The national bestselling authors of the Missing Pieces Mysteries summon up the first Retired Witches Mystery in a brand new supernatural series…
Once upon a time in Wilmington, North Carolina, three witches ran a curio shop named Smuggler’s Arcane. But as the years passed, their magical powers started to fade—leaving them no choice but to conjure up a retirement package…
Before they could blink their eyes or twitch their noses, Molly, Elsie, and Olivia somehow became eligible for AARP. But they can’t fly off to Boca Raton just yet. First they must give up their magic, recruit and train three new witches, and pass on their cherished spellbook.
They’ve barely begun to consider potential practitioners when Olivia winds up dead and their spellbook is stolen. To honor their friend and reclaim their spells, Molly and Elsie are about to go wand-to-wand with a dangerous young witch more powerful than the trio was in their prime. And this time they’re going to need more than magic up their sleeves…
Molly, Elsie, and Olivia are getting older and starting to look ahead to their impending retirement. However, before they are able to sell their shop and give up their work, they must find and train their own replacements. Molly is looking forward to retiring with her husband to Boca Raton, Florida, but the matter of replacements is proving to be harder than expected. The three friends are co-owners of a business, but Smuggler’s Arcane isn’t your everyday curio shop and Mollie, Elsie, and Olivia aren’t ordinary women. The three friends are witches and they must find suitable apprentices to learn their magic and inherit their spell book. Before their mission of finding three trainees is complete, Olivia is murdered and their precious spell book is stolen. Now Molly and Elsie must put their original plans on hold to solve Olivia’s murder and prevent any more innocent people from being hurt.
I really like the original premise of this series. Witchcraft is often found in cozies, but the idea of a witch’s powers fading with age, requiring retirement, is something different. I enjoy the camaraderie of the three friends, although I prefer the characters of the family-oriented Molly and wild child Olivia. Elsie seems to be a loyal friend, but is harder to read and not as likeable as the other main characters. Many of the side-characters add humor and depth to the story, although the side-plot with the werewolves is more distracting than entertainment. One of my favorite parts of the story is the twist regarding new recruit Dorothy Lane’s connection to the group.
The investigation is fun to read about and it is interesting to see Olivia participate in the investigation of her own murder! The supernatural elements make the story fun and it’s exciting to see how the witches use their powers to help get to the truth of Olivia’s murder. Some parts of the story start to drag in the middle, with too many tangents with the Grand Council of witches and not enough progress in the main plot.
The magic portion of the book is well-done. Some elements of the book remind me of a lighter version of early Dresden File novels by Jim Butcher. Although some of the rules of the council seem harsh, they set up the need for the witches to be discreet with their powers which adds to the drama of the story. The solution of the murder is explained well and was completely unexpected to me. There seem to be a few loose ends left hanging at the end of the book, but maybe they will be addressed in the next installment.
Fans of husband and wife writing team Joyce and Jim Lavene’s Missing Pieces series or of author Madelyn Alt will enjoy this debut book in the Lavene’s newest series.
Reviewed by Christine
