This is a fantastic paranormal cozy mystery that grabs you from the get go. Murder, mystery, suspense, this has something for everyone as we join our motley crue of a witch, a raccoon shifter, a ghoul and a mundane as they go about their private eye business after breaking out of an institute. Sounds unbelievable? Well believe it and it’s an incredible read. It’s totally cray cray, it’s fantastical, it’s entertaining and it’s oh so funny! 1 Barbara Hackel2,251 35

What an interesting book about a pair of supernatural investigators, formerly mental health patients, that are aided in their escape from the institution by a ghoul. I thought I knew about supernatural beings, but apparently my education was severely lacking. But never fear, the author provides necessary explanations as the story continues.
A wacky quartet goes to a woodland retreat to get rid of a ghost who is causing problems with the construction workers fixing the buildings. It’s up to the four investigators to find and get rid of the ghost, only it’s much more involved than they expect!
I am looking forward to the next book in this fun series. I am enjoying getting to know the investigators and the many ways they handle problems. Totally different from any supernatural book that I have read, I am excited to see what they get involved with next!1 Cath2,475 31

This is book one of The Bewitched Cozy Mysteries series and the main characters are Clarice aka Click, a witch, Sherry aka Scatter, a racoon shifter who shifts into three separate racoons, their friend Maribel, who works as a mundane private investigator in a large firm, and then Walter, a ghoul who works as a security guard in the mental institution where Clarice has found herself again. Sherry and Maribel decided to break her out and ended up getting Walter to go along with them. Click and Scatter have decided to set up as supernatural investigators and rely on a job that Maribel’s own company have ignored such types of jobs. They end up with a job at a large country retreat which is losing money and workmen, from some ghostly sightings and strange goings on. Juliette had hired them to come and help at the Retreat by the Brooke, and helps run the retreat, which has been losing money for years, along with her younger brother Nash and her Uncle Aldous Bigsby. The retreat and the land it stands on cannot be sold and if it fails as a business, it would be turned over to the county. Each of them had different methods for going forward and trying to make a profit and don’t seem to be able to make any agreements.
What the group first thought of as a ghost soon turns out to be much worse and they find out they are being attacked by a wrath wraith, who gains power from negative feelings and emotions. It needs things to be going badly and for there to be arguments and dissent between people as well as grief, to allow it to prosper. A large group of bikers turn up at the same time as them and were initially turned away by Juliette, but return as the weather gets worse and the road is washed out! Three sets of business consultants have also made their way to the retreat, with their own plans for taking over the property and more importantly the land it is on and the trees that have grown there for hundreds of years. They are showing one side to Nash and Juliette, but another between themselves. The murder of one of the owners leaves the quartet suddenly having to investigate a mundane murder, as well as the paranormal case they were originally hired for. They could be connected, but they are facing difficult conditions with the weather and a spirit that is far more powerful than they were expecting!
They need to find the origins of the ghost tales at the retreat and also what the wrath wraith is attached to, where it is getting its main power from. It somehow manages to manifest ghostly figures from the past, as well as interfere with building work and wreck rooms and the supplies they brought with them. There is a lot of repetition at times, with the characters reminding each other of the actual names they want to be called whilst on a case. And the story starts off very slowly and backwards, with Clarice in the institution, with no idea of how she got there this time. The blurb makes a lot about not knowing who put her there and that she hasn’t reached her full potential and that someone is trying to stop her! Clarice, Sherry and Maribel all previously knew each other and were clearly close friends, with Clarice and Sherry obviously having thought of opening up their own business. Walter the ghoul has just come along for the ride and doesn’t need to sleep or anywhere to live as such, only needing to feed on the dead occasionally. Once the investigation finally ramped up and some clues were found eventually, the story began to gel much better and made more sense. It obviously is setting readers up for more in the series and was okay at that, I guess. It should have been much shorter, if that was the case. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Emily Pennington18.5k 304

Off to a Crazy Start . . .

We start off this mystery immediately with the dead body of Aldous Bigsby on the floor, a red-handled axe sticking out between his shoulder blades. Clarice (“Click”), a witch not sure how she had ended up in the mental institution she and Scatter escaped from, pointed out that they were all trapped here since the storm put the bridge under water. Sherry (“Scatter”) is a raccoon shifter who commented that at least they did need the rain. Walter, a ghoul and former employee of the institute, is joining them on the adventure. But since Click noted that a ghost certainly didn’t do this murder, their mundane human private investigator Maribel would have to take the lead on this! (When Scatter determined the wound was definitely not self-inflicted because the handle of the axe pointed the wrong way, I fully agreed that Maribel should take over.) When Walter, their ghoul, wanders over, he has to be warned off so he doesn’t “eat the evidence”… ewww! This wasn’t the mystery they were hired to solve, but it’s here and no one can get through the overflowing river, so they might as well give it a try!

The team normally investigates supernatural phenomenon, so this actual murder is a challenge none of them are qualified for. Is this murder somehow connected to the supernatural? Will the Sheriff come by boat to help them out? Or are they on their own to deal with a real killer?

This is a cute cozy to read with such a crazy cast of characters. The reader never knows what they will come up with next! Grab your copy and see if they can make any progress on this case. The only bad news would be if the murderer was stuck there with them… uh….
reviewed Spinneretta2,381 13

Good

As far as paranormal cosy mysteries go, this one is more than a bit quirky.
Click and Scatter (Clem and Sherry) are escapees from a mental institution- both wrongly incarcerated there, and in Clem’s case there is maybe a bit more to the story, if only she could remember.
Walter was one of the orderlies there, and Maribel is a childhood friend of Scatter, together they have decided to become supernatural investigators, and with Maribel’s help, their first case is a haunting in an old Lodge.

This very quirky read comes across a bit crazy at times, but perhaps this is because it reflects the personality of the characters in it.
We don’t know very much about any of the characters, even by the end of the book, although we learn a lot about their various personalities and abilities.
It makes for a rather complex, though intriguing story, with characters who are not only mysterious, but entertaining (sometimes laughably so). I look forward to reading future books in the series!

An enjoyable paranormal cosy mystery that fans of the genre will enjoy. Douglas Williamson5,485 28

Our heroine can't remember her past, but then some things are best forgotten. To bad she doesn't know if that is true in her case. Guess she will just have to live in the present with her new, strange friends. And maybe solve a mystery that is more straight forward than her missing memories.

This is book one of the series, so a good place to start on this adventure.

This is a cozy mystery with a serious case of the paranormal. The story is well written and easy to read with an absolutely bizarre cast of characters to go along with it. The plot is a good one with plenty of mystery to be had and a tough case to solve. Oh, and plenty of humor as well which is all to the good. Overall, this was a great start to a new series and I look forward to checking out the next book.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes ReaderMe 249 139

What a journey this first book in the Bewitched Cozy Mystery series takes us on! The characters of Clarice "Click" and Sherry "Scatter" begin that journey by breaking free from a mental institution and taking along Walter (an employee of the institute) and a P.I. named Maribel as they form their own supernatural investigation team. The story was imaginative and fun and the setting of a haunted resort was just perfect! With a raccoon shifter, a ghoul and a witch the evil spirit they are sent to defeat won't stand a chance...

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.2022 book-sprout-review cozy-mystery ...more Mike Lewis1,590 2

entertaining new supernatural cozy mystery series

This is a new Supernatural cozy mystery series. A great cast of characters and a unique and entertaining storyline. A misfit cast of characters including a witch a shifter a ghoul and a human that has ability to see and understand the supernatural. Become a hodgepodge group of supernatural investigators. There’s more to it than that but you will have to read the story to find out the nitty-gritty details. It is a whole new twist on the mystery/mildly funny/grit of a murder mystery with a supernatural bend to it. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Check it out Jeanne1,031 6

A Bewitching Spell is book #1 in The Bewitched Cozy Mysteries series by Constance Barker.

I’d rate this 3.5 and am rounding up to 4 because it got better as it went along. I felt it tried to be too quirky at the beginning. Having 2 characters with both a name and code name when you are just being introduced was confusing. Once they started investigating and they were figuring things out, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to their next case.

Thank you to the author and BookSprout for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. Myra Ball649

Refreshing and Unique

Constance Barker writes a variety of mysteries and each series is completely unique. I've read few authors with this ability. This book was un anything I've read by Barker or any author with lots of crazy imaginative characters. This series has a fun perspective on paranormal split personality that's genius. I love these lighter mysteries that balance out heavier books I read at times. Molly5,032 33

A young PI stumbles across a freaks and geeks squad of crazy and crazy talented paranormals who are trying to find their niche and make their way.

Ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, wraiths, wild witches and conniving humans make for a wild ride, and some crazy wild adventures.

I think we are in for a bumpy ride, and am looking forward to it!

Fleur3,241 25

This was a fun read with eclectic characters who keep you entertained and intrigued not only about them but the murder they stumble during their first go as being supernatural investigators. This was a good mystery to solved with some good laughs, worry and twists you don't see coming.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.2022 Phthon1,802 4

This is an exciting new series! I greatly enjoyed the eclectic originality of the characters! The entire story was fun and full of action with surprising twists and turns. This is going to be one of my favorite series! Jodi Sweet1,455 6

What a great new series! I loved the characters. They were so much fun getting to know. The mystery was really intriguing. I didn’t see it concluding the way it did. It was really exciting!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Erin990 9

Interesting casts of characters from Clarice to Sherry to Walter, and Maribel. Cute story that keeps you reading curious to know the truth behind why Clarice was in the institution and of course solving a murder mystery. Herman N. Spinelli118

Fun Book

I really enjoyed this book. It has humor, a really wears and funny cast of characters, and a very unusual who done it. Fun read. Rosemary Gillanders97

a fun and interesting new story.

I enjoyed the characters and I really enjoyed the storyline and the twists. I look forward to the next in the series with anticipation. Pam1,156

Ugh! The Amazon synopsis talked about a motley crew and it really was! Couldn't get past 3%!did-not-finish Andi1,811

I could t get past the first chapter. This was just plain stupid.kindle-unlimited Stacey294

Ugh

So many grammar and typographical errors, I couldn't stand the thought of forcing myself to read further than a third of the book. stephanie huntington2,559 6

Autor del comentario:
=================================