To Catch a Witch: A Wishcraft Mystery

To Catch a Witch by Heather Blake is the eighth novel in A Wishcraft Mystery series. Darcy Merriweather runs As You Wish, a personal concierge service, in the Enchanted Village in Massachusetts. She has been hired by Abby Stillwell to organize this year’s annual Wicked Mad Dash. The proceeds from the race will help pay the medical bills for little Aine Bryant. The event gets off to a bumpy starts courtesy of Vince Paxton and his magical pranks. Abby asks Darcy to go over the bookkeeping ledgers for the race since they are off from the previous years. Abby then departs to warm up for the race, but she does not return. A search commences, and Abby is found dead below Aural Gorge bridge. As Craft investigator, Darcy teams up with her fiancé, Nick Sawyer (police chief for Enchanted Village) to track down Abby’s killer. Darcy is worried about her sister, Harper. She has been running herself ragged since she broke up with Marcus. Her health is in jeopardy and Dr. Dennis Goodwin has some shocking news. To top it off, Dorothy Hansel Dewitt is attempting a coup and the only person who can save the village from her reign of terror is heartbroken Harper. Can Darcy conjure up the killer before her suspects fly off? To Catch a Witch is an enchanting cozy mystery. It is well-written and has a steady pace which makes for an easy to read story. Heather Blake has created delightful characters for A Wishcraft Mystery series. Darcy has embraced life in the Enchanted Village. She is now running As You Wish, gotten engaged, a wonderful stepmom to Mimi, takes care of their numerous pets, is the Craft investigator, and helps her friends. Darcy has a caring heart and does not like to see anyone hurting. She has also taken to rehabilitating Vince Paxton who found his Craft too dull and has taken to dark magic. If Darcy can turn Glinda around, then Vince should be a piece of cake. There is a humorous scene with Aunt Ve and Archie that involves Magnum PI and Pina coladas. Two of my favorite characters are Pepe and Mrs. P. They are just adorable, and Pepe is a wizard with a needle (I would for him to craft me a dress). The author was creative when making up the magical abilities for her series. They are unique along with the names. The Enchanted Village is a charming small town outside Salem. Each shop is special and suits the owner (no big box stores in this hamlet). If you have not read any of the previous novels in A Wishcraft Mystery series, I do not suggest you begin with To Catch a Witch (you would be missing out on the backstory that is needed to understand the characters and the magic). Each book in the series builds upon the previous one. I thought the mystery was spellbinding and multifaceted. There are several suspects with motive to kill Abby plus it turns out that Abby had a few secrets of her own. There is active investigating and I appreciate that Darcy works with the police to help solve the case. Nick is happy to have her assistance and just warns her to be careful (Nick is a sweetie). You will need to be clairvoyant (or a master cozy mystery sleuth) to solve Abby’s murder. I could have done with less repetition (I do not need to be told the same thing multiple times), but that is my only grievance. To Catch a Witch is packed full of intriguing storylines, and it will keep you riveted until the very end. I wish we did not have to wait a year for the next bewitching installment in A Wishcraft Mystery series.

Another fantastic addition to a stellar series! Heather Blake brings us back to the Enchanted Village where Darcy's been hired through her concierge service to help set up and run the annual race. Stepping into the additional role of Elder inspector, Darcy seems to have her hands full. Throw in new friendships that she finds herself questioning, health issues in the family, and the typical drama of every day life and even the most "got it together" woman is going to run herself ragged. With humor and her unwavering belief in others, Darcy manages to pull it all together and leave us longing for the next book to be released. Thank you to Heather Blake, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for letting me read this book and share my love for it with others.

LOVED this book! This is a wonderful series that has Darcy, a wishcrafter, along with her police chief fiance, investigate a murder. Nick is investigating in his role as the police chief, while Darcy is investigating the paranormal (or "craft") aspects of it on behalf of the village elder. This is a well told story with a substantial mystery that fans of the genre will appreciate. Add in the craft aspects and the relationships between the mortals and the crafters and you have all the elements for a wonderful story. I found myself pulled into the tale from the very first page and kept turning pages just as quickly as possible until the very last page. Put this one at the top of your TBR list as you can't go wrong with a book by this author. While this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel, however, they're so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all. The author is on my must read authors' list.