Lily Ivory faces a thorny challenge in A VISION IN VELVET, the fifth in Juliet Blackwell's Witchcraft Mystery series. The persistence of evil, an ancient oak and a missing pig slash familiar create a framework for murder. The solution took me by surprise which is always a treat when reading a mystery.

Lily's vintage clothing shop turns into Find-The-Pig Central when Oscar goes missing. Her fear and sorrow is only exacerbated by the well-meaning efforts of friends. She knows precisely where Oscar disappeared but her non-witchy friends' efforts will be of no concrete help. Only solving an ancient curse has a chance to bring Oscar back, but will he think the sacrifice she must make is worth it?

Thinking back, I believe this is the best of this series I've read. The complex issues are key to creating the tension that ratchets up through Lily's struggles. I also enjoyed the expansion of information about some of the secondary characters.

I think that A VISION IN VELVET could be read as a stand- alone book. Juliet Blackwell is a master at weaving back story so that it does not interfere with the main thrust of the book but truly, reading the entire series is a pleasure well-worth the time and money invested.