I received a free ebook of this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review and to participate in the book tour hosted by Escape with Dollycas .  This is the third in the A Retired Witches Mystery Series written by the prolific team of Joyce and Jim Lavene, who have both recently  passed away and are  missed greatly by the cozy mystery community. Their website, which includes all their series is found here.

In this book the coven is still missing their spellbook and feeling the effects of its loss.  Molly and Elsie, along with their ghostly friend Olivia and her daughter Dorothy jump at the chance to attend the Witches Ball, even with Dorothy’s “wicked witch” father back in the picture.  The ball opens at a fantastical castle location and all and sundry are swept along with the festivities, until a murder occurs.  Molly and coven find themselves trying to solve a  murder and retrieve their missing spell book.

So much more than the average paranormal cozy, the story sweeps you along into a  whole new world of magic and a little mayhem.  Fun, exciting and intriguing, it is really a great read!  As so much of Joyce and Jim’s work, this book provides an escape from the every day monotony and troubles, but to perceive the work as “just a cozy” would be to do it a disservice.  After all, Margery Allingham famously said, “light reading is not light writing.”

Photo from Killer Characters.   RIP Joyce and James Lavene