errors is the fifth installment in A Witch City Mystery series and it can be read as a stand-alone novel. We are given a background history on Lee along a synopsis of her previous cases. The writing style made the book easy to read, but the pace was a little slow. There to be too many mundane details. I do not need to know every single meal Lee eats (each food item), when she changes clothes (and what she is wearing), going up steps, etc. My rating for Grave Errors is 3.5 out of 5 stars. There is a nice mixture of characters, and I really appreciate that the author does not throw them at the reader all at once. The mystery had some good elements. I thought the method of murder was very unique. The culprit, though, can be identified long before the reveal. I wish the author had put more effort into the mystery and spent less time on Lee’s love life. I delighted in the supernatural elements and wish they had been played up more. Lee has a wonderful gift and, after five books, she has yet to fully embrace (or accept) it. The setting of Salem, Massachusetts is delightful (I would love to live in Salem). I welcomed the history of the city that the author included (especially pertaining to Giles Corey).
I’ve read every book in the Witch City Mystery series and love them all! Carol J. Perry did it again and delivered another page turner.
I love the cover and especially like that it represents the story so well. It captures the atmosphere and could almost be a scene from the book.
Dorothy leaves her off the grid home in Alaska and comes to Salem to take Lee’s course Investigative Reporting at the Tabby to help her proving that her sister Emilys’ death was murder and not and accident as ruled by the police.
For a good part of the book Pete and Lee can openly discuss the findings and clues since it is not an open investigation which was a nice touch. As always the paranormal elements were not overpowering or giving away too much information. There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me changing my thoughts frequently of who the murderer was.
The book leaves me with a strong autumn feel. Rain, wind and even some scenes on a cemetary on a foggy night were creating an eerie atmosphere that made me cuddle up with a blanket and a nice hot cup of coffee. I liked the idea of extending the Halloween season by celebrating the Day of the Dead a traditional Mexican holiday which was something new to me.
I am already looking forward to the next installment.
As with every book in this series it can be read as stand alone.
I requested this book from NetGalley and am thankful that Kensington and the author provided me with a copy.
Lee Barrett’s television production class follows up on the Salem Halloween holiday by organizing a Dia de Los Muertos celebration. One of Lee’s students has joined the class to bolster her investigative skills to solve what she thinks is her sister’s murder though the police have ruled it an accidental death. Lee gets involved in the case when she starts having visions related to the student’s sister.
I am a fan of the series and enjoyed the book. . She brings back my favorite characters, Lee’s Aunt Ibby, and her orange cat, O’Ryan, and gets extra help solving the mystery from her cat. It wouldn’t be a Witch City Mystery without him.
This is an interesting mystery with more than one dead body and several suspects. Perry’s version of Salem is quaint and a nice place for tourists and locals alike. If you are a fan of paranormal cozy mysteries you’ll find a lot to like in this series.
Interesting and fun to read or listen to ( the reader, C.S.E. Cooney, is very good), the mysteries in this series are always very well written. This book is not an exception. A very good read.
I love these characters and the fact that Carol Perry brings the library into use in her stories. Libraries aren’t just a collection of books, they provide information to fuel the brain. Teaching students how to apply murder mystery events into learning keeps the story moving. Great job!
This is a fun series. Great characters, interesting plot. They are a pretty light read, Her stories are not too intense and I like that. I just want to keep reading!
Nice light read. Interesting characters and situations. Fun!
Enjoyable read, likeable characters. No hard to see ahead with the plot, but written well enough to keep you interested.