Heather Blake - Ghost of a Potion

The third book in the Magic Potion Mystery series, published October 6, 2015.
Genre: paranormal cozy mystery
Cover: lovely



In the latest from the bestselling author of One Potion in the Grave, it's Halloween in Hitching Post, Alabama, and potion shop owner Carly Bell Hartwell has an especially spooky customer to handle...
With all the ghosts that haunt her at this time of year, Carly doesn't exactly rush to celebrate Halloween. Even a costume ball organized by her boyfriend Dylan's mother, Patricia Davis Jackson, holds little allure. But to please Dylan, who wants peace between the two women, Carly reluctantly agrees to go.
Gossip around town is that architect Haywood Dodd plans to make a big announcement at the party. But before he can address the crowd, he's found dead with Patricia standing over him, holding the murder weapon. Anxious to clear Patricia's name and perhaps broker a truce with her, Carly would love to use her snooping skills to find the real killer. Only she has bigger problems to deal with - ghosts are flocking to her for help, including a very persistent Haywood Dodd...


Carly is a witch with her own magical potions shop, and she hates Halloween. Those three dangerous days, the ghosts come out and if they find out she can see them, they won't leave her alone until she has helped them with whatever is preventing them to cross. She used to love this time of year, and helping ghosts find some closure until a very nasty experience with an evil ghost a few years ago. Nowadays, she just hides inside the house with a lot of comfort food and chick movies. Her cousin Delia thinks otherwise, she sets out especially to help as many ghosts as she can. But the best laid plans go amiss, when Carly is front and center at a murder scene, and the ghost asks for her help. And then he disappears as he doesn't want Carly to find out his secrets after all.

While searching for Haywoods ghost, Carly is noticed by Virgil Keane, and he needs to know his beloved dog Louella is all right, as he himself was killed in a hit and run car accident while walking her.

But Carly doesn't give up on her quest to find out the truth about who killed Haywood Dodd, after the why was pretty easy. More and more secrets are unearthed, and I was absolutely flabbergasted at the reason why Patricia dislikes Carly so much that she has been sabotaging her relationship with Dylan from the get-go.

Delia also doesn't have an easy Halloween, when she find Jenny Jane Booth. When a ghost comes too close, the empath/witch feels the ghosts' death, and as Jenny suffered a stroke, it is almost impossible for Delia to walk, and to communicate with Jenny. Finally Carly's father helps them when a note also doesn't work, by telling the ghost (who doesn't affect him) to keep her distance from the girls. Jenny Jane Booth wants to see her grandchild and so the mission is to find out where Moriah is living now, and to find a way to bring Jenny Jane with them, without her disabling them in the car. When the three days are over, the ghosts will fade and not be able to cross over until next year …


So, some good deeds are done by Delia and Carly, but the secrets that are unearthed have caused a lot of trouble and death by the people who wanted it to be kept a secret. But the biggest one is about Dylan, Carly's boyfriend, who is also a Deputy, and his mother, who is the main murder suspect. I was absolutely astonished about what I found out, and I can't wait to learn what will happen next.

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while now, know that I love cozy mysteries, and especially paranormal cozy mysteries. And I have to tell you, Heather Blake is one of the best authors I have read so far in this genre. Heartily recommended. It is the perfect mix of humor, suspense, danger, magic and love and great characters that makes this series a delight to read. Carly's family sure is eccentric!

10 stars.

© 2016 Reviews by Aurian