[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
It’s February in the Enchanted Village and that means the annual obstacle course race, the Wicked Mad Dash. Darcy has been part of the planning team along with Abby Stillwell, the assistant manager of Balefire Sports. The proceeds of this year’s race will go to the medical expenses for the daughter of Balefire’s owners.
Unfortunately, the race is off to a rough start with a bout of temporary food poisoning and a prank with the portapotties thanks to a local dabbling in dark magic. In fact, Darcy’s sister, Harper, is so sick she can’t even make it to the race.
Abby was part of the food poisoning trick, too, but by race time she is feeling like herself again and goes to warm up for the race. When she never comes back for the start – or end – of the race, people start to get concerned. When her body is found, Darcy has her hands full.
Abby was a Vitacrafter – a Crafter who could read the energy of people around her. That means the Elder wants Darcy to investigate her murder. But Harper’s situation is bigger than a food poisoning prank. And Darcy’s trying to figure out if she can truly trust a new friend whose mother hates Darcy’s whole family. Also Abby had raised some questions about her bosses at Balefire. Darcy has a lot of digging to do to get the full scoop on what’s happening around the Enchanted Village.
Review
This is book eight in the Wishcraft paranormal mystery series. I’ve been a fan of this one from the beginning. Over time it’s moved from mostly light wishing magic to some stronger, darker witchcraft pieces in the more recent books. It’s still pretty light, but some readers who do not want to read about the occult may find this series isn’t a good fit for them.
The mystery in this one was great – lots of interesting twists and wrinkles come up as Darcy investigates. We also get some new Crafting types in this book. I don’t remember Vitacrafters in earlier books or Terracrafters, Vincicrafters or Emoticrafters. It’s fun to see the world expand a little, although it might just be to tie the new characters for this book into the world.
My favorite parts of this book were the series-spanning pieces – Darcy’s family and friends, Harper’s situation, and the battle for the Eldership of the Enchanted Village. These are characters I really like (well, except for Dorothy – she is truly appalling), and I care about what happens to them. The author does a terrific job of balancing these relationship and community pieces while keeping the mystery central to the book. I’ve become picky about that with my cozies lately.
If you love paranormal stories and cozy mysteries, consider trying this series which mashes up the two nicely. The magical world is fun and creative, and the characters are people I would eagerly have as friends. I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes in book nine.