Book 14, 2020

[chez_jae]

The Befuddled Butcher by Alexandria Westbay

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I finished reading The Befuddled Butcher last night. It's the first book in the "Twistchapel" cozy mystery series by Alexandria Westbay. Although this is the first installment, it seemed like I was missing something. There were several references to the main character, Zoey Foster, finding out at age 30 that she's a witch, and how she inadvertently started a fire.

Zoey owns and manages the only grocery market in town. She's been assigned a familiar, a black cat named Bart, to help her learn to manage her magic. Zoey hasn't been diligent about her lessons, but she may need to step up her game when the town curmudgeon is murdered, and the butcher who works in her meat department is arrested for the crime. Zoey is convinced the man is innocent, and she sets out to prove it...and to prove annoying detective Drake Robinson wrong.

There's not much to recommend this book. Very little character development, editing is a nightmare, and Bart was once called 'Bert'. The plot had no flow, and the ending was anticlimactic.
- Who the hell repeatedly turns down promotions at work, just so he can remain a loan officer and take fiendish delight in denying people loans?!
- Um, people don't stand around bonfires drinking flutes of champagne. I've attended a fair few bonfires, and cans/bottles of beer are the alcoholic beverage of choice. Also, we don't dress up for a bonfire. It's a BONFIRE.
- The police are not going to allow the bonfire attendees to leave before they're questioned, no matter what they're drinking or wearing.
- Nor are the police going to arrest someone the day after the murder, based on the fact that he argued with the victim and now he can't find one of his butcher knives. They might pull him in for questioning, but ARREST? No.
- Drake was an asshole, but since he's a handsome detective, it doesn't take a genius to figure out he'll be Zoey's love interest as the series progresses. Gag.

Favorite line: "Bridgette and Dan announced they were pregnant, and then we all heard a woman scream." // "I'd scream, too, if I knew someone was going to have a kid. Those little brats are such a pain."

Two stars, and one of them is for the talking cat.