Abby hales from a family of powerful witches and is also a best-selling author. To date, she’s been able to pragmatically balance her life between the witch and novel-writing human worlds, but lately, she’s been struggling. Her powers have been “wonky,” and some powerful force is interceding with her energy which is just one of the distractions challenging her to finish her latest novel as the deadline looms near.

She realizes that “It’s hard juggling the human and magical worlds.”

While Abby spends most of her time at the Enchanted Bookstore working in her makeshift office, her budding relationship with the local chief of police, Gabe Ryder is also making it hard for her to concentrate. Then when a string of mysterious and tragic events occur that are all linked to her, she’s thrust into the journey to figure out who–or what–is behind them.

This is the latest release in Carolyn Ridder Aspenson’s Holiday Hills Witch Cozy Mystery Series. It cleverly integrates so many well-loved “cozy” elements, including a writer’s POV and the bookstore setting. But there’s also romance, fantasy and a dash of suspense sprinkled throughout. The characters are darling, including her best friend, Stella, her familiar cat Cooper, and Bessie, the owner of the store, is also her “mentor” and mother-figure.

While it’s a mystery with magical characters, many challenges that Abby faces are very human.

The struggle of trust in a growing relationship, the secrets she must keep in order to protect her best friend and the overwhelming need to set right again everything happening to her and to protect those she cares about. The unexplained force that is interceding in her life, messing with her powers and putting the town in harm’s way, is the critical element of the mystery. But as it’s rein forces Abby to make tough decisions about revealing her identity, she struggles to use all the powers within her to right the wrongs impacting the cozy town she calls home. It’s a cozy mystery that both fantasy and mystery lovers will adore.

Image Courtesy of Severn River Publishing