Monday, September 5, 2022

Steeped to Death - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: Steeped to Death (A Witches' Brew Mystery #1) by Gretchen Rue

Rating: Really Liked It! (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:   Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure—and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch. So when Eudora passes away and leaves everything to her niece—her Victorian mansion, her bookshop/tea store, The Earl’s Study, and one very chubby orange cat named Bob—Phoebe gets more than she bargained for. And she knows she’s in deep when a dead man is found on the shop’s back step, apparently killed while trying to break in.

Two suspects immediately emerge among the townspeople of Raven Creek, Washington. There’s village busybody Dierdre Miller, who seems desperate to buy Eudora’s house, and handsome PI Rich, one of Phoebe’s childhood friends—but how well does she really know him after all these years apart?

Phoebe knows she should leave it to the professionals, but as she starts to dig into the underbelly of Raven Creek, she begins to uncover the truth about Eudora. What’s more, her aunt might not have been the only witch in the family, as Phoebe soon discovers she has unique and unexpected gifts of her own.

Now, it’s just a matter of putting her newfound power to the test and cast a spell that could catch a killer.

Genre:  Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  It sounded like an interesting mystery and it's always fun to start on a brand new series.

My Impression: I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this supernatural cozy involving a woman who inherits her aunt's home and tea shop and finds out there's a lot more to her aunt and to herself than she ever could have guessed.

From the very beginning this book just absolutely clicked with me from the beginning.  I really enjoyed getting to know Phoebe and tagging along with her as she got to know her new town of Raven Creek meeting new people and reconnecting with some old friends.  Since this is the first book in the series there's a decent amount of world building and sometimes the mystery got pushed to the side while Phoebe tries to figure out her new life.  However, it all came together so organically that the pacing never seemed to drag and it fit in nicely with the unraveling of the mystery.

This was a fun series opener with a likable main character and a hefty dose of supernatural fun.  The mystery is entertaining and the community of Raven Creek is a solid one with both likable and not so likable characters.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this series develops.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I will be keeping a lookout for the next book in the series and am looking forward to reading it.

Would I Recommend this Book?   If you enjoy cozies with a strong supernatural edge I think you'll really enjoy this book.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

5 comments:

  1. This does sound like fun. I always love when the main character inherits a house or shop, and I do really like that supernatural element, too. I'll have to give this series a try. :)

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  2. This series and book looks like fun. I love it when I get to start a new cozy series.

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  3. I love starting with the first book of a series. This sounds good.

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  4. Ha soon as I saw the cover it attracted me. Another good sounding cozy series. You are such an enabler!!

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  5. I have found that my favorite cozies are ones that have just a bit of supernatural involved. This sounds great!

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