Grave Mistake: A Free Cozy Witch Mystery (Small Town Psychic Sleuth)

Christine Pope

Sep 2020 · Hedgewitch for Hire Book 1 · Dark Valentine Press

About this ebook

When you pull up stakes, make sure you don’t get stabbed in the back.

Self-taught in the arcane arts, hedgewitch Selena Marx is comfortable doing divination for West Los Angeles’ anxiety-ridden housewives, lawyers, and aspiring actresses. Her biggest challenge? Avoiding Lucien Dumond, leader of the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers’ Guild, who views her as fresh meat to add to his harem of slavishly devoted groupies.

Selena’s not interested in the slimy, celebrity-schmoozing sorcerer, but nobody turns Lucien down without consequences. When he threatens to fit her with magical cement shoes and drop her off the Santa Monica Pier, Selena’s Tarot cards point her to Globe, Arizona, for a new home, a new shop, and a cursed pet cat.

Just as she’s settling in and meeting the locals — including Calvin Standingbear, hunky chief of the San Ramon Apache tribal police — Lucien tracks her down…and promptly disappears. When his body turns up on tribal lands, it’s up to Calvin to investigate. Starting with Selena.

And when one of Lucien’s acolytes is killed, traces of dark magic and cryptic warnings from the spirits send Selena and Calvin in a race against time — before a too-close-for-comfort evil cuts her own life short.

KEYWORDS: witch, warlock, wizard, sorcerer, psychic, medium, telepath, cop hero, sheriff, detective, police, tarot, crystal ball, wicca, small town romance, small town mystery, cat mystery, magic spell, curse, fish out of water, opposites attract, cozy mystery, cozy cat mystery, cozy witch mystery, free book, free first in series, free mystery, free cozy mystery, free paranormal romance, free paranormal cozy

Ratings and reviews

Grave Mistake (Hedgewitch for Hire - Book 1) A slight change in gears as far as paranormal romance goes, Grave Mistake is delightfully different. Working alone with Tarot Cards, crystals, and an interesting array of objects to guide her, Selena has etched out a living in the LA area helping housewives, anxiety driven professionals, even want to be stars in the performing arts foresee their futures or respond to “mistakes” of their past. However, Lucien Dumond, a powerful magical slime ball who wants nothing more than to bed down the pretty little hedge witch, makes Selena decide to simply disappear. Selena begins life a new in the small Arizona town just north of the Salt River Canyon and buys a building with a perfect space for her little store that sells cute little witchy things. The building sits on the main street in Globe and has a two-bedroom apartment upstairs which is absolutely perfect for Selena’s needs. The only downside might be her roommate, Archie, a cursed cat! Pope cleverly uses Archie to had humor to the story. Globe shares a border with the San Ramon Apache Reservation, which is protected by the outrageously gorgeous hunt, Calvin Standingbear, the tribal police chief. It does not take long for a murder to occur on the reservation and Selena finds herself as a suspect! This is a face paced story, rich in plenty of wonderful scenarios. It is an exciting introduction to Pope’s new series, Hedgewitch for Hire. She did it again, got me hooked and if you have loved Christine’s other witchy paranormal novels, you most likely will add this one to your favorites list.

This is a mystery, romance, and supernatural adventure spiced with interesting characters. There is humor liberally sprinkled throughout the book as Selena deals with fate, her magic, and her new friends and neighbors (including a cursed cat). If you enjoy this book, there are two more (so far) in the series to look forward to as Selena's romance proceeds and other supernatural mysteries come her way. I've read both and can recommend them. See my reviews. I think starting with this Book 1 is the best way to enjoy the series. Selena Marx is a hedgewitch. She hears she is up for elimination by Lucien Dumond, leader of the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers’ Guild. In a mysterious way, her Tarot cards advise her to get out of town and point her to Globe, AZ. She leaves her rental apartment in L.A., buys a shop/loft apartment in Globe, and moves in, only to be adopted by a cat. The cat turns out to be a person cursed to be a cat. Fortunately, Selena has wanted a cat since she graduated high school. At the opening of her Once in a Blue Moon store, she meets Calvin Standingbear, who will play an important role in her future. Things heat up when Lucien is found stabbed and Selena was one of the last to see him. She's a suspect and gets interviewed by Calvin. Another suspect, Lucien's partner, Athene, has disappeared despite being told to stay in town. Selena starts to use her powers to help with the search. But when rune stones, the pendulum, and Tarot cards give confusing answers, she gets out "the big guns", her crystal ball with a line to her deceased maternal grandmother. Dinner with Calvin is interrupted by a call to another murder - Athene's. Selena senses dark magic was responsible. Selena gets a visit from the murderer and his accomplice, who have her next on their list. How she gets off the list makes an exciting conclusion to the book.

What a fantastic start to the new series by Christine Pope. As with all her books, this one also is a “do not put down until the last page.” Selena, a self-taught hedgewitch with many clients in L.A., fears that a much stronger witch with many followers will cause her harm and decides to move to another part of the country. As would be expected of a witch, she uses magic in the form of tarot cards and a pendulum to choose her new location. She ends up in the small, sleepy town of Globe in Arizona. Although the town is small, it is friendly and welcoming. Her adventures in Globe begin and hopefully will continue in future books in the series. Of course, there is always a mystery and a touch of romance (a heart-stopping gorgeous police officer) in the book. I don’t want to give away all her adventures but suggest reading the book.

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in grade school. Her work includes paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and science fiction/space opera romance. She makes her home in Arizona’s beautiful Verde Valley.