A Witch to Remember

A Witch to Remember by Heather Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Darcy Merriweather is Stressed Out. Not about her wedding coming up in a couple of weeks. No, she's a bundle of nerves over her younger sister's birthday and what it means for the Elder's renewal ceremony. Her family's nemesis, Dorothy, has become increasingly, dangerously unstable in recent months, and Darcy fears for their safety, especially after the Divinitea Cottage is torched, and it initially appears as though Dorothy set the fire after murdering one of the owners. Darcy teams up with her fiancé Nick Sawyer, the police chief, and Dorothy's daughter Glinda, a private investigator, to solve the crime.

This is a cozy mystery series that REALLY must be read in order. Secrets are revealed in each book in the series that would totally be spoilers for the earlier books. In this particular volume, however, Darcy's Big Secret was ridiculously easy to guess, so her angst and fears then seemed overblown.

Surprisingly, I also figured out who the killer was quite a while before Darcy did. I didn't have a clue what the motive might be, but I deduced who and how. I can't remember the last time I correctly guessed the murderer's identity well in advance of the sleuth's reveal. I have to say, I really prefer to be more in the dark!

Given the ending of the book and the divulging of a smaller secret in the final chapter, perhaps this might be the end of the series? I would hate to leave these lovely characters behind, yet this wasn't my favorite installment, so perhaps Ms. Blake is ready to focus on her Magic Potion series instead?

For readers' advisors: story and setting doorways are primary. The strongest language used is a few instances of "hell" and "damn." There is no sexual content, just some quick kisses. The only onscreen violence is Dorothy attacking other witches with (dark) magic/fire. It's a fun, easy read for anyone who's already read books #1-8, but don't expect much in the way of character development.

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