Well the weather is a bit rubbish just now so I have the perfect cozy mystery for you to snuggle up with and I’m sharing my review today as part of the blog tour. A Spell of Murder by Kennedy Kerr is published by Bookouture and I’d like to thank Noelle Holden and the publishers for the invite and arc which I received via NetGalley.
About the book
In the sleepy town of Lost Maidens Loch, people sometimes disappear… Down a quiet lane in town sits a little shop full of oddities you’d probably miss if you weren’t looking for it. This is Love’s Curiosities Inc., and its owner, Temerity Love, is sought by experts all over the world for her rare and magical gift: the ability to find lost things and learn their stories.
When Lost Maidens’ pretty local school teacher is found murdered by a poisoned cup of tea, a strange antique hand mirror is discovered nearby. Temerity – with the help of witchy sister Tilda, their cats Scylla and Charybdis and the lovingly eccentric local townspeople – is determined to divine the story behind the mirror and its part in Miss Molly Bayliss’ untimely death.
If only grumpy out-of-towner Angus Harley of Lost Maidens Police wasn’t on the scene. Temerity can’t solve the crime without him, but he’s distracting, and in more ways than one. Can this unconventional duo solve the most mysterious murder ever to blight Lost Maidens Loch before the killer strikes again?
A magical and unputdownable whodunnit, perfect for fans of Adele Abbott, Amanda M. Lee and Leighann Dobbs.
A Spell of Murder is available to purchase now – Purchase here.
My thoughts
In the sleepy little town of Lost Maidens Loch we meet sisters Temerity and Tilda Love. Temerity runs Love Curiosities Inc., a little shop selling oddities and where she is well sought after from near and far for her ability to find lost things and learn their stories through her magical gift.
The hub of the little Scottish town is The Singing Kettle where Muriel makes a cracking cup of tea and feeds the tourists and locals with her good Scottish food. It gave me a wee chuckle every time I read about The Singing Kettle and I couldn’t help singing “Spout, handle, lid of metal. What’s inside the singing kettle”. This where Temerity is when she hears of a dead body being found at the school and off she goes to investigate.
Molly Baylis a teacher at Lost Maidens primary school has been murdered and Temerity is asked to help out with her gift but she has an uneasy feeling and things end up being a bit more complicated than first thought and not just with the murder but also Temerity’s private life too.
I really enjoyed getting to know Temerity, she’s a great character and it will be exciting to see her character develop more. Tilda is the quieter sister, I didn’t feel like I got to know her quite as well but she has a great relationship with her sister.
A Spell of Murder is a cracking story, it had me intrigued as I got to know the characters and gripped as I followed the mystery which turned out to be just that, a real mystery. I did have ideas along the way as to the who but I changed my mind a few times and in the end it was a surprise to not only who was the murderer but the why too.
A Spell of Murder is a brilliant start to the series and with its lovely Scottish setting, the real whodunnit mystery and the added humour I’m really looking forward to reading more from Kennedy Kerr soon and I’ll definitely be recommending this.
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About the author
Kennedy Kerr is the author of the Lost Maidens Loch witch-themed cozy mystery series. She is from a Scottish family and adores the magic and mystery of Scotland and all the Celtic lands: cairns, misty mountains, stone circles and misty lochs are her particular favourite things. She is the proud owner of a cuddly black cat called Twinkle, who evidently believes she is a princess.
Kennedy also loves cooking and baking all types of food, which is almost as much fun as eating.
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