Book 79, 2022

[chez_jae]

A Maze of Murder by Kate Krake

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Finished an ebook last night. It was A Maze of Murder, which is the first in author Kate Krake's "Belinda Drake" series. Story is in first-person via the main character, witch Belinda Drake.

Belinda is a lapsed witch, preferring books and chocolate to magic and spells. She's a loner, and after relocating to Blackthorn Springs to open a book store, Belinda finally has the peace and quiet she craves. Everything comes crashing down, however, when the shopkeeper next door is found dead, and Belinda immediately recognizes that he was killed via the Mortis Curse. With the police content to rule Kenny's death as natural, Belinda takes it upon herself to find out who in town had the means, motive, and power to cast such a sinister spell. Her life gets even more complicated when a foul witch from her past finds her in Blackthorn Springs and begins harassing her. Lucky for Belinda, her innate magic seems to have awakened and is becoming more powerful.

The story kept me interested. I liked Belinda as a character, and her shop assistant Lila. I was ambivalent about the romantic interest, but at least he wasn't in law enforcement. Hallelujah! Scenes that included the vile stalker were triggery, and the book contained a bit much violence and sexual harassment for a cozy.

Favorite lines:
♦ Not even gooey nut caramel could sweeten this moment, but it wouldn't hurt to try.
♦ I was going to need any help I could find to get through this day, and if it meant eating my bodyweight in caramels and truffles, then so be it.

I might have given this a four star review, but again, some of it was simply too dark and/or squicky for a cozy mystery. Knocking my rating down to a three. Nevertheless, I would read more in this series.