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highly recommended |
Quality Cozy Mystery - done right 
As the third book in the series, Madelyn Alt has managed to show you characters that grow and you start to feel attached to them. This is the key to good story telling and Ms Alt has it down.
There is a natural progression, since Maggie is hesitant to jump into Wicca and everything paranormal, this story shows Maggie, and the reader, that even "wholesome" folks such as Amish may have sides we don't understand and thus are afraid of. Bringing us back to the fact that any spiritual path is only as good as the individual's intent. So Maggie has more to contemplate by the end concerning her spirituality.
The characters are truly delightful and the plot is credible. The romantic tension that begun in book 1 has been developed and continues in this one, making me scream for the next installment to find out how this and that turns out!
Hex Marks The Spot
i give this author a thumbs up. this is a delightful mix of magic and fun.
Another good read 
Third in the series, this book once again brings us back into the cozy world of small town Indiana. Being from Indiana myself, I can relate to Hoosier prejudices and such. However; after the initial murder, it seems the plot is shelved until after halfway through the book. Maggie spends her time dickering about her love interests. It's gone beyond romantic tension and is dangerously close to entering the annoying. Make a decision and move on! The ending to this book was not quite as satisfying as the other two books but I'm most definitely looking forward to November when number four is released.
more please!
a great read...mixes seers from different traditions gracefully. i hope to see many more.
star santa cruz ca
I have one question...
We join Maggie O'Neill back in Indiana, in the mystical gift and antique shop Enchantments, where she works for a witch, Felicity Dow aka Liss. And Liss really is a witch - a practicing witch in an established community that is blithely aware of the paranormal happenings around them. At least, most of them seem to be immune, but many are starting to notice the increase in crime and accidents that are plaguing the community. When a local Amish craftsman is found dead next to his bicycle with his head bashed in, residents are shocked. Not only was this gentle and talented man killed, but his was the third murder in six months in their small community. Are there supernatural forces at play, or has the town simply run out of luck?
Maggie is quite excited to be attending the annual craft fair put on by the county. Normally Liss attends alone, but this year Maggie is getting a break from running the store to help find some new merchandise. While browsing, they visit the stall of an Amish woodworker they are friends with, and Liss falls in love with an armoire decorated with patterns and bright colors not normally seen on the shaker style furniture normally produced. The armoire had been donated to the auction taking place later that day, so the two women plan to attend in hopes of winning. But the armoire's decoration is credited to another Amish craftsman, Luc Metzger; one like Maggie has never before seen. His craft work is just a beautiful as the man himself, an uncommon trait among the simple Amish people whose faith is foremost in their community. And when the ladies' man is found dead after supposedly doing `one more job' to help earn money for a farm for his wife and children, Maggie can't help but wonder where he'd been.
Maggie and hunky friend Marcus come upon the nighttime scene of buggies that have discovered the body on a darkened stretch of road, and Maggie has to decide whether or not she is comfortable with the paranormal side of her life in order to help discover why there was a strange hex tacked to a tree not far from the body - on Amish property. Maggie's sometime boyfriend, Tom the detective, is also having a difficult time with the peculiar aspects of the crime, but mostly with Maggie's involvement with people he considers questionable because they are not considered mainstream. So we are able to follow Maggie's personal journey into unfamiliar territory that is considered taboo to her Catholic religious background, and also her journey on how to trust her heart and instincts.
I am really enjoying the Bewitching series by Alt. We are seeing characters develop with the paranormal aspect - especially some who are new to the subject or fear reprisal if outed, which I think are normal reactions people would have in real life. The cozy series is engaging, and there is enough mystery to keep you guessing throughout the story. I eagerly await the next in the series, but I have one question: How does Abel charge his cell phone?
reviews: page 1, 2, 3
While her boss becomes entranced with a beautiful armoire at the countywide craft bazaar, Maggie can't help noticing the Amish craftsman who made it. Though his clothes may be plain, he himself is more handsome than a man sporting a jawline-only beard has any right to be. And he seems pretty aware that the ladies love his...furniture. But when the hunky craftsman turns up dead with a strange hex symbol near his corpse, Maggie wonders if the craft involved is the witchy kind.
hex marks the, marks, spot
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