Book 9, 2021

The Witch and the Dead by Heather Blake

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Thursday nights are good for finishing books. Last night, I finished The Witch and the Dead, which is the 7th installment in Heather Blake's "Wishcraft" mystery series. The story is told in first person pov by the main character, Darcy Merriweather.

Darcy is torn about moving into her new home. She's excited, but sad to be moving out of her Aunt Ve's house, where she has lived since moving to the Enchanted Village in Salem, MA. She is also excited over the prospect of planning her wedding...if only Nick would pop the question. It seems everyone in town knows that Nick bought a ring, but whenever he's on the verge of asking Darcy to marry him, something or someone interrupts them. While Darcy is helping her aunt clean out the garage, Ve finds some skeletal remains. She presumes it's the body of her second husband, the one who disappeared the day after their impetuous elopement. However, since Ve can't recall the details of her own wedding, nor Miles' subsequent disappearance, she becomes a person of interest when it's discovered that Miles was murdered. Darcy is tasked with investigating on behalf of Crafters by the Elder. As she uncovers more and more secrets that people would like to remain buried, Darcy closes in on a killer and puts herself in danger.

Let me get this off my chest first: this is the second time within this series that the author has used the plot device of finding a long-dead body, leading Darcy to investigate a cold case. It was original the first time. This time? Not so much.

That being said, I was fully vested in the story, which is why I rocked through it rather quickly. Characters are three-dimensional, right down to the Familiars, and including even the less than savory characters. The plot was smooth and moved at a good pace, although it mostly focused on Darcy's investigation. I don't think she was "at work" once. And, I was somewhat disappointed that she only granted one wish in the entire book. I'm still not liking the fact that Wishcrafters (like Darcy) and only Wishcrafters cannot be photographed. We can haz sense, please? I also don't like the fact that any Crafter who tells a mortal about their abilities loses their ability to Craft. Why? I can understand that Crafters can't just run around willy-nilly telling all and sundry about the Craft, but I would think they could let their spouses know.

Favorite line: In times of stress and strife, the women in my family took to baked goods like warriors to a battlefield.

Overall, very good--four stars