A Vision in Velvet by
Juliet Blackwell
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
I love this series for the well-researched paranormal plots. If you've ever read much on the supernatural or studied history of magic and witchcraft, you'll find Blackwell's stories believable in that context. She gets it right.
And on top of that, her skill as a writer of a cozy mysteries series is excellent, though there were two places in this particular book where I could see things too clearly before she revealed them. (Usually I can't.) Violence is off-camera, so to speak, but not so far off-camera that you can't feel it at all.
This book involved a mystery with ties back to the Salem Witch Trials. Normally I wouldn't pick up a book with that tie because it's so often based on biased accounts of the trials that stated that all of those persecuted were devil worshipers when in fact many were innocents who were falsely accused due to mass hysteria. I don't want to reveal any details, but Blackwell picks a believable thread from that era, if you pardon the pun. That is, just because most of those accused at the trials might have all been innocent, there was still evil around.
As others have noted, you can start anywhere in the series without being lost. Blackwell gives you just enough background so you know who the characters are or what events happened in the past.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Xe Sands. She's amazing, and voices the characters well. I hope she continues to narrate this series.
View all my reviews
Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton
