Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell

#1 A Witchcraft Mystery
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: mystery
Pages: 313
Challenges: Thriller and Suspense
Author's Website
My rating: 4.5/5

Simple Description:
Lily is a witch.  She was born a witch, she isn't one of those who was interested in it and became a Wiccan (or another type).  Most of her adult life she's kinda been running from it, she knows she's different and doesn't feel like she fits in.  She decided that wasn't the life she wanted and she moved to San Francisco and opened a vintage clothing store.  She is trying to be normal, as normal as a witch can be anyway.

Somehow the local witch coven found out she was in town..  Aidan Rhodes seems to be the head of the local coven and pays her a visit, giving her a familiar.  The familiar is a gargoyle that Lily names Oscar, and he changes into a pig whenever people are around.    Lily doesn't plan to keep Oscar or to get to know Aidan, that is until a young girl disappears outside her house.  This happening right after Lily and a nice old lady hear the screams of La Llorona. La Llorona is a myth in the hispanic culture.  La Llorona is a demon in the water who kills children.   Lily finds out that children have been disappearing over the years from this area and while some might not think it's La Llorona, Lily knows that it is.   How is this nice old lady involved though?
To make things even more interesting let's introduce sexy myth buster Max Carmichael that somehow gets involved in what Lily is doing, even though he doesn't believe in any of it.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I worry that my description doesn't do this book justice.  Let me just tell you that I loved this book.  I think it's a refreshing addition to the cozy mystery genre.  I love paranormal books, so this one has been on my radar for awhile and I knew I had to give it a try.  I'm so glad I was able to get a copy of it.  I loved that I didn't so much feel like Lily was looking for a murderer but rather was trying to figure out how to get rid of a demon before more people get hurt. I loved that Lily wanted to rescue this child even though she just met her. I loved that it was different.  Yes..different.  I love cozy mysteries, but we have to admit that they usually do follow a pattern and sometimes we need something different.  That is just what this book is.  It's different because what Lily is doing is all supernatural, the murderer isn't a human that she's trying to find so the cops will get off her back, but rather Lily knows who the murderer is..or rather what it is right away, and wants to get rid of it but in the process she must admit what she is to those she considers friends and ask for help from some new acquaintances.

I fell in love with Lily right away...and of course most of the other characters too.  The 2nd book in this series was published last month (I think..I could be confused) and I can't wait to get to it.

This is definitely a book that I recommend to others.  I had trouble putting this one down, I just wanted to read it all in one sitting.  If the second is just as good as the first, I can see it becoming a favorite series of mine.


 Thanks to Megan with Penguin for providing this book in hopes I would review it.