Mandrake and a Murder

3 stars<br />Hazel Salem is from a magical family but has no magic herself, or does she. She's the main character in this new to me Cozy witch mystery series. She a writer who has inherited her mothers apothecary in a town where witchcraft is practiced out in the open. A murder happens before the book begins and Hazel who has created a local magazine for some income because her dead mother's apothecary produces little income, decides to investigate and possibly gain some interest in her magazine.<br />Hazel has two cats one a talking cat named Hemlock<br /><blockquote>“Hazel… The whole point of having a familiar is that you don’t need to talk to yourself like a crazy person. I’m here to guide you, like cat Yoda. Cat Yoda who you should give coffee.”</blockquote><br />The earliest clue you have that Hazel may indeed have some magic.<br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="5d76c56e-723e-4585-94ef-8c095550d01c" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="5d76c56e-723e-4585-94ef-8c095550d01c">Jeese Heathen is a powerful magic user that shows up, in the end he saves Hazel but you are never really sure if she can trust him. <br /><blockquote>“Mark my words. Things are going to change around here, and you’re involved.”</blockquote><br /> </label><br /> I enjoyed the book, the banter between characters, the possible <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="864b25f7-6a54-48ef-9bcb-9c6e0ebc2ee9" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="864b25f7-6a54-48ef-9bcb-9c6e0ebc2ee9">love triangle between Tristan and Jesse</label>. It's a short book 200 page book that keeps the plot moving so there isn't a ton of character development, but I like them well enough to be looking forward to the next book in the series.<br /><br /> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/21001222-kevin-s-2020-cozies#comment_201550548" rel="nofollow noopener">Cozies Reading Challenge</a>

There is something wrong in the town of Wormwood. Hazel Salem is still trying to make a living in the apothecary her Mother left to her. But without the powers of a witch, she turns her hand to reporting in hopes of making more money. But before she really gets started two women show up claiming to be her Aunts, there is a ritualistic murder in the woods and the towns people seem to be turning on each other. Then there are her cats. One is a sarcastic challenge and the other is mysterious and quiet. <br /><br />A well-written mystery is at the foundation of this book. The characters grow and develop and new characters keep the relationships interesting.

In the prequel Hazel gets a house with a apothecary and two black cats. One of them talks. In this book she gets two weird and ancient aunts, a fake boyfriend and a curse. Oh, and don't forget the frogs.<br />Weird, funny and intruiging magical murder mysterie. I loved it!<br />I received a copy and chose to review it.

It has been 6 months since Hazel landed back in Wormwood and things really haven’t changed much. She discovers she has two aunts for witches, no magic, a talking cat for a familiar, a mute cat and no money. As she struggles to make ends meet Hazel works to get more advertisers for her magazines to bring in some extra funds. <br />When a murder happens in Wormwood, the whole community is shocked. There has not been a murder in town in over 100 years. Seeing this as an opportunity to bring advertisers and readers to the magazine, Hazel decides to scope out the murder and write a story about it. But as Hazel soon finds out, this murder has clues that seem to point the finger at all the paranormal in Wormwood. <br />With new people popping up everywhere Hazel is not sure who to trust. Even her aunts seem a bit sketchy. Strange things are happening and people are pitting against one another. Will the normal and the paranormal tear each other apart before the murder is solved? Will Hazel ever come into her powers or will she just be Hazel?<br />Wow! This series really started off with a bang. With a murder, mysterious strangers, dark magic, talking cats and danger this book is sure to keep you entertained. The characters are lovely and fun. The book is steady paced and a real page turner. A wonderful world created with mysterious and entertaining characters. Full of thrills and snarky fun. You won’t find modern in the world of Wormwood, but you will find the weird and unexplained. <br />A murder mystery that will keep you guessing till the end. This series has the perfect backstory to keep it going strong. Especially these: Who is Hazel’s father? What are the aunts hiding from Hazel? What is she destined for? Will she be the most powerful witch in Wormwood if she gains her powers? <br />So if you are looking for a cozy and fun mystery, then this book is for you. It is fun and full of witches, black cats, fortune tellers and wizards. What can be more fun than that? So start with the prequel Hemlock and Hedge and enjoy the magic.<br />

Hazel is a witch with no powers in a strange town full of witches, fortunetellers, psychics, and the like. She runs a failing apothecary and subsequently publishes a magazine about the weird happenings in Wormwood, when one day two magical aunts she didn’t know existed show up on her doorstep on the day directly after a murder in town.<br /><br />This book seemed like a cute cozy mystery, a perfect fall read. The cover is cute, Hazel has a familiar in the form of a talking cat, there’s fake dating, and it has spooky vibes. Unfortunately, the book was supremely disappointing and I didn’t care about any aspect of the story whatsoever. <br /><br />On the very first page, our protagonist remarks how weird her town is, that Wormwood is the weirdest town in the country, full of witches, fortunetellers, druids, psychics, etc. and that weird stuff happens every day. But then throughout the novel, we don’t see any of that. I would have loved a more fleshed-out setting. Especially with how weird the town apparently is, Ruby Loren could have added in so many great scenes full of weirdness going on that would be perfect for that town, but we learn nothing at all about Wormwood. Hazel never ventures into town to see people or witness strange happenings or anything and it was very disappointing. This is not my only complaint about the setting though—the characters’ opinions about their town are horribly inconsistent. For the weirdest town in England you would expect the people living in that town to embrace it or at least accept it, but the characters act like their town full of witches is a normal town like any other, that all the psychics and witches and fortunetellers are fake and annoying, that the town sucks, etc. And then the next chapter they’re standing up for the witches and supporting the town. At one point there’s mention of all the tourists the town gets, and then we read about how the town is always forgotten on maps and no one goes there. It all made no sense to me and was just highly inconsistent. <br /><br />I didn’t mind Hazel as a protagonist, but there is no character development in this entire book. <i>Mandrake and a Murder</i> features the most one-dimensional characters I’ve ever read. The two aunts speak and act exactly the same, I have no idea what Hazel or the fake boyfriend or anybody else looks like, the talking cat Hemlock and his shadow Hedge seem to just be thrown in there for comedic relief without actually being funny, and every citizen of Wormwood that we meet is just a cardboard cutout with a flat personality. The banter and jokes between characters fell flat and weren’t working for me either. <br /><br />I was especially disappointed in the fake dating aspect. The “boyfriend” only shows up in the beginning when he tells Hazel they’re fake dating, and then never shows up again. There was absolutely no point to include that subplot in the book when it didn’t pan out or pertain to the story whatsoever. <br /><br />On top of minimal character development, the plot development was also lacking. In some scenes, events were happening that should have been explained more because they didn’t make sense, or they moved too fast, or the reasoning behind someone’s actions wasn’t explained at all. Characters were drawing conclusions that I didn’t think they had sufficient evidence for. I was also disappointed in the descriptions of magic that were surface-level at best. I wanted to see more witchy magic but that is very much lacking here. <br /><br />The murder investigation itself was also a huge letdown. The victim was an unknown character that no one knows, the reveal of the murderer was not surprising in the least, and the murderer’s intentions were confusing at best. I felt like the ending was very unsatisfying as well, and there were no “twists” like the synopsis promises. <br /><br />The writing style in this book feels very amateurish and is annoyingly repetitive. There are sentences like, “Her cupcake was left uneaten on the table where she’d left it,” as well as multiple sentences in a row saying the same thing. <br /><br /><i>Mandrake and a Murder</i> is fast-paced if only because it leaves out many necessary details. I actually struggled to get through it, and the novel is only 189 pages. This book is full of inconsistencies and a frustrating lack of anything exciting. <br /><br />I didn’t care about any of the characters, I didn’t care about the murder or who did it, I didn’t care what happened with the plot. That’s honestly how I felt during the entire book: I just didn’t care. I won’t be continuing with the series and I would not recommend. <br /><br /><i>My Book Blog: <a href="https://mystoreysofstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/review-mandrake-and-murder-by-ruby-loren.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Storeys of Stories</a> </i>

Hazel Salem comes from a long line of witches, not that she believes in any of this. Even her own mother said she herself was a witch, but Hazel thought she was just a bit weird and deluded. She escaped Wormwood as soon as she could and hasn’t been back for years. She wants to be a writer, but is now stuck back in Wormwood, trying to keep her mother’s shop going – her inheritance, as such. Along with the two black cats she found on her doorstep, as mentioned in the prequel, Hemlock and Hedge, which is definitely worth reading before this one, but doesn’t have to be.<br /><br />A murder happens in the woods and Hazel sees this as an ideal opportunity to start a town newsletter. There is a mystery surrounding the couple that came into town, with the stranger who was murdered, and signs of discontent are growing between different parts of the community. Mystical versus non-magical. Bring in a handsome detective from the next town, another handsome man saying he is a detective brought in by the mayor, and ladies start swooning left and right.<br /><br />Secrets are being held by some and others know more than they are saying. Hazel needs to work out who will gain the most from this murder and also manage the sudden appearance of two older ladies, who say they are her aunts! Add in the local baker and her fake relationship, an evil magician and the local coven and matters start to get interesting. When Hazel starts to hear voices, seemingly coming from one of her cats, she has cause to worry about her own sanity.<br /><br />A great read, this is the first full length book in the Witches of Wormwood series and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. The sarcasm she receives every day from Hemlock is priceless and one of her aunts in particular, is not quite what you might expect, as a role model to Hazel. It makes for some funny scenes in the story. A murder to be solved, the town to be kept together, a newsletter to publish, some dishy newcomers, her sanity and a talking cat, never mind two relatives telling her she may be a witch herself!<br /><br />Another cracking tale from the author and a joy to read. There is plenty going on to keep your attention and I, for one, read it through in one sitting. I just couldn’t wait to see what happened each time the page was turned. This starts with someone who is a sceptic and who then has to realise that there is more to her world than she could ever imagine! I would thoroughly recommend this series to any readers who love Ruby Loren’s other books, or to those who love a tale with a bit of magic and witches.<br /><br />I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above. I bought it as well, to keep in my permanent collection – it is so worth it!<br />

Hazel inherited her mother's shop selling herbs and various things for the supernaturals in the town of Wormwood where witches, wizards, fortune tellers all reside along side of non-paranormals. Hazel thinking with her scientific mind and believing she is a normal human believes there are really no such thing as a real witch. But in come her aunts (she didn't know she had living family) who say they are witches and say they are there to help her learn her own powers. Hazel decides to humor them until she can find out more about them. Also, there is her cats, Hemlock who says he is her familiar and can talk to her which of course freaks her out and her silent cat, Hedge, who strangely goes about his business. To make ends meet, since the shop is not doing so well, she decides to write a town magazine hoping to get advertisers to help her with expenses. When there is a murder in town implicating the paranormals, all craziness starts to happen. So, we have Hazel who thinks if she can figure out what happened she could write it up in her magazine and get people interested in advertising in it. But this murder puts the "normal" community against the paranormal community. With lots of twists and turns in this story and strangers showing up in town, you can't put this down until you finished the book since you can't wait to see what will happen next, will Hazel get her powers her Aunts think is inevitable? Who is Jesse Heathen really? What connection is he to Hazel? What will happen next in Wormwood as he predicts? How is he on her "side"? What is her side? Who is her father? So many questions which make you read through the book only to find you crave book 2 in this series to find out more. I received an ARC from the author, but the opinions expressed here is strictly my own.

I've read the seven books available in this series. Book 8 is in pre-order status right now. They could be read as standalone, but with the way they follow each other so closely you really are better off reading them sequentially. Also, there's the accrued info you get by reading this way. I have not read the prequel, but I have heard it recommended for more background. This is a lovely cozy series with witches, familiars who speak, vampires, devils, and humans. It takes place in a small town in England that time and life seem to have overlooked. Even roads and rivers curve around it. Hazel grew up here and has returned at the death of her mother to run the Apothecary Shop. She arrived with her young black cat familiar, Hemlock, and his brother, Hedge. Hemlock speaks to her, but Hedge does not. She's not sure why she has a familiar, since she's the family dud, no magic and none in sight here in her late 20s. But there are great things to come for Hazel Salem. Her two aunts, Miranda and Linda, arrive to stay with her. They may look like they're in their 40s, but they're both close to 100. Ahh, magic. A dead body, a detective, a baker, biscuits, the mayor, the local coven, a stranger with eyes the same color as hers, and a strange feeling all come into play for Hazel. In this first book and throughout this fun and exciting series of paranormal mysteries Hazel manages to hold her own and triumph with the help of a small circle of friends and sometimes just dumb luck. Recommended.

Mandrake and a Murder #2 - Takes place about six months after Hemlock and Hedge ended. There are a lot of secrets and surprises included in this fast paced, intriguing story. More characters join the cast, some good and some intriguing and some not very nice to be polite. The storylines twist here and there and some are concluded, while others carry into the next book - but no cliffhangers, just teases of what's to come. It's hard to pick a favorite characters since there are quite a few that are endearing or just plain lovable. There are more likeable characters but the nasty ones make themselves known. 5*<br /><br />The Witches of Wormwood:<br />Hemlock and Hedge #1 - A different approach to starting life as a witch after the death of her mother sets up the foundation in this introductory prequel. Basic development of characters but since this is a series, Ms. Loren will be having plenty of character growth as the series progresses. Interesting storylines, which of course will develop more, too. <br /><br /><br />Again there's an interesting animal involved; the familiar is a hoot with intelligence. Working together although unbeknownst to Hazel, she and Aziraphale solve the mystery. Aziraphale's secret comes out along with other secrets. There's good suspense and intrigue, and the thought process used to solve the mystery is good, but Ms. Loren writes more substantial plots than the usual cozy genre. I contacted the author to review her books. 4*<br />The Witches of Wormwood end.

Hazel just wants to make a decent living in Wormwood, a town with a mix of normal people and paranormals. A murder has taken place out in the woods. She decides to write a story about it for her magazine. Maybe she would get more readers and maybe more businesses would buy ad space. As she tries to find out what happened she realizes she will have to investigate it if she wants any information. The normals and paranormals seem to be pitted against each other. She is supposed to be a witch but she has no powers. She doesn't believe in magic or witches. Then one day two women appear and tell her they are her aunts and they are to live with her as she comes into her powers. They are there to teach her how to use those powers. Shortly after that business places start getting vandalized. Are these women really her aunts? She had never been told she had family. Who killed that man? Who is Hazel's father? Who is Jesse Heathen? Who is the vandal? <br />I love Hemlock. I'm enjoying all the characters. The story flows. It is very well written. Ruby has another winning series!<br />I voluntarily received a copy of this book and I'm voluntarily posting a review. My opinion is entirely my own.