Ellen Jane

A Hive of Secrets and Spells

Jude Silberfeld

A Hive of Secrets and Spells is very different from the other crime books I’ve been reading lately, and it’s nice to change from time to time. There’s nothing creepy about it but it still takes the reader on unexpected paths and I thought the plot was quite well written. It’s exactly as a cozy mystery should be, with an atmosphere reminiscent of Murder, She Wrote or, more recently, My Life Is Murder (yeah, I had to mention Lucy Lawless at some point) but with magic and lesbians.

Heather has a lot on her mind. In a perfect case of no good deed going unpunished (as a poster in my grandparents’ room used to claim), she’s in trouble for having solved a murder without a license just before Christmas (in Magic, Murder & Mistletoe); her girlfriend Sinéad wants her to move in with her but she doesn’t want to leave Old Wetchhaven; and on top of that their phones are acting strange, resulting in her losing the last ever voicemail her parents have left her. She also feels her magic isn’t strong or useful enough. In a word, she feels like a failure. Then Sinéad gets a letter from someone claiming to be her long-lost brother announcing the parents she’s never known have been kidnapped.

Magic, Murder & Mistletoe was a nice introduction to Heather and Sinéad and the world they live in. It had a cute YA/NA feel that remains in this sequel, but this story is more complex and delves deeper. It’s a story of personal growth, mostly Heather’s, who learns to believe in herself and to succeed by herself while still being part of a team. Speaking of team, I really like Cian, the brother, and hope we’ll get to see more of him in future instalments.

I received a copy for free and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

A Hive of Secrets and Spells

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