Goldie Bloom is a high-powered real estate agent from Melbourne who gets sent by her boss to go work on the Gold Coast of Australia. She's in her 30s, loves coffee, and her idea of sensible shoes is her three inch stilettos.
The day after she receives the news that she's been transferred, she receives word that her uncle has passed away and she has inherited his home in Queensland (the town of no coffee). She has also inherited Persnickle, a Starsky & Hutch loving wombat who also happens to be her familiar. She learns that she is a sea witch, that she has the ability to communicate with ghosts (when her familiar is with her), and that she causes thunderstorms when she gets upset.
Her friend from a local retirement home, Oleander, calls stating that she's in trouble, because Ursula Hackles, the retirement home's Residence Manager, has been murdered. The police think that Oleander killed Ursula, so Goldie teams up with Oleander and their friend Athanasius in an attempt to uncover who really committed the crime.
This book was so much fun! I found myself laughing out loud while reading it.
One of my favorite scenes was when Goldie tried to pass Persnickle off as a therapy dog. I could just picture that fat wombat waddling around the retirement home. The mystery itself was pretty good, and the author did a fairly decent job of tossing a few red herrings into the mix to keep you guessing. I liked the Goldie's character, and I think that the author left just enough of a question mark between Goldie and Officer Max to make me want to read the second book in the series.
One thing to be aware of: there is a short story prequel to this book called Broom Mates- located in the Seven Pets for Seven Witches anthology. I wish I had known before reading this book, because there were events that were alluded to that would definitely have made more sense if I had read the prequel first.
I received an ARC of this book from BookSprout, and I voluntarily chose to write an honest review.
The day after she receives the news that she's been transferred, she receives word that her uncle has passed away and she has inherited his home in Queensland (the town of no coffee). She has also inherited Persnickle, a Starsky & Hutch loving wombat who also happens to be her familiar. She learns that she is a sea witch, that she has the ability to communicate with ghosts (when her familiar is with her), and that she causes thunderstorms when she gets upset.
Her friend from a local retirement home, Oleander, calls stating that she's in trouble, because Ursula Hackles, the retirement home's Residence Manager, has been murdered. The police think that Oleander killed Ursula, so Goldie teams up with Oleander and their friend Athanasius in an attempt to uncover who really committed the crime.
This book was so much fun! I found myself laughing out loud while reading it.
One of my favorite scenes was when Goldie tried to pass Persnickle off as a therapy dog. I could just picture that fat wombat waddling around the retirement home. The mystery itself was pretty good, and the author did a fairly decent job of tossing a few red herrings into the mix to keep you guessing. I liked the Goldie's character, and I think that the author left just enough of a question mark between Goldie and Officer Max to make me want to read the second book in the series.
One thing to be aware of: there is a short story prequel to this book called Broom Mates- located in the Seven Pets for Seven Witches anthology. I wish I had known before reading this book, because there were events that were alluded to that would definitely have made more sense if I had read the prequel first.
I received an ARC of this book from BookSprout, and I voluntarily chose to write an honest review.
