August is almost here! And to me, August — more than any other summer month — means the beach. So, this week I wanted to highlight a cozy mystery that is about as beachy as it gets.
A Spell for Trouble is the first in Esme Addison’s Enchanted Bay Mystery series. (The second one recently came out — find both of them here.) When her life starts to fall apart, risk management consultant Aleksandra returns to Bellamy Bay, North Carolina, to spend time with her aunt and cousins. It soon becomes clear, however, that there’s more to her aunt’s apothecary than meets the eye. And at the same time that a local murder throws her aunt under suspicion, Alex is also unraveling her family history — which traces back to the mythological mermaid of Warsaw.
I really enjoyed the magic and mermaid aspect of this mystery — it was well thought out and very fun. Since everything is new to Alex, readers get to learn and discover right alongside her. One of the best parts of the book was seeing how Alex’s family came together, too.
[mild spoilers!] I did have a few small issues with some of the characters, though. Alex’s aunt bothered me at first; she comes off as aggressive and unlikeable at times. Given that she was the primary suspect and we should have felt bad for her, this tripped me up. However, her attitude is explained well later in the book, so you just have to hang in there. I also felt terrible for one of the romantic interests most of the time, but I am a softie that way. 🙂 In the end, most of those feelings were cancelled out.
All in all, I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes some magic in their cozy mystery, or anyone looking for a good beach read. I myself am eagerly looking forward to the next one!
