A Spell of Murder

A Spell of Murder
Clea Simon
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2018

Book Blurb:
“It’s Harriet’s fault. It’s always her fault, not that she’ll ever admit it.” So begins A Spell of Murder: A Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery, the first in a new cozy series that mixes feline fiction with a touch of the paranormal, and a little romance as well.

Becca, newly single and newly unemployed, wants to believe she has psychic powers. With nothing but time – and a desire for empowerment – she’s studying to become a witch. What she doesn’t know is that her three cats – Harriet, Laurel, and Clara – are the ones with the real power. And when Harriet – “a cream-colored longhair with more fur than commonsense” – conjures a pillow for her own comfort, Becca believes her spells are finally working. Could that be why Trent, the coven’s devilishly handsome leader, has been showing her special attention? Or why Suzanne, a longtime coven member, draws her aside to share a secret – a confidence that may lead to murder?


As the blurb describes, Becca is a young woman going through some rough times - she lost her job around the same time her boyfriend broke up with her - but she has one huge benefit that she doesn’t realize: she owns three magical cats.  And these aren’t just your average magical cats (for all cats have some magic), but witch cats.  When Harriet, a lazy creamcicle cat concerned more about treats and dinner than anything else, conjures up a pillow, Becca thinks she’s done it.  Which leads to all sorts of problems, including murder.  Clara,the youngest (by a few minutes) of the three cats and the closest to Becca, feels obligated to protect Becca and help her solve the case.

What I really loved about this book is that it’s told from Clara’s point of view.  She’s able to follow Becca, so we get to see the action, so to speak, but we don’t get insight to all of Becca’s thoughts.  Becca is a researcher, so she’s always googling stuff; Clara watches her, but can’t read, so we only get to see the pictures, for example, of the web search Becca does of her great grandmother (who incidentally had Clara’s foremother as a pet); we get to see there’s a connection, but don’t get the full details right away.  I’m hoping it’ll be revealed over the series.  I also love how Clara’s journey seems to be echoing Becca’s.  Both start off seeming very young, but start to grow into their powers, so to speak.  Becca gains some strength and independence, for example, when she finally walks away from her ex-boyfriend, while Clara starts to suspect she has other strengths, like being able to suggest things to people as well has her sister Laurel can.

The mystery itself was a little on the light side I felt; the motive just seemed thin.  Yes, there were some clues pointing to it, but it seemed a little unbelievable to me.  Maybe I need to re-read the book to find what I missed?  And I felt like a few of the main characters were flat; I never felt like I got to know Becca's best friend Maddy, for example.  However, given how much I liked Clara, her sisters, and Becca, I’m looking forward to future books.

I received an ARC of this book which I voluntarily chose to review.