These are always good fun: sweet without being sticky, sentimental without being sappy and the mysteries always well thought out.

As Darcy is moving out of her Aunt Ve's house into her own, Aunt Ve takes the opportunity to clean her garage out and finds a dead body: ex-husband #2 (Aunt Ve likes men) who disappeared the day after the elopement 30 years before. Seems he never really left Aunt Ve (garage was used for storage, detached from the house, and Aunt Ve traveled extensively after he 'left' - for those wondering about the smell, flies, etc).

I'm not even going to bother touching on believability; the premise is a village full of magical witches so really, why bother? But Blake does create believable characters; magic or not, these are real people and she makes it so, so easy to become invested in their lives. The mystery plot is well crafted too, and heartbreaking in its way.

It's a cute story and series, but it's a solid one and I'll keep on reading as long as Black keeps on writing. ( )

This series is moving along quite nicely. There are many answers to some ongoing questions and many new situations coming up. The author manages to keep the characters and the situations fresh for such a little town. Exciting stuff!
Off hand, I’m not sure how many are left. ( )

I love this series--they are fun, "cozy" mysteries--very idyllic and escapist. Darcy may be a bit almost "too good," but I still like her. I always like the good characters; I never admire the baddies. I read most of them a two or three years ago and hadn't realized two more had published, so listening to this novel was nice. I'm waiting for the next one to come available at the public library. ( )

3.5 stars

I read this for the Cozy Mystery square for Halloween Bingo

I gasped. In a once-hidden nook created by a tower of boxes lay a skeleton fully dressed in men's clothing. By the thick layer of undisturbed dust covering the skeletal remains. I guessed he'd been there quite a long time.

This is book seven in the Wishcraft Mystery series that follows Darcy, a witch, as she attempts to solve murder mysteries. It was a little overwhelming at first with a whole island of characters greeting me but once the family, friend, and side-eyeing relationships were realized, this turned into a super cozy mystery. This story begs to be accessorized with big fluffy socks and a big mug of hot chocolate.

"I've been asked by the Elder to investigate the matter."

The first half of the story is our heroine Darcy just taking a stroll through town and encountering people who help piece together the final days of Miles, the body found in her aunt's garage. Scandal and heartache get revealed with each discussion and our mystery is born. Since this is the seventh in the series the magical part of the story, the different kinds of witches living on the island, isn't stopped and explained. However, the way the author does great woven in explanations for any newcomers. The only thing I missed starting here was the initial excitement of some relationships just starting up, here Darcy's relationship with the town police chief is already established, while her sister Harper's relationship is going through a rough patch I couldn't truly feel as I didn't have an emotional tie to it.

The large cast of characters were all wonderfully fleshed out, adding so much dimension to the story; I could happily read a story individually staring all of them. Darcy was easy to like and follow along with providing a great lens to view the story from. The author was able to touch on deeper subjects without weighing the story down in emotional angst. This was such a sweet, easy, entertaining, and kept me guessing for a while mystery with a tint of Fall/Halloween fun. ( )

Another great book from Ms. Blake. ( )