What do you think?
Rate this book
Hex in the Machine: A MacWitch Mystery
Welcome to Willowford, where everyone knows your name, magic is an everyday inconvenience, and gossip travels considerably faster than the speed of light.
Personally, I can handle the gossip. It's the spells that trip me up.
I'm Mari Hightower, owner of Books & Brews, proud descendant of one of the most powerful magical families in history... and living proof that talent sometimes skips a generation. My spells glitch, gravity has a personal vendetta against me, and my mother has spent years wishing I'd inherited literally anyone else's magical abilities.
Still, life in Willowford is usually pretty predictable.
Until I accidentally tether a demon to my laptop.
Not artificial intelligence. Actual demon. I know, right?
Now he's my unwanted digital familiar, impossible to get rid of, annoyingly helpful, and entirely too entertained by my increasingly chaotic life.
Which becomes significantly more chaotic when someone is murdered in my coffee shop.
With no motive, almost no evidence, and a killer who seems determined to stay several steps ahead, Sheriff Ivy Caldwell has her hands full. My best friend Nate keeps trying to stop me from investigating. Birdie LaRue, Willowford's most delightfully dramatic senior citizen, is suddenly nowhere to be found. And while the whole town argues over politics, magic, and who makes the best pecan pie, I'm beginning to suspect the answers lie buried in secrets that should have stayed buried.
Good thing I've never been particularly good at minding my own business.
Hex in the Machine is the first MacWitch Mystery, where clean, paranormal cozy mystery meets laugh-out-loud humor, found family, quirky small-town charm, and characters you'll wish lived just down the street.
Come visit Willowford.
The coffee's hot.
The books are plentiful.
The demon is house-trained.
Mostly.
Personally, I can handle the gossip. It's the spells that trip me up.
I'm Mari Hightower, owner of Books & Brews, proud descendant of one of the most powerful magical families in history... and living proof that talent sometimes skips a generation. My spells glitch, gravity has a personal vendetta against me, and my mother has spent years wishing I'd inherited literally anyone else's magical abilities.
Still, life in Willowford is usually pretty predictable.
Until I accidentally tether a demon to my laptop.
Not artificial intelligence. Actual demon. I know, right?
Now he's my unwanted digital familiar, impossible to get rid of, annoyingly helpful, and entirely too entertained by my increasingly chaotic life.
Which becomes significantly more chaotic when someone is murdered in my coffee shop.
With no motive, almost no evidence, and a killer who seems determined to stay several steps ahead, Sheriff Ivy Caldwell has her hands full. My best friend Nate keeps trying to stop me from investigating. Birdie LaRue, Willowford's most delightfully dramatic senior citizen, is suddenly nowhere to be found. And while the whole town argues over politics, magic, and who makes the best pecan pie, I'm beginning to suspect the answers lie buried in secrets that should have stayed buried.
Good thing I've never been particularly good at minding my own business.
Hex in the Machine is the first MacWitch Mystery, where clean, paranormal cozy mystery meets laugh-out-loud humor, found family, quirky small-town charm, and characters you'll wish lived just down the street.
Come visit Willowford.
The coffee's hot.
The books are plentiful.
The demon is house-trained.
Mostly.
381 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 18, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 17, 2026
I was absolutely delighted by this book! The cast of characters, Mari, Nate, Ash, Birdie, Ivy and others all have character to spare (no pun intended)! The author filled each chapter with resplendent descriptions which made the story line more delicious than even a large caramel latte with a sugar cookie on the side! I loved the main setting of a coffee shop bookstore and the people who came through on a daily basis all had high tales they would share if you sat at their table for a spell. Hex in the Machine has it all; intrigue, small town cozy mystery, potentially some romance, comedic charm and a little witchery to boot! I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!
I received an advance review copy of Hex in the Machine for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy of Hex in the Machine for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 13, 2026
Hex in the Machine is the first installment in Marye Audet’s MacWitch Mystery series. Mari Hightower, owner of the coffee shop Books & Brews, is the descendant of a powerful magical family. Unfortunately, she didn't inherit the talent. While trying to summon a familiar, she accidentally tethers a demon to her MacBook instead.
Ash isn't like the demons you'd find in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural; he’s actually a rather helpful sort! This story has everything I love in a cozy mystery: well-written characters, an intriguing plot, humor, found family, and a quirky, charming small-town setting. I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series, Murder.exe!
I read ARCs.
Ash isn't like the demons you'd find in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural; he’s actually a rather helpful sort! This story has everything I love in a cozy mystery: well-written characters, an intriguing plot, humor, found family, and a quirky, charming small-town setting. I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series, Murder.exe!
I read ARCs.
August 26, 2026
If you love mystery, witches, and small towns, this book is for you. The author brings you straight into Willowford and you feel like you are part of the town. Mari and Ash have an odd relationship but it truly works for the of them. I love that the author definitely drew you into the story.
August 23, 2026
📖❤️ Hex In the Machine ❤️📖
Coffee shop owner/Witch Mari gets a demon stuck in her laptop,
Marye is a new author for me, and this is the first book in a series.
Check it out sometime.
Coffee shop owner/Witch Mari gets a demon stuck in her laptop,
Marye is a new author for me, and this is the first book in a series.
Check it out sometime.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews