A natural born witch with her own vintage clothing shop,
Aunt Cora's Closet, Lily Ivory is about as comfortable with
death as any normal mortal would be. When the San Francisco
Police Department ask for her help in a case that appears to
be mired in superstition, Lily is pulled away from her
popular store into a mystery full of bad omens. The victim,
Malachi Zazi, who was the head of the Serpentarian Society
which is devoted to discrediting all things superstitious,
was found murdered in his apartment on the thirteenth floor,
with a broken mirror, an open umbrella, a black cat and
other bad luck symbols.
When Lily can't read anything off Malachi's dead body, she
begins to investigate deeper into his death, only to be told
by her mentor to stay away from the case. However, Lily
finds out her friend and fellow witch Bronwyn's son-in- law
is suspected of killing Malachi and she becomes determined
to do everything in her power to help clear his name. When
things get heated, and everyone, including Bronwyn asks Lily
to drop the case, Lily ignores them, placing herself in the
path of a killer.
HEXES AND HEMLINES, the third book in Juliet Blackwell's
Witchcraft Mystery series, is a well researched book which
is a great mix of mystery and paranormal. Superstitions is
something most, if not all of us can relate to, and Ms.
Blackwell incorporates many of the popular ones still
believed by many today. We delve deeper into the characters
in this book as well, learning just enough to keep you
hooked to the series. Ms. Blackwell does an excellent job of
not just making the characters come to life but also making
the setting come to life. I feel like I'm back in San
Francisco, walking along Haight and Ashbury, looking into
the eclectic shops that make up the global village. Throw in
a little romance and two men to choose from to spice things
up and you have a cannot miss book that is ready to be
devoured.
Lily gets called away from her vintage clothing store to
give police a witch's take on how the leader of a
rationalist society could be murdered, surrounded by
superstitions he discredited.
Evidence points to dark witchcraft. Lily's determined to use
magic of her own to find the murderer, before everyone's
luck runs out.