Witch at Heart

Jinx Hamilton is a witch but doesn’t want to be one. She has been working as a waitress at Tom’s Cafe since high school and spent her entire life believing that witches were evil. When her “crazy” Aunt Fiona dies, she inherits her shop in the town of Briar Hollow, North Carolina. It isn’t long after moving in that she finds out she has inherited her aunt’s magical powers as well as her business.

Being a witch with no idea of what it means or what to do about it throws her world into chaos.  Being suddenly thrust into the world of business ownership she finds her life-changing almost daily in ways she never expected. She can somehow talk and see the dead, causing her to become embroiled in a murder investigation in order to help the dead find peace. This is just the icing on the cake. She also has to deal with the almost human-pet rat living in the shop’s storeroom, the handsome neighbor, Chase, whom she can’t take her eyes off, and her 4 very demanding cats; it’s a miracle she isn’t in the looney bin.  Luckily her best friend Tori comes to the rescue, making matters a bit weirder but far easier to deal with.

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Series: A Jinx Hamilton Mystery – Book #1
Author: Juliette Harper
Genre: Witch/Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Skye House Publishing

Rating:

This book has a unique plot and great character development. The story has fun with the “witch” theme with an unwilling practitioner and a BFF who is delighted by her friend’s newfound magic abilities. Jinx’s best friend Tori is a great character, she is funny, adventurous, loyal to her friend and takes the witch thing in stride. Nothing seems to phase her at all, but she shows grave concern for Jinx’s well-being.

Jinx’s aunt is adorable. The way she talks to Jinx allowing her to make her own choices, even though she is always keeping an eye on her just in case, from a grave distance. One of the best scenes in the book is when Jinx first moves into the upstairs apartment over the shop and finds herself talking to her dead aunt, and realizes she is a witch.

The focus of the story is a ghost, Grace (Beth) who has no idea of who she is. This makes for some memorable, heartfelt moments especially when all Grace wants is to see and talk to her mother one more time. This is very endearing and makes the reader care about the murdered girl and want her killer caught. Unfortunately, the inability to tell the police what Jinx and Tori learn hinders the investigation but works out in the end.

The location is a quiet quaint old town, although the story lacks a good description of the town and its residents, it allows your imagination to fill in the gaps.  The shop Jinx inherits is fantastic, a building that is almost human and expresses its emotions in delightful ways It is a  surprising and original setting for Jinx and Tori to spend their time investigating the murder of three girls. The shop plays a significant part in the plot, helps with the investigation, and adds enjoyment along with a bit of laughter to the story.

Overall the characters are believable and likable; the story is fast-paced, a quick read. The only disappointment is that some of the principal characters are not introduced until the end of the book. Characters such as Jinx and Tori’s mothers are not introduced at all even though they are mentioned many times throughout the book. If all of the sub-characters were presented earlier the story could have been more rounded. There are also a couple of characters readers would have enjoyed having play a bigger role in the story. Magic and the witch aspect are very good.

All-in-all I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a cozy mystery that has a basis in the paranormal or is magic/witchcraft based.