Book 44, 2021

[chez_jae]

Murder and Moonstones: A Cozy Mystery by Cindy Stark

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Finished reading Murder and Moonstones about five minutes ago. Ha ha! It is the first book in author Cindy Stark's "Crystal Cove" series, featuring young witch Opal Mayland.

After spending six years in Sedona, AZ training in witchcraft and honing her abilities, Opal is returning to her hometown of Crystal Cove, OR. In her eagerness to see her grandfather again, Opal is pulled over by officer Lucas Keller and given a speeding ticket. To calm and center herself, she stops near the water to take a breather. Unfortunately, Opal finds a body floating and calls the police station...which is how her grandfather learns she's home.

Opal is dismayed when her formerly caring grandfather seems cold and distant to her. She's also dismayed when she keeps encountering not only Officer Keller about town, but also her ex-boyfriend, Ryan. It was Ryan who broke her heart and led to her staying away from Crystal Cove for so long. As she settles in, Opal lands a job at a local bed and breakfast, and she convinces her grandfather to allow her to intern part-time at the police station. There, Opal hopes to use her abilities to help solve the murder.

Well now. I enjoyed the premise of the book. Opal was an engaging character, but she did some things I didn't approve of, such as wiping another character's memory with a spell. I liked her BFF, Penelope. The narrative was somewhat choppy; it didn't flow smoothly. Also, there appears to be a budding attraction/romance between Opal and Lucas, and I cannot even. Whyyyyyyyyy must cozy mystery authors make the love interest be someone in law enforcement, and whyyyyyyyy do so many of them have the love interest be an absolute ass to the main character when they first meet? Ugh ugh ugh. Finally, the resolution was very slap-dash, which made all of the sleuthing leading up to it basically useless. Give the characters and the readers a chance to solve the mystery instead of simply dumping the solution on us at the end of the book. Blah.

Favorite line: "It's not okay, is it, that we lose the ones we love too early in life?"

I liked the story, and I'd like to award four stars, but too much was off-putting. This earns three stars.