Celeste leads a quiet life as a psychic in a small town. That is… until she is drawn in to a haunting murder investigation. A sweet little old lady client has started spreading the word that Celeste is not only psychic but she is also a healer. She has no desire to be a healer, but now her phone is ringing non-stop. And to top it all off, she seems to have adopted a ghost who has no idea how long … long he has really been dead.
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I belong to a cozy mystery group which offered me the opportunity to read a copy of this book. Since I review all books I read, today’s latest review is for The Anchor is the Key by Linda Anthony Hill. The author is new to me, but she’s written several other books before publishing this one in 2017. It might be part of a new series, but so far this is the only one. I would be interested in reading more in the future.
In this book, we spend a few weeks with Celeste, a psychic, whose business is suddenly beginning to expand with an influx of clients. She’s meeting spirits with trouble passing over to the next world and learning someone was either murdered or forced to commit suicide. As Celeste tries to clear a business and warehouse from both evil and good ghosts, she finds herself falling for a few new guys and meeting religious people who question what she’s doing. Little does she know, someone is orchestrating a lot more of her life from a hidden position. It’s curious why she can’t figure it out on her own, but we soon learn what’s been blocking her.
At first, I was concerned about the book. It was very simple and meandered all over the place. By about 20%, it started to gel… this is the life of a psychic. It’s how we should read and understand the book. I then began to really like the format and approach. There are a few areas that were too open-ended, and the book ended with a lot of questions and areas where we are left to wonder what actually happened. If there’s an upcoming sequel, I’m good with the way this one ended. If this is the end, I’m a little unsure why it didn’t wrap things up in a better manner. It felt rushed otherwise and somewhat incomplete.
That said, I came to like the author’s style and find myself on the edge of the couch wondering what each new spirit could contribute to the on-going mystery. I like the author’s setting and Celeste is quite a character. She’s too direct to be someone I’d like in real life, but as a primary character, I enjoyed her ability to get things accomplished.
I’m curious to see where this one goes. I’d give it 3.5 stars… possibly more depending on what happens in the next book, e.g. if it becomes a series with more answered questions. Kudos to the author for creating a very interesting narrative and cast of characters.
I loved the main character and loved seeing through her eyes. The world she
inhabits is enthralling and I couldn’t put it down. A rainy afternoon read that left
me sad that I had reached the last page.
It’s the first book I’ve read by this author and it’s the author’s first full-length novel. I really enjoy paranormal mysteries and this book didn’t disappoint. It started slow and it could be shortened, but overall it’s a great book.
I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Anchor is the Key is a supernatural cozy mystery novel. Celeste, a small town psychic, gets more than she bargained for when a client of hers lets out something that she would rather have had kept quiet. While out to dinner, Celeste is accosted verbally by her client’s grandson’s nephew who manages to gain Celeste more clients through his tirade. But more is heaped upon Celeste’s plate as pieces of a mystery seem to fall into her lap piece by piece. It all begins with a small boat and then the small anchor key that she later discovers as well. Add in a young woman troubled by the hauntings of her parents, a ghost who doesn’t remember events and time accurately anymore and you have a recipe for a haunting mystery with a hint of danger.
The Anchor is the Key is a supernatural mystery novel by Linda Anthony Hill. This is the first book that I have read by this author. Celeste is the main character in this story and she has a unique gift that she uses to help others. Celeste leads a primarily quiet life but morning all of that changes when a crystal ball demands her attention and her cat Chaos makes sure that she pays attention to other signs. Things gradually build in the story with each addition of a new character or situation. The author is giving the reader pieces of a bigger puzzle one at a time, but things don’t come together quickly. I like how Celeste handles quite a few of the situations that she is faced with. Especially when she starts getting hostile phone calls calling her a witch and saying that she’s evil. I was shocked that she managed to keep her temper in check and never was overtly rude to anyone! I have to say that Celeste is a truly unique character.
While I enjoyed this book and the various characters in it, this story is not without its flaws. I was disappointed that the author doesn’t give us a description of Celeste. I wanted to know what she looked like. We get glancing descriptions, but nothing that truly tells you what she might have looked like – unless I missed it. Also, this book has many editorial issues. In the first half of the story the issues are just here and there and few in number, but once you get further and closer to the end then suddenly they start popping up more and more. There are some misspelled words, missing punctuation in conversations and words that the author fails to capitalize when they have been capitalized before. Also, there are several characters that come and go, while this is typical in most stories some of them and their reactions are rather implausible. One character in a scene becomes angry with Celeste and tells her to leave but when she tells him something only he would know when his attitude changes immediately. I expected him to resist more but it’s like a switch flips in him and he is amenable to her.
I am rating this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. The story starts out engaging and I enjoyed the psychic angle and how Celeste is able to communicate with the spirits and see things. This was truly fascinating. But the errors are distracting because there are times when I didn’t know a conversation was going on until I read further on and discovered it was. The story starts out good, but then it begins to slow down and gets a bit tedious to get through and for me, the ending is a bit anti-climactic.
For those who enjoy an interesting mystery novel, this is a decent book to pick up. But I would recommend that the author have another editor/proofreader go over this book to catch and correct the mistakes that are throughout.
THE ANCHOR IS THE KEY by Linda Anthony Hill
Signs are appearing in rapid succession to Celeste, psychic and psychotherapist, leading her to believe she is coming out of a rut. Sure enough, she finds an new over-emotional and needy client as well as a man who seems to be hiding something. Could he have something to do with the accident that caused the death of the new client’s mother. The ghost the client’s father says it was murder while the ghost of the mother says to drop the subject. Will Celeste find answers?
THE ANCHOR IS THE KEY is a unique mystery with an overall message promoting confidence in oneself, especially regardless of age or size.
I appreciate the authentic portrayal of a psychic. It gave me pause when Celeste was clearing her crystals in the stream, but it was noted that doing so was dangerous for certain crystals. I was also taken aback when Celeste gave her own deck of cards to her apprentice to use-generally divination decks are never shared. Yet Celeste did stop someone from touching her runes, so it seems the author is knowledgeable about the subject.
I found THE ANCHOR IS THE KEY to be a very interesting book. The mystery is unique. We’re led to investigate the death of a woman as well as explore a possibly haunted business. With ghostly help, Celeste is able to find connections. Though puzzling, there is no sense of urgency for Celeste, no real importance to solving the mystery. Some of the characters seemed contrived with some actions seemingly only motivated to lead the reader to suspect the character of something and ultimately leaving several issues that were brought up unresolved.While I really enjoyed the story I found the writing itself stilted. It didn’t flow and seemed quite unnatural at times, especially the dialogue. An editor’s touch could really polish the manuscript and make Celeste’s further adventures shine.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
Spirits coming and going, crystal balls rolling to
the psychic’s feet, the cards and runes predicting
changes, accidents, suicide and heart attacks that
might not be what meets the eye, mysteries at the
warehouse and local farm, being asked on dates,
getting an assistant….All this is happening in the life
of Celeste, the psychic.
Celeste lives in a small town. She lives with her cat,
Chaos.
Celeste has a Master Degree in Psychotherapy but
prefers to work as a psychic. She enjoys a quite,
orderly life but finding a small boat in the nearby
creek then an anchor which looks like a key is about
to change her life aura.
A high spirited read with a story that flowed smoothly.
The characters were colorful, vivid, complex and very
interesting. The adventure was well plotted.
It was interesting learning about the tarot cards, runes,
the angel cards and psychic sensations.
I volunteered to read The Anchor is the Key. Thanks to
the Cozy Mystery Review Crew for the opportunity.
My opinion is my own.
The Anchor Is The Key by Linda Anthony Hill was a complex mystery. Ms. Hill has written a strong female character, Celeste, who is confident in her abilities as a psychic. I liked Celeste and found her to be a strong character who has been living a quiet life in the small town of Gloryville, TX. Although I found the book to be slow to start, once Celeste’s adventures began the plot was moving so fast that I could hardly keep up. There are several threads throughout the story that don’t seem to be related until more clues become evident. With the twists and turns, I was never sure who or what was behind the mischief until the reveal.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. All of the above opinions are my own.
Celeste is a psychic in the small town of Gloryville, Texas. She lives a simple and quiet life. That is…until a small sailboat brings her into the middle of a murder investigation. When is restaurant altercation creates a big business boom, Celeste finds that she has more on her plate then she can handle. That is when a blessing in the form of Emma seems to fall in her lap. But when all the pieces of the puzzle start to lead in a completely different direction, she realizes there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. Can Celeste figure it all out time, before the danger find her?
This is the first book from this author that I have read. I found that to be very enjoyable read and look forward to more like it from this author. This book was a very complex, but cozy mystery. Written with a strong female character lead, Celeste is very confident in her abilities as a psychic and it shows in her character’s personality. I love how she handles the non-believers. Especially the man who said using her gift to make money was basically a sin, yet she pointed out that he used his gift of a green thumb to make money. How was that any different. She handles each person with a calmness that is extroidnary. She is an amazing woman. All the characters in this book were interesting and well-developed. Emma will be a rising star if the books continue. As Celeste has admitted that she is very powerful and is bound for great things.
Overall the book was mysterious and intriguing. Written at a very steady pace, the book is never rushed and was well thought out. The book contained useful information in regards to the understanding of a psychics world. Providing a realistic view of the main character and plot of the book. there were several twists and turns to the story that will keep you guessing until the very end. The ending of the book it’s left open for another addition. Let’s hope that we get to see more from Celeste and the gang.