A Wish in Time

by C.A. Phipps

I’m Patience O'Reilly. I grant wishes, uncover secrets, and occasionally, dodge disaster.I love my job, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. People do and say things they don’t mean and as I untangle the web of lies and secrets, that’s when the ghosts of their past come out to play!

Witches and Wishes Cozy Mysteries
A Wish To Die For - out now!
A Wish In Time – coming soon!
A Wish Too Late - coming 2025

C. A. Phipps is a USA Today best-selling author from beautiful New Zealand. Cheryl is an empty-nester living in a quiet suburb with her wonderful husband, 'himself'. With an extended family to keep her busy when she's not writing, there is just enough space for a crazy mixed breed dog who stole her heart! She enjoys family times, baking, and her quest for the perfect latte.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2025

About the author

C. A. Phipps is a USA Today best-selling author from beautiful New Zealand. Cheryl lives in a quiet suburb with her wonderful husband of more than four decades.

With a large family to keep her busy when she's not writing, there is just enough space for a crazy mixed breed dog who stole her heart!

She enjoys family times, baking, rambling walks, and her quest for the perfect latte.

You can find her at www.caphipps.com

C. A. Phipps also writes romance as Cheryl Phipps at www.cherylphipps.com.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patience O’Reilly is a white witch that grants wishes. When she decides to grant the wish of a retired social worker by helping her help a woman escape her abusive husband. Not everyone at the retirement home are accepting of Patience or her clients. So when a body of one of the residents is discovered, Patience’s has to clear her clients.

This is a fun paranormal cozy mystery. Patience and he familiar Lucky are a good team in solving murders before the police. The mystery is full of surprises to keep you guessing even though who the true murderer is. I look forward to more in this series.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

[Bernadette Cinkoske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wish in Time is a magical, small town, cozy mystery. Patience and Lucky are two of my favorite characters. This engaging mystery takes place in a retirement community where some judgemental residents want another resident's guests restricted. When a dissenter is murder, Patience steps in to prove that Lori's clients are not to blame. I love all the red herrings and misdirects that kept me from guessing who the murderer is. I was hoping that the loud, take charge bully Richard would get put in his place. He was a good villain for the reader to hate. I also enjoy that Patience's sleuthing upsets her policeman boyfriend Kyle. The series is based on the premise of Patience granting someone a wish - and that wishes have consequences. When my copy arrived, I just sat down to enjoy it. It was several hours before I moved! I highly recommend this entertaining series. It just keeps getting better.

[Raksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

White witch Patience is 'helping' Lori, a resident at the retirement center with her paperwork when she finds herself involved in another murder mystery.
Along with her familiar companion, Lucky, she does some sleuthing of her own much to her police officer boyfriend's annoyance.
an interesting read that had me turning the pages...full of suspense too

[Tanvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the concept of wishes and how every magic has a consequence. I also adore the author's writing style.

Looking forward to the next in series.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder at the Retirement Community . . .

Patience O’Reilly is a white witch, amateur sleuth, and ex-private investigator (much to her police officer boyfriend Kyle’s frustration). Because she is a white witch, she has the ability to help people by granting a single wish that lasts a lifetime. Patience is hoping to start a new job at Willow Gardens Retirement Community. Lorraine Maber (“Lori”), a retired social worker, has dedicated her life to helping abused women and offers her services for free so the retirement home has no reason to object. So Lori and Patience, along with her dog familiar Lucky, were going to meet today about working together to rescue a woman (Gwen) from her abuser. It doesn’t take long until Patience meets with the unpleasant dissenters, Richard, Mitzy, Ramona, and Alison. When resident Mitzy is found dead by Richard in the walled garden under suspicious circumstances, Patience has a mystery to solve. Her boyfriend Kyle is the officer who responds and asks Lori about an altercation the day before with the deceased woman. Will the bully residents try to interfere and get visitors banned from the retirement community? Can Patience and Lucky find out the truth of what is going on before they may be asked to leave?

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excitement stalks a retirement community!👴🏘👵

The murder mystery here kept me wondering and guessing (incorrectly) most of the way through. I liked that unpredictable side; white witch Patience's grumpy familiar terrier Lucky; and the power struggles going on in the retirement community where Patience takes her current assignment as a PA to a retired social worker who just can't stop assisting women caught in domestic violence.

Lucky adds delightful touches of whimsy as he talks to Patience and the sounds he makes amaze everyone else: always puts a gentle smile on my face.

And the squabbles and animus that plague these seniors are quite something as a very loud Richard sets himself and his followers up as the community bullies. Then a resident is found dead in suspicious circumstances and Patience and her employer are caught up in the drama. If you thought a retirement community was quiet, trouble free and just a bunch of the elderly waiting for their number to be up, you thought wrong!

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Monie Prosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good to see Patience and Lucky again on a new adventure this time at a retirement village. Lori is a retired social worker and is still helping those in need. There are some who don't like what Lori does and claim it is putting other residents at risk. Richard is very good at rousing up the other residents at meetings and people are scared of his influence. Lori is just trying to help and doesn't understand why he objects so much. The death of Mitzy means that people think that Lori's guest Gwen's husband is involved and Richard is justified in wanting her gone but it is never as easy as that when it comes to murder. Patience's policeman boyfriend Kyle investigates the murder and is sometimes frustrated with Patience as she can't help but use her investigative skills to find out what really happened. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

[Kayleigh Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patience has a new client, Lori, at Willow Gardens Retirement Community. The problem is that Lori doesn't seem to be wishing for anything for herself. She just wants to help her own client escape from her abusive husband. Patience is struggling not to overuse her magic to solve everyone's problems when a resident turns up dead in the garden. Now, Patience has a mystery to solve on top of her witchy work all while a group of bully residents try to ban her and other visitors from the community as a whole.

This wonderful mystery kept me guessing the whole time and I could hardly put it down, Every time I thought I'd figured it out, a new clue would turn up and lead in a different direction! There are a handful suspects who all seem capable of murder. Read A Wish in Time to find out if Patience can solve the case!

[Jacklyn Lisette Hurtado · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished A Wish in Time, the second cozy paranormal mystery in the Witches and Wishes series, and I absolutely loved revisiting Patience O’Reilly, a white witch with a heart of gold and her ever-sassy familiar, Lucky.

Right from the first page, the characters drew me in. Patience is as clever as she is compassionate. she intends to help a retired social worker assist women escaping abuse, but a murder shakes the community and suddenly she’s manning detective duties. Lucky, Patience’s talking terrier, brings the perfect mix of humor and sass, often stealing scenes with a well-timed quip.

The plot moves at a nice, steady pace, with red herrings and misdirection that kept me guessing right until the reveal.

[Miss W Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wish in Time is the second book in the Witches and Wishes series by C.A. Phipps.

This is a great series, and I was very excited for the second book in the series.

Good witch Patience along with her familiar Lucky are on another adventure to grant a wish. This time it is in a retirement community.

A resident of the retirement community is murdered, and Patience is involved.

I really love this story and all the drama. This is not a quiet retirement village.

This is such a unique and wonderful premise for a cozy mystery, and I just love it!

[Alicia Kozak · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some real characters in any senior setting, and this retirement community is no exception. I was rooting for some and hoping for others to be on the receiving end of karma. Lucky is still my favorite character. I'm curious to know more about Patience's magic and backstory and the "rules" to the wishes. This book ends with a bit of a warning of things to come in the next installment. Oooh the suspense!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book although I would like more background information on Patience but I love Lucky.
The story is very good and I enjoyed karma coming to bite some of the residents at the seniors residence. Characters are good and there's plenty of clues to keep you guessing. I look forward to reading, and finding out, more.

[Antonia Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting story that had me intrigued by the nature of the mystery, beguiled by the inhabitants of the retirement community and awed by Patricia's perception and skill in getting to the root of problems. This was a most excellent read that I heartily enjoyed reading!!!!!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patience and Lucky are at it again. What starts out as a routine wish granting turns into another murder mystery for the duo. This is a unique twist in magic and mystery. Loved the setting of a retirement community.