Read Between September 10th 2018 and September 15th 2018
Edition Details:
Format : E-book
Page Count: 180
ASIN:B0722Z1LZH
Series : Brimstone Witch Mystery #1
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| Brimstone Witch Mystery #1 – Murder of a werewolf |
First Sentence:
Gran peered closer at me across her kitchen table and said,”Cassia, this can’t go on.”
Jonathan Tidwell was found hanging from a tree. It was a shock for most of residents of Brimstone. They believed Jonathan had been murdered and it was a start of something sinister. They wanted it investigated and wanted someone to uncover mystery behind this incident.
Cassia Winters was a normal girl. She had a normal life, normal job and normal problems. But there was something that was amiss in her life. She was always stressed, suffering from ailments which shouldn’t have been there. She didn’t know what was wrong with her and neither the doctor that used to take care of her.
Esther winters was Cassia’s grandmother and seemed to know what was wrong with her grand daughter. According to Esther, this was because Cassia was denying her true nature. They were witches and Cassia should accept it.
Cassia thought her grand mother has gone senile. But then things start happening that force Cassia to think otherwise. And eventually, Cassia finds herself investigating the murder of Jonathan Tidwell, who was a werewolf.
Was Jonathan really murdered? Who was behind this murder? Was Cassia really a witch? How did she get involved in the murder investigation? Was Cassia able to solve the mystery?
Main Characters:
Cassia Winters – A 28 year old girl
Esther Winters – Cassia’s grand mother
Oliver – Esther’s Cat
Stanley- Cassia’s cat
Alastair – Cassia’s boyfriend and seniour in office
Jonathan Tidwell – A werewolf that was found dead
Strom – Leader of Jonathan’s pack
Anju – Strom’s daughter and Jonathan’s finace
Flint – A hot tempered werewolf
Luca – Cassia’s childhood friend
Blythe – A 300 year old witch who ruled Grimstone
Brin – Blythe’s house elf
Cheryl Atkins – Cassia’s colleague
Dr Gilbert – Family doctor of Esther and Cassia
Tansy – A forest elf
I have always been interested in reading murder mysteries set up in a world where supernatural creatures dwell. I’m always on lookout for reading books that are written on this theme and so i had to read this one when i saw it on amazon. The fact that book’s kindle edition was free to download also helped the matters and now after finishing the book i can say that i’m glad that i read it. I had not yet read a cozy mystery. I used to read hard boiled gritty fiction but now i think i can enjoy these types of cozy mysteries too.
Murder of a Werewolf by April Fernsby is a first novel in the Birmstone Witch Mystery series.The books are about a Grandmother and grand-daughter duo who investigate mysteries set in a fictional world of Brimstone. Brimstone is a place where all mythical characters live in harmony. Most of the time there is peace but when some crime occurs then special witches are needed to investigate the matter. These witches are called justice witches and have been doing it from centuries. Winters have been the Justice Witches of Brimstone since time immemorial.
I liked the way Cassia winters is introduced in the book. She has forgotten about her origins and has been living a normal life. Then things occur and she has to acknowledge who she is and choose the life she wants for her. This choice doesn’t happen so easily. She has a life in normal world which she likes and so she grapples with the dilemma till the very end of the story. It makes you feel for her.
Since, this a fantasy novel where a new world is created so the story may feel little bit slower in the starting. The first novel has to set up the world and make readers comfortable in the new world and that may make the first novel a slow read. This was true for this novel too. It may feel a little bit slow in the starting part but when it picks up pace then it never lets it go.
I liked the way the author has introduced the world to the reader. The protagonist and the reader come to know of it at the somewhat same time. This world is as new for Cassia as it’s for us so we can feel what she’s feeling. I know the next set of mysteries are going to be much fast paced as she and her granny will directly start investigating the mysteries.
There are some other points that i’m looking forward to know about. We get to know that something that happened to Cassia’s mother so i would be interested to know what that something was. I would like to read the story where Cassia uncovers that mystery. Plus, we are given an indication that something big and sinister has started happening in this mysterious fantastical world so that’s another thing to look forward too.
The characters in the book feel genuine. Cassia is normal 28 year old girl. She has her own set of problems. A stressful job, an overbearing boyfriend and stress that is making her sick. Then she is suddenly thrown into this new world. That’s overwhelming for her and we can feel it. When she is forced to do investigations, she is a novice and her being inexperienced in this field can be easily seen. She makes mistakes and learns from them.I’m 28 years old and there was time especially in the starting i felt that Cassia was acting like a kid. That kind of irked me little sometimes but it was just in the starting when she thinks about her childhood. I could get it but it was irritating nonetheless .But that’s me.
Alistair’s character was one i didn’t like. He seems too much of a control freak and i didn’t know how can somebody put up with it. Although, i have seen women like Cassia in relationship with guys like Alistair.So the dynamics between them didn’t look made up. Although, it made me think that if Alistair would have been a good boyfriend then what would have Cassia decided? Would she would have taken him into confidence or would have left him?
There is Luca in the book who is described as exceptionally handsome. And in contrast to that Cassia’s boyfriend was described as an average Joe. This was something that made me feel was some kind of wish fulfilment.I’m not saying that people who look average can’t be bad or people who are exceptionally beautiful can’t be good but i think this felt like a stereotype to me. There were moments when i was thinking that may be Luca would be the evil one. Did it turn out that way? Well,you’ll have to read the book to find that out. Although, i don’t know how would i have felt if i had looked like Luca. Ha ha.
I have seen many detective duo’s but this one was quite unique. I used to watch tweety where there was a detective grandmother. This was the second time i was reading a book with featured an elderly lady who was into investigating crimes. I liked her character. She’s strong,protective and can be dangerous too. Although, there is not much detection which she does in this one but i’m hoping she’ll have much bigger role in the next books. I would love to see her in the field of action.
The mystery was good and i couldn’t figure out who the culprit was till the author revealed it. So, it was a satisfactory read for me. I enjoyed it and would be looking forward to reading other books in this series.
If you have read this book then do tell me what did you think of it? If you haven’t then you can get the book from the following link:
Kindle
Paperback
