Saturday, December 24, 2016

Dakota Cassidy, How the Witch Stole Christmas

Title:  How the Witch Stole Christmas (Witchless In Seattle Book 5)  
Author:  Dakota Cassidy
Rating:  Five Siren Stones
Genre:  Paranormal Mystery
Sub-Genre:  Cozy Mystery
Keywords:  Witch, Spy, Cotton Bat, Medium, Afterlife, Ghosts, Murder
Page Count:  156                
ISBN E-Book:  Amazon Digital Services LLC
Price:  $3.99
Publisher:  Self-Published
Reviewer:  Stacey Krug 

 Blurb/Summary:

The game is afoot in Ebenezer Falls, Washington, and this time someone is trying to ruin Christmas!

With twists, turns, and suspects aplenty, amateur sleuth Stevie Cartwright is determined to find a murderer and her missing familiar before the silver bells tarnish! 

USA Today bestselling cozy mystery author Dakota Cassidy serves up mayhem and murder in How the Witch Stole Christmas, Book 5 of her bestselling series, Witchless in Seattle Mysteries

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas--!

Er, not so much. . .

It's Christmas, and I, ex-witch, Stevie Cartwright declare this my favorite time of year! I love the decorations! The food! The Hallmark Channel holiday specials! This year promises to be better than ever because for the first time in a very long time, I'm going to have more than just Cheez Whiz, Triscuits and the wish to be surrounded by family and friends. 

My carefully planned holiday bonanza includes all the usual suspects. My bat familiar Belfry, my dog Whiskey, my ever-present ghostly spy friends--dashing Brit Winterbottom, stalwart Russian Arkady and my parents. 

However, nothing comes easy for this amateur sleuth, not even a neighborhood decorating contest. You know, the one I've been painstakingly prepping for months? Something goes horribly awry with my Christmas display (think bikini-clad carolers, pink flamingos and real, live turkeys) to start. 

But the worst? The dead body of the famous Chef Pascal Le June in my nativity scene! 

It becomes clear someone's trying to ruin my Christmas, and that someone must pay! But when Belfry goes missing, and the danger takes on a paranormal edge, I find I have more to lose than ever before. . .

This cozy mystery has a complete cast of oddball characters from witches to ghosts and bats to psychics. Witchless In Seattle Mysteries is a spin-off of Dakota Cassidy's bestselling paranormal romance series, A Paris, Texas Romance.

Review:

If you are looking for a good mystery to curl up with on Christmas Eve, then this is it!  The gang in Ebenezer Falls, Washington does not fail to entertain.  Stevie Cartwright has entered the Ebenezer Falls Christmas decorating contest and absolutely nothing goes according to plan.  The dead guy in her nativity scene doesn’t go unnoticed, but her beautifully planned Christmas decorations are ruined! 

How the Witch Stole Christmas is book five in the Witchless In Seattle series.  This book is not a cliff hanger and contains an entire story, but to get the most out of your journey with Stevie Cartwright you should read the previous stories.  Wonderful characters from the series play key roles in this book.

This book has a great plot with steady action and momentum.  Stevie Cartwright’s predicament will pull at your heart-strings and keep you reading.  Dakota Cassidy’s writing will leave you wanting more of Stevie and Winterbottom.  The cast of secondary characters and the level of snark are both highly entertaining.