Book 105, 2023

[chez_jae]

A Halloween Hookup by Jennie Marts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I read a Halloween-themed novella last night. It was A Halloween Hookup by Jennie Marts. It's number 3.6 in the "Page Turners" series. Main characters are private detective Finnigan and white witch Zia.

Finn, a no-nonsense detective, and Zia, a psychic medium, don't always see eye to eye. However, when their neighboring offices are both ransacked the night before Halloween, Zia is convinced the activity was paranormal in nature, while Finn believes there's a logical explanation. They decide to conduct a mutual surveillance/stake out on Halloween night. They bond over stake out snacks, costumed intruders, and a dead body. Zia insists on holding a seance to contact the spirit of the dead man. Will she make a believer out of Finn?

Perhaps the better question is, what color are Zia's eyes? Behold:
* ...a naughty twinkle sparkled in her green eyes.
* She blinked up at him, her brown eyes at first round and surprised...
If I caught this on a casual read, a competent editor should certainly have caught it before it was published. The Mystery of Zia's Eyes aside, it was a cute story. Finn and Zia couldn't be more opposite, but they are attracted to one another. Their stake out allows them to get to know one another better, and the never-ending parade of other quirky characters ramped up the fun. I also like that they weren't declaring their undying love for one another at the end, but rather looking forward to getting to know each other even better.

Favorite lines:
♦ "Aren't you running late for Potions class at Hogwarts?"
♦ She was usually in bed by nine with a good book, wearing flannel pajama pants covered in cat hair.

Why, oh why can't I award half-stars? This story deserves 3.5 stars. It was enjoyable enough to earn 4, but that editing error is deserving of a half point deduction. Hm. I'll be generous and give it four stars.