Witch Trial
The Full Moon crystal shop in North Harbor, Connecticut, offers healing stones for all sorts of ailments. Unfortunately, there’s nothing among the gems that can help owner Violet Mooney learn how to wield the magick she inherited from both sides of her family, the legendary Ravenstar and Moonstone clans. As if being an apprentice witch weren’t difficult enough, Violet’s tutors are her estranged mother, Fiona, a sister she never knew she had named Zoe, and a familiar in the form of a black cat, Xander.
Between learning spells, Violet is being investigated by the Magickal Council. A reporter out to debunk spiritualists was “genied”, her soul imprisoned inside a bottle, in Violet’s shop, and she can’t prove she didn’t do it. Meanwhile, her non-magickal life has become complicated when one of her crystal shop customers, Nicole St. James, goes missing and turns up dead, a victim of murder.
Determined to solve both crimes, Violet taps into powers she doesn’t understand, much less control, and finds herself conjuring up both supernatural and mortal enemies.
The Details
Series: A Full Moon Mystery – Book #2
Author: Cate Conte
Genre/Category: Cozy – Paranormal/Witch
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496732693
Page Count: 336
Rating: 
The Review
Book two in the “A Full Moon Mystery” series, Witch Trial, was nice but not as enjoyable as it could have been. I like the characters and find that they are becoming more and more enjoyable, even Violet’s mother, who is not the warm motherly type. The setting is fantastic, and I would love to spend time in Violet’s crystal shop. Magick abounds, but not all of it is good.
Having a customer who comes to your crystal shop for help would make anyone anxious, but in Violet’s case, she has more than a bit of concern when she realizes through her magick that the customer’s life may be in danger. Having that same customer murdered shortly after her visit causes Violet quite a few sleepless nights. Add in her attractive new mentor, her somewhat eccentric mother, and sister, a magickal council that may not welcome her, an evil genie, and she isn’t sure which way to turn.
As with most cozies by this author, this book contains a well-written plotline, delightful characters, and a mystery that isn’t too difficult to solve if you pay attention to the clues. A crystal shop mixed with real magick, and murder have all the elements needed to give readers a few hours of enjoyment. Suspects are around; most are witches, wizards, a genie, and a few non-magickal beings as well. Motives range from jealousy to hidden agendas. Clues glitter throughout the story, just like Violet’s mom. However, the killer’s reveal isn’t simple and may raise more than one eyebrow from readers.
I wish I could have rated Witch Trial higher, but if there is one thing I can’t stand in a cozy mystery, it’s unanswered questions left hanging. A cozy isn’t a traditional thriller or suspense story; it’s meant to have a happy ending with justice being served and all the questions answered; it is not supposed to end in a cliffhanger! Especially not when it adds more questions than it answers. This type of ending leaves me frustrated and unhappy. This series has everything I love in a good witch/paranormal cozy; the magick is plausible, the crystal shop is original, the action is enjoyable, and the characters are likable. I will read the next book in this series and hope the cliffhanger resolves in book three and does not carry over again.
The Author
Liz/Cate has been a writer since she could hold a pen. As a kid, she used to demand that people read to her until she could do it on her own, and then her nose was always stuck in a book. She blames her grandfather for her fascination with crime, serial killers, and murder—he was a detective, and although he never regaled her with any really juicy tales, it didn’t stop her from making them up.
Cate Conte was born in 2014 when St. Martin’s Press requested a mystery series featuring—what else—cats. The pseudonym is a nod to her aforementioned grandfather, the detective, which seemed completely fitting. Cate’s new series, the Full Moon Mysteries, is a confluence of all her favorite things—witches, crystals, cats, moon phases, and magic. Currently, she shares her home with two rescue dogs, Molly from Arkansas and Penny from Tennessee, and four rescue cats—Snowy, Katsi, CC, and Jack.
Readers may want to read the first book in this new series, Witch Hunt, to better understand the characters and storyline.
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