Moonshine, Magic, and Murder
by January Bain
GENRE: Witchy Cozy Mystery
BLURB:
Charm McCall has a proven track record for solving small-town mysteries, but can she figure out how to deal with a life event that threatens to harm the McCall clan…
Charm McCall is once more on the hunt to figure out why her cat has been seeing a ghost, why she’s been shown a treasure map by, gulp, a dead guy and why her Auntie T.J. has suddenly disappeared, bagpipes and all. That would be more than enough, but with the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance and its accompanying promise bags to create and spell, to help her fellow Goddesses get their dearest wishes fulfilled, she’s about run off her feet. Not to mention that now it’s legal to sell marijuana in Canada, orders for pot brownies are spilling in and threatening to crash her online store.
Charm discovers she needs all the help she can get to deal with the arrival of her mother and the beyond painful host of problems that creates for her family, find her Auntie T.J. to save her hiney and discover who the real murderer is. That is, if she wants her romance with Snowy Lake’s sexy Mountie, Ace Collins, to have any hope of deepening…
Excerpt:
“Careful! That box is already spelled! Anything could happen if you mix them up,” I shouted at my triplet Star, who was paying me no mind, just moving things haphazardly around as she ‘dusted’ the shelves of the Tea & Tarot café.
Star twitched her whole body into a pretend robot, her blonde curls bouncing when she dime-stopped her limbs in an abrupt series of motions. It was a lightning change of mood that had become far too common of late. I gave a deep sigh of frustration I didn’t bother to hide. She’d been getting worse by the day, antsy no doubt for The Call. Darn movie people. Telling her she had a role, then delaying production.
“Oh, really.” Okay, she was good at the robot dance, I’d give her that, if a job ever asked for such a dubious ability. But that didn’t stop me from rushing forward to rescue the Promise Bags. They held the precious trinkets of all the females around town who were participating in the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. Each midnight blue velvet bag had been magically infused with a specific wish, ranging from a marriage proposal to a spa vacation. Mix up those babies and all Hades will break loose, because this year the items had been blessed under the decade’s most awesome supermoon.
Maybe that’s a bad idea? I chewed on a fingernail while I worried about going too far in my overwhelming urge to have my fellow goddesses receive their fair due from men who did not always appreciate them. Men could be so lame sometimes, not reading the signals right under their very noses, though that did not appear to be the case with our local Mountie, Ace Collins. He could be a little too astute at times. Goddess, give me the strength…
The emotive notes of a musical instrument native to Scotland, one that defied the noise ordinance of Snowy Lake, broke through my worry fog.
Auntie T.J.
I set the rescued box safely aside on a shelf and scurried toward the huge picture window of the Tea & Tarot café to where Tulip sat perched on a stool. The third triplet of our McCall clan, she was a matching bookend to Star, which made them both polar opposites to me with my Elizabeth Taylor-esque violet-colored eyes and dark hair. Or at least according to Granny Toogood, who loved her old movies.
Tulip was keyboarding as per usual on her computer, working either on her ongoing blog posts or selling our newly rolled out ‘potcakes’ to the Canadian masses. I sent a silent prayer to the goddess that the extra revenue the items were supposed to bring in happened. We’d invested in producing cannabutter to add to our spectacular line-up of bakery goods, and to think it might go to waste if the idea didn’t catch on induced serious heart palpitations. And that just isn’t right when a gal’s only twenty-one years old.
“Shoot! What’s Auntie T.J. up to now?”
“She only brings out the big guns when she feels threatened,” Tulip said. “See, Sergei McCausland.” She pointed at the business owner our auntie was serenading with her warmongering.
The town hound dog owned the Bowl-a-ram-a, the five-pin bowling alley tucked away at the outskirts of town, which was located a hop, skip and a jump from our café, Snowy Lake being so small with only twelve hundred and fifty-nine residents, that I could run across it quicker than I could be bothered to start up my Jeep, Thor.
Though that had been changing somewhat of late with the arrival of Constable Collins and his annoying active pursuit of law and order. Sheriff Winn Duffy was more beloved of course, having turned a blind eye for decades, but the new Mountie was gaining ground. Did I share that he’s a handsome devil?
My Review:
Charm McCall is back with Baby Ling Ling (Charm’s cat) and her sleuthing abilities. Charm’s online store is running her ragged with all the new orders since marijuana became legal in Canada. That is just the least of Charm’s problems at the moment.
Charm brings out her sleuthing charms when two bodies turn up and then her Auntie T.J. goes missing. With Auntie T.J. missing she has become one of the suspects for the two murders. Charm now has to try and prove that Auntie T..J. is not the murderer so she can come out of hiding.
Not to mention the Sadie Hawkins dance is coming up and she has to make promising bags and find a date for the dance. She wants very much to ask the handsome and charming Mountie, Ace Collins but isn’t sure about herself or him.
Charm learns that her mother is coming back into town. Charm has not seen her mother in a very long time as she abandon Charm and her sisters when they were young leaving them in the care of their grandmother. Now, right out of the blue she turns up and wants to reenter their lives. Charm is not too happy about it but what can she do I mean she is her mother after all and her grandmother’s daughter.
I just love Charm and her sleuthing abilities that involve cats, magic, murder, mystery, and lots of suspense that is filled with lots of twists and turns around every corner. Reading Moonshine, Magic, and Murder felt like one of those sweet, warm, and cozy mysteries with a little bit of sunshine pouring in.
You know one of those mysteries where you want to curl up on the sofa wrapped up in a warm blanket by a roaring fire. Moonshine, Magic, and Murder made me think of that TV show Murder She Wrote and a little of the Miss Marple murder mystery TV shows.
I just love all the characters especially Baby Ling Ling. I can’t wait for the next installment in Manitoba Tea & Tarot Mysteries Series.
I would recommend Moonshine, Magic, and Murder to all those murder mystery fans out there who like a little magic in their mysteries. One-click your copy of this wonderful book today! Be sure and check out the first two books in the Manitoba Tea & Tarot Mysteries Series,
Magic, Mayhem & Murder book one and Movies, Moonlight & Magic book two. All three books can be read as standalone.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full-blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create books that features strong women who live life to the fullest, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope her stories will capture your imagination.
If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with her furry baby, Ling Ling. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.
If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook. Oh, and she loves to talk books…
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Manitoba Tea & Tarot Mysteries - Facebook
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3 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
A cute cover and I enjoyed reading the synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like an awesome read. Thank you for sharing the book and author details
Sounds good!
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