Book 47, 2018

[chez_jae]

Even Witches Get the Blues by J.D. Winters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last night, I finally finished reading Even Witches Get the Blues by JD Winters and Dakota Kahn. It didn't really grab my interest, which is why it took me so long to slog through it.

Haley Greco wakes up in a strange motel room with no memories. All she has are the clothes on her back and a mysterious manila envelope that contains a Deed to a property in Moonhaven. Haley travels there in hopes of getting some answers, but she only ends up more confused. The restaurant she holds the Deed to is now a bar and grill, which is allegedly owned by someone else. He is none too happy with her claim, and they exchange words.

Compounding Haley's confusion is the fact that everyone in town seems to know her, yet she doesn't know any of them. Deputy Shane McAllister is one such person, and Haley gets the impression that they were once more than casual acquaintances. Everyone keeps telling her to go visit her grandmother, and Haley eventually does. Unfortunately, Haley's grandmother keeps dodging her questions about her past, although she does tell Haley that she's a witch.

When Scotty, the supposed owner of the bar and grill, is murdered, Haley finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. She certainly had motive to kill him, but so did several other people in town, including the mayor, the mayor's wife, and Scotty's girlfriend. Now Haley has to secure her future before she can regain her past.

I found the entire story to be very "meh". For one thing, I disliked the premise of the main character having amnesia. How am I to learn about her when she knows nothing of herself? Other things bugged me, too:


1. Haley rescues a small dog and takes him in, after which the narrative continually referred to him as the "little dog". Um, he's small, like Toto, we get it.
2. Why was the attorney's secretary such a bitch towards Haley?
3. If Haley (or anyone, for that matter) went to the Hall of Records to research a property, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE DENIED ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION. OMG. Deeds, Mortgages, liens, releases, etc are all public information; thus, the public cannot be barred from looking through the records. Do your own damned research into how a recorder's office works.
4. Haley confides her amnesia to Shane, but after that, it seemed everyone in town knew about it. Did he blab, or...? Puzzling.

Favorite line: I had a picture of her squashing a demon flat, then picking it up by the tail and dropping it in the trash.

Mediocre story, mediocre rating:

***