Book of the Week: Tails You Lose: Witch City Mystery by Carol J Perry

The Witch City Mystery series by Carol J. Perry is one of my all time favorite series!  I have read most of them, and finally went back and read the second book of the series "Tails You Lose." - Somehow I had missed it, and it was AWESOME. That's today's blog.

The main characters are wonderful, Lee who teaches television at a local school (and in later books becomes a reporter for WICH-TV), her boyfriend, later husband, detective Pete Mondello, her aunt Ibby, a retired librarian, and her cat O'Ryan, who originally belonged to a local witch found murdered in book one- are all captivating. There's also Lee's best friend River North, a true witch who reads tarot.

Tails You Lose is a GREAT mystery that will keep you wanting to finish. I read it in 1 week, which is Super-fast for me. In the book, Lee is teaching a television class, and the assignment is to write about the history of Trumbull's deparment store, which happens to be haunted by one of the former residents when it also served as a home. There's mystery, secret tunnels, ghosts, and various new characters. 5 of 5 stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Her instincts may be killer--but can she catch one this wicked?

After losing her job as a TV psychic, Lee Barrett has decided to volunteer her talents as an instructor at the Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts--known as "The Tabby"--in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. But when the school's handyman turns up dead under seemingly inexplicable circumstances on Christmas night, Lee's clairvoyant capabilities begin bubbling to the surface once again.

The Tabby is housed in the long-vacant Trumbull's Department Store. As Lee and her intrepid students begin work on a documentary charting the store's history, they unravel a century of family secrets, deathbed whispers--and a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels hidden right below the streets of Salem. Even the witches in town are spooked, and when Lee begins seeing visions in the large black patent leather pump in her classroom, she's certain something evil is afoot. But ghosts in the store's attic are the least of her worries with a killer on the loose. . .

Another 5 Star Mystery! "Final Exam" by Carol J. Perry (book 8 - Witch City Mysteries)

 I recently finished reading and thoroughly enjoying the 8th book in the "Witch City Mystery" series by Carol J. Perry called "Final Exam."  She's created such wonderful characters- with a tinge of supernatural in them. They all take place in Salem, Massachusetts (home of the infamous, horrible witch trials of the 1600s). I LOVE the characters: Maralee, the main character who is a reporter with WICH-TV can see visions in mirrors, that help solve mysteries that her cop boyfriend, Pete is working on. Maralee's lovable librarian aunt, Ibby lives in the same house and their cat, O'Ryan, former cat to a witch found murdered in book 1, adds a paw to the mysteries.   "Final Exam" kept me guessing throughout the book, the author brings the characters to life, so much that you can see them in your mind as you read. I couldn't wait find out "who did it!" - 5 of 5 stars.

ABOUT THE BOOK: A cold case update in Salem, Massachusetts . . .

Life at the house on Winter Street is abuzz with preparations for Aunt Ibby's 45th high school reunion, and Lee Barrett is happy to pitch in, tracking down addresses and licking envelopes. But as a field reporter for Salem's WICH-TV, her priority is to be on top of the town's latest news before for anyone else.

When the local police dredge up a vintage sports car containing human remains, Lee is thrilled to be the first reporter on the scene. Once she learns the car is connected to the cold case her boyfriend Pete happens to be investigating, her powers of investigation are quickly alerted. But it's her Aunt Libby's emotional reaction to Lee's TV report that puts her on the case. With the help of O'Ryan, her psychic feline sidekick, she'll have to unravel a tangled past of secrets and promises to stop a killer from making history again . . . 

Great Holiday Mystery: Bells, Spells and Murders by Carol J Perry (Witch City Mysteries)

 I recently enjoyed a book in one of my all-time favorite mystery series - the Witch City Mysteries. Witch City is Salem, Massachusetts - home of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. As a Massachusetts native, I've been there several times and am quite familiar with it, which added more interest for me. The book "Bells, Spells and Murders" by Carol J. Perry was another fantastic story in the series.  The author really gets you hooked with the colorful main characters of Lee, a reporter for WICH-TV and her police boyfriend Pete, Lee's aunt Ibby, and Lee's intuitive cat, O'Ryan. Lee also has the ability to see things in shiny surfaces - things that usually mean something in the mysteries she tries to solve. 

   This mystery has several surprises and keeps you guessing until the end. It takes place during the week before Christmas, so the holiday provides a background for the story. Another great mystery in the Witch City Mystery series -and I can't wait to read the rest of them!

 

HERE ARE THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES IN ORDER (and Click highlighted titles for links to my reviews of the ones I read- they are all 5 of 5 stars)

Caught Dead Handed     (2014)  **READ IT 

Tails, You Lose   (2015)  

Look Both Ways (2015)  **READ IT  

Murder Go Round    (2017)    **READ IT!   

Grave Errors       (2017)  **READ IT - 

It Takes a Coven               (2018)  

Bells, Spells, and Murders            (2018)   **READ IT!   

Final Exam          (2019)  

Late Checkout   (2019)  

Murder, Take Two           (2020)   **READ IT  

See Something  (2021)  

Enjoyable Mystery: Look Both Ways by Carol J Perry: A Witch City Mystery

I recently enjoyed a second book in the "Witch City Mystery" series called "Look Both Ways" by Carol J Perry.
    Witch City is of course Salem, Massachusetts, home of the famous Witch trials. (The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.)
     The main character, Maralee is a Scryer (which means she can see "things" in reflective surfaces- that helps her solve mysteries). Her day job is a teacher, and her boyfriend is a Salem, Mass. police officer. The series has great characters- her Aunt and her aunt's boyfriend (who runs the school where Maralee is emplooyed); and Maralee's tarot card reading friend, River. There's also Maralee's mysterious cat...
    In this book, the story revolves around a murder in the past, and Maralee purchases a bureau that once belonged to the victim, and has secret compartments with clues... clues that prompt murders that Maralee and her boyfriend need to solve.
I love the characters, the story and the series. 5 of 5 stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK: In Salem, Massachusetts, there are secret everywhere--even in the furniture. . .
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When Lee Barrett spots the same style oak bureau she once had as a child on the WICH-TV show, Shopping Salem, she rushes to the antiques shop and buys the piece. Just like the beloved bureau she lost in a fire, this one has secret compartments. It also comes with an intriguing history--it was purchased in an estate sale from a home where a famous local murder took place.

The day after the bureau is delivered, Lee returns to the antiques shop and finds the owner dead. The police suspect the shop owner's unscrupulous business partner, but Lee wonders if the murder is connected to her new furniture. At least part of the answer may be revealed through a mirror in the bureau, tarnished and blackened, allowing Lee to tap into her psychic visions. Using this bureau of investigation, Lee may be able to furnish her policeman beau with the evidence needed to catch the killer--before the next one to be shut up is her.