A Witchcraft Mystery, No 3
Juliet Blackwell
Obsidian
June 2011/ ISBN 978-0-451-23378-3
Mystery/Cozy/Supernatural
Reviewed
by Laura Hinds
Hexes and
Hemlines is the third entry in the “Witchcraft Mystery”
series by Juliet Blackwell. Lily Ivory runs her vintage clothing
shop in San Francisco and finds that life in the off-beat city suits
her well. She has plenty of customers, good friends, and most people
don’t seem to notice her witchy ways.
Hoping that
life will stay settled into a somewhat normal pattern after encountering
murders in the first two books in this series, Lily is surprised
when SFPD inspector Carlos Romero calls her in to help with a most
unsettling murder. Malachi Zazi has been stabbed in the heart in
his own apartment. An apartment filled with bad luck omens such
as a broken mirror, a black cat and a bird trapped inside.
The murder
inquiry leads Lily to become even more cautious and frightened by
other practitioners of other-worldly crafts in the San Francisco
area, including Aiden Rhodes, a male-witch who is undertaking the
task of completing Lily’s education as a witch, which, as
it happens, was cut short by a terrible incident in her hometown.
Lily doesn’t trust Aiden as far as she can throw him. Her
familiar, Oscar, whose form varies between a gargoyle-like creature
(there’s a story behind this) and a pot-bellied pig, is in
question too; after all, he’s some sort of minion of Aiden’s
as well. Just who can she believe in?
As Lily finds
herself enmeshed deeper and deeper into whom or what killed Malachi
Zazi, she meets some unlikely candidates, including Malachi’s
own father, known as the High Priest or Priest High, depending upon
whom you ask. Magic is afoot, and it all seems bad. Or is it merely
that the dinner guests of the late Zazi are all running into a string
of bad luck? Very serious bad luck that is.
I enjoy this
series very much. The magic is captivating, the mysteries out of
this world and the characters, even some of the bad ones, lovable
in their own ways. Lily is a true nature girl, a misfit in her world
who is trying to fit in. I know I’d love to shop in her vintage
clothing store, “Aunt Cora’s Closet,” because
the inventory is described so well that I know I’d enjoy every
minute there. Oscar sounds, well, adorable and tender hearted despite
his stony exterior. And who wouldn’t love a witch like Lily
who, while allergic to cats, nevertheless adopts the murder victim’s
homeless pet?
This is another
of this summer’s winning mystery novels. A cozy/supernatural
fun in the city story that makes for a great weekend read that would
most likely appeal to teen and young adult women, but also to their
mothers. Especially the mothers who remember the great clothes of
the sixties and seventies and will also want to visit Lily’s
store!
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Hexes
and Hemlines #3
In
a Witch's Wardrobe #4
Tarnished
and Torn #5
Vision
in Velvet #6
Spellcasting
in Silk #7
A
Toxic Trousseau #8
A
Magical Match #9
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