Book Review: Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell

I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries and for a long time I was interested on the Witchcraft Mystery series by Juliet Blackwell. Let's see: it's a cozy mystery about witches, so what's not to love about it? So, after seeing that the kindle edition of the first book was on sale, I decided it'll be finally time to give it a try. And I don't regret it one bit.

Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....

Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion - she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry - her store becomes a big hit.

But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it's not easy - especially under the spells of sexy "mythbuster" Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily's witchy ways be forced out of the closet?

The last cozy mystery I read was Caught Dead Handed (Witch City Mystery, #1) by Carol J. Perry, also a cozy mystery about a witch. But while the first takes place in the small Salem, Secondhand Spirits tells us the story of Lily Ivory, a real witch that recently moved to San Francisco and opened a vintage clothing store. From a mysterious
male-witch, she earns Oscar, a goblin familiar who can turn himself as a guinea pig to walk among the non-magical folk.

The characters are really nice, and although they aren't all deeply developed, at least in this first book, they aren't plain either. And this isn't a problem at all, because unless you have a book with just a few characters, and a character-driven story, there won't be space to tell us the past of all of them. Besides, it's a mystery book, so getting to know the characters better as the series progress is something welcome.

“Ooh! How much is she paying you?” Oscar hopped around the kitchen in his excitement. “Firstborn? Life of duty? Web site?”
That last option threw me. “Web site?”
“Master Rhodes had a supplicant make him an interactive Web site. You should see it. It’s awesome.”
Times do change.

I really enjoyed this book, and it's highly recommended for it's lovely characters, nice setting and the magic-filled story. 4/5 stars.

Links: GoodReads, Amazon, BookDepository