chez_jae

Primrose & Poison by Mara Webb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Just now finished reading Primrose & Poison--the first book in author Mara Webb's "Raven Bay" series of paranormal mysteries. The main character is novice witch Astrid Atwood.

After losing her job as an investigative journalist, Astrid reluctantly returns to her hometown of Raven Bay. Her mother is happy to have her back, as are many of her former school friends. When Astrid realizes the girl she's been speaking to is a ghost, her mother informs Astrid that they're witches, and that Astrid has 'the sight'. It doesn't take long for Astrid to realize the young girl's murder may be connected to another, more recent murder in Raven Bay, and she sets out to prove it. Of course, this enables her to spend more time with her old high school crush, Evan, who's now part of the police department. Since Evan knows nothing about the witches who populate the town, Astrid must find other, more mundane ways to steer his investigation in the right direction. However, when the killer realizes that Astrid is closing in, it's her life that may be in danger.

This was a charming, lovely story. Too bad it was infuriatingly similar to other series the author has written. Behold:

-Young woman uproots and moves/returns to small town
-Finds out she's a witch
-Is thrust into an immediate murder investigation
-Black cat familiar that can talk

It's like the author is a one-trick pony. That isn't to say I don't enjoy her stories; I do. But, for the love of literature, write something different and original! Maybe the lead character is an inept witch who starts coming into her own. Perhaps she lives in a large city. Give her a talking mouse as a familiar. Let the love interest be in any profession except law enforcement! I can't blame the author for that last one. I think authors have their Cozy Mystery Card confiscated if their female leads have love interests that are not in law enforcement. Sigh.

Favorite lines:
♦ "You can have more than one dream."
♦ "People think witches hate fire because of the whole 'burnt at the stake' business, but we love setting fire to stuff just as much as everybody else." // Well that was alarming.
♦ Was there a chance my mom and her bonkers cat had poisoned half the town?
♦ "He sounds like a parent that is trying to force their child onto the stage, he wants to wear his son like a medal of his own achievement."

I liked this story, I really did. I'd have given it a solid four-star rating, but I'm deducting one for the lack of originality. Had I been in a less generous mood, I'd have knocked off two stars. Score of three, it is.