Witch Is When The Hammer Fell

A Witch P.I. Mystery #8

by Adele Abbott

The colonel is dead, and Jill’s brother-in-law, Peter, is the prime suspect. But that’s the least of Jill's problems when Winky reveals devastating news.

Genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Witches

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2016

About the author

Adele Abbott's world is full of mystery, magic and a whole lot of crazy. Come join in the fun.
Web site: http://www.AdeleAbbott.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdeleAbbottA...

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to reread this book, before starting the rest of the series I hadn't read so far.

This series is so funny, I laugh out loud like some kind of mad man.

Winky the cat is my favorite side character

“What do you mean, you’re leaving? You’re my cat.”
“We’ve been through this already. I’m not your cat. You’re my human. But now, I’ve had a better offer, so I’m moving out.”
“You can’t just leave.”
“Watch me.”

It was only now that I realised the absurdity of my mission.
“Err—I have some flowers.”
“So I see.”
“They’re—err—for your—err—cat.”
“Pardon?”
“The flowers are for your cat. Bella, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I have a cat called Bella. You’ve bought her flowers?”
“No. That would be—stupid. No. They’re from Winky.”
“Who?”
“Winky. That’s my cat. He’s only got one eye—hence Winky.”
“Your cat bought flowers for my cat?”
“Well, technically, no. I bought them, obviously, but—I—err—there you go.”
I shoved the flowers into his hand, turned and rushed back to the lift. There was just no good way to explain the crazy.

[Wilson E. Stevens Sr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series has gone from one of the better series of book I have read, to so poor that I probably won't finish the series. Jill has attitude problems dealing with men, and being honest with men. She learns magic fast, but relation ships she doesn't make any progress, and is getting worse and cruder as the series goes on. The mysteries have been reduced in complexity, and are silly too. Overall, the author is attempting to milk the books to make the series last, not provide interesting stories. The plot, action, and possibilities are there, the author is just not making it. And what is it with the cat, it has become a liability in the books, not an witches familiar as expected. In the books so far, I can think of only one time the cat assisted in any activity. Kill the cat!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Info
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: Yes
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Meeting the Characters
Jill Gooder
Annabel Versailles
Kathy
Detective Maxwell
Jerry Noble
Peter
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What happens?
Jill's friend and sometimes client the Colonel is killed in his home by a mysterious weapon possibly an arrow. Jill's brother in law Peter is the Colonel's employee and first on the suspect list for a possible motive and opportunity.
For her supernatural family she is asked or really demanded she watches out for the judges in the competition her cousins are entering at the cake shop. She is also tasked with flowers for Bella from her cat Winky.
Final thoughts
Winky is interesting, I like the fact he seems to get more and more to do that are human activities that he does too.
Kathy bugs me. She isn't what I would picture a good sister to act, I get she wants her sister to bond and be nice with the kids but shes so forceful with it I'd be annoyed by her attitude. I also don't think shes very grateful for the fact Jill helps to clear Peter of murder! Like literally she saves your family from having a very traumatic time and you're going to give her attitude?!
Would I read again?: Yes
Would I read this author again?: Yes.

[Bel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read

This series is an easy read, but always fun. Great for anyone who needs something to relax to, something to escape to.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is starting to run together but I’m loving the ride! I love how involved the family is- it’s so cozy and id like to be a part of the group! In this one Jill takes on the case of the colonel from another book because he shows up dead. He was the one who ran the dog show. His son killed him because he thought he was going to change his will and cut the son out. Unbeknownst to him, he had already changed it so the son ended up getting nothing anyway.
Jill survives an explosion, presumably by the dark one.
Madeline, Jill’s friend from school, is introduced and she’s got a weird paranormal sense where she can see ghosts and go to candlefield but she doesn’t have any supernatural powers herself. There’s also a lot of talk of Ghost Town which is where all the ghosts live. Some are good ghosts, some are bad ghosts, just like humans or sups. This book introduces Destro, an evil ghost who is plotting with TDO. Madeline (Mad) can go there but sups cannot.
Jill is also set to compete in a team witch competition. At the end, Jill touches the pendant on her neck and she feels a surge...

[Mike Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quirky and fun which he urban fantasy/cozy mystery series

A quirky and fun which it urban fantasy cozy mystery series. A great cast of characters with a young female private investigator who finds out that her adoptive family is not her only family. She is actually a witch and has a whole other family in the witching world. She acquires new powers and must learn how to use them by being trained by her weird wicked old witch grandmother. And most straddle the two worlds of the supernatural and the human. She continues to solve crimes in mysteries in the human world as well as some new wins in the supernatural world. And try and keep the two worlds from collating too much. Which is wizards werewolves vampires ghosts in any number of weird happenings in situations. Check it out you’ll be entertained

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jill's (extremely ugly) grandma is entering Candlefield's Glamorous Grandmother contest. Her cat Winky is developing a line of soft toys that look like him. Her assistant, Mrs V, has developed a shredder addiction. Her niece Lizzie wants to spend a day at work with her. Jill has told Jack Maxwell that she has won medals in ballroom dancing (which is untrue) and he has entered them into a dance competition. Oh, yeah -- and her brother-in-law, Peter, has been arrested for murdering her friend, and his employer, Colonel Briggs. Can anything else go wrong? Somehow, it always does ...

Here are the editing oversights I found in the Kindle version of Witch Is When The Hammer Fell:

Location 58, No listen, Kathy / No, listen, Kathy ; 76, Why don't you do what normal people do. / Why don't you do what normal people do? (phrased as a question) ; PAGE 1, No you're not. / No, you're not. ; 5, maybe I could push it back? / maybe I could push it back. (not a question) ; 9, market is very competitive you know / market is very competitive, you know ; 43, a scarf or some socks girls? / a scarf or some socks, girls? ; 44, aren't we girls? / aren't we, girls? ; 44, Didn't we Juniper? / Didn't we, Juniper? ;

Page 46, use magic without them finding out. / use magic without them finding out." (needs end quote) ; 50, Okay thanks / Okay, thanks ; 52, a level three witch now remember / a level three witch now, remember ; 64, To small-time criminals I think / To small-time criminals, I think ; 76, you are a P.I. after all / you are a P.I., after all ; 77, I don't know why you don't just move in? / I don't know why you don't just move in. (not a question) ; 79, when we were kids. Lottie Gaines used to come over / when we were kids, Lottie Gaines used to come over ;

Page 82, Hi Jack, you know how I said / Hi, Jack, you know how I said ; 83, Good day young lady / Good day, young lady ; 86, Why should I talk to you. / Why should I talk to you? (phrased as a question) ; 89, Jill, can you come back immediately. / Jill, can you come back immediately? (phrased as a question) ; 94, Yes they did / Yes, they did ; 99, Hello Jill / Hello, Jill ; 99, I'm fine thanks / I'm fine, thanks ; 102, that I'd try and get him a rodent edition e-reader. / that I'd try TO get him a rodent edition e-reader? (phrased as a question) ;

Page 103, well you know where I am / well, you know where I am ; 103, Hush woman, I'm busy / Hush, woman, I'm busy ; 104, No you haven't. / No, you haven't. ; 109, about him stealing arms I assume? / about him stealing arms, I assume? ; 110, Hello young lady. / Hello, young lady. ; 114, Here Grandma, take my hand / Here, Grandma, take my hand ; 114, I'll take these please / I'll take these, please ; 116, Well I never. / Well, I never. ; 117, Well you won't find anything / Well, you won't find anything ;

Page 122, we had Ben banged to rights / we had Ben BANG to rights ; 124, Are you ready Pearl? / Are you ready, Pearl? ; 129, Why did you do it Ben? / Why did you do it, Ben? ; 129, The firing mechanism I've fitted / "The firing mechanism I've fitted (add opening quote) ; 134, No they won't. / No, they won't. ; 138, woman we'd seen at Aunt Lucy's, had been wearing / woman we'd seen at Aunt Lucy's had been wearing (omit comma) ; 140, someone to help him with his calendar? / someone to help him with his calendar. (not a question) ;

Page 140, kind of ran out the shop / kind of ran out OF the shop ; 143, Well I should warn you / Well, I should warn you ; 146, "Sisters?" I shrugged. / "Sisters," I shrugged. (not a question) ; 151, away from head office / away from THE head office ; 155, the Crown Hotel; the same place / the Crown Hotel, the same place (replace semicolon with comma) ; 162, have to try and build a case / have to try TO build a case ; 163, Wow? / Wow. (not a question) ; 168, Oh no you don't. / Oh no, you don't. ;

Page 171, and who could blame her. / and who could blame her? (phrased as a question) ; 187, Stuff you Winky! / Stuff you, Winky! ; 190, the first time, I'd seen him speechless / the first time I'd seen him speechless (omit comma) ; 191, Yeah, he's there look / Yeah, he's there, look ; 193, keep it to me and you; just like the good old days / keep it to me and you, just like the good old days (replace semicolon with comma) ; 195, Maybe 'help him,' would sound better? / Maybe 'help him' would sound better? (omit comma) .

[Imjussayin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Witch Is When The Hammer Fell: A Witch P.I. Mystery Book 8
Reading in the chronological order recommended.

In A Nutshell Jill is a witch and works as a PI. Matters take a personal turn when the police arrest Peter, her brother-in-law. They accuse him of murdering his employer and Jill's friend.

The Protagonist: Jill Gooder is a PI with a difference; she is a level 3 witch in training. Jill, is quirky feisty and fun. Trained by her father, Jill is a smart, thorough investigator. Her magic and of course a little luck often leads to her solving crimes when the police hit a brick wall. Her cases consist of the natural and supernatural, or the paid and unpaid, but they are always a laugh.

The Plot: Jill's friend the Colonel is dead. The police arrest Jill's brother in law for the crime. But Jill knows who the villain of the piece is but has to work out the how. Over in the land of the 'Sups' Amber and Pearl charge Jill with spotting the judges of the best cafe competition. Against her will.

Jill is likable and a little complex. It was a pleasure to see her sister, Kathy, who is usually on the mean and surly side, with an improved disposition. Grandma who is a delightful curmudgeon is the star turn, as always. But all the rounded for seeing both her humous and vulnerable sides. Chapter 22 'twas a good chapter because one of the awful characters is leaving. And the disagreeable cast of characters, Barry, the dog, Winky the cat and the twin cousins Amber and Pearl make less of an appearance. Hooray!

The story covers a lot of ground, and for that reason, I don't think it hangs together as well as it could. It ends on a cliffhanger which is also a mystery. It's predictable in places, but it's light and harmless.

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Book Rating

Sexual Content: U
Language: U
Violent: U
Would I read the next one or reread ?: Yes

My rating system (* = star)
0* Could not finish this book (waste of time)
1* Finished the book but didn't like it.
2* Finished the book it was okay.
3* A good read worth your time.
4* An excellent read often with a novel concept or unusual plot.
5* A magnificent read. A prominent example of the genre.

[Lisa Teves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast fun read in this series. Jill is still letting others use her especially her horribly awful sister, Kathy. And her niece and nephew aren’t much better—very much whining brats.
The colonel is murdered and brother-in-law Peter is the prime suspect. Jill works it all out and the real murderer is exactly who you want it to be.
Winky is getting too big for his britches and I was glad Jill finally called him on it.
What would really be fun is for Jill to give Kathy a taste of her power. Not enough to have Kathy suspicious of Jill’s true background but enough to shut down Kathy’s cruel nasty overbearing sarcasm.

[Emma Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One for this abandoned series bookshelves I'm afraid.

Overall I did enjoy this series, it was cute and I did love many of the main characters. However in these 8 books the overall plot to the series never really developed. The 'big bad' continued to just lurk in the background and not do much of anything, and the romance plot never really developed either. I can totally understand wanting to drawer things out, but with little to no movement at all in these areas my interest was lost.

Also, anyone else want to throttle Kathy and Grandma? They are infuriating, and Jill allows herself to be walked all over by them. Without any comeuppance for them, they're just intolerable.

[Rory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books.

Light reading (or rather listening as I hear them on audio books). Jill is funny but she is scatty too. She does need to get a little more grown up.

Grandma and Barry are my favourites. Barry - just cos. And Grandma - cos she is a true matriarch. Everyone is scared of her. She rules the roost. But her shop is amazing. And her marketing schemes.

There are lots of competitions in this one, which are good but a bit silly.

Something bad happens to someone good.

Jill's love life is rather repetitive.

I look forward to the next one.

[Debra Chiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and Mayhem!

Oh what FUN and mayhem happens whenever Jill and her cousins get together. Or when Jill and her sister Kathy and family are together too. I have to mention some newcomers as well, the Coven. It seems that Jill has been invited to join them to help fight against TDO, the Dark One. They seem to have the choreography down but can they actually use their powers??? We shall have to wait and see. So onto the next book. I can't wait... BYO , does anyone else find Winky the cat as hysterical as I do? LOL and FDL...(fall down laughter).

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m getting a bit tired of these. That being said. They are an easy read when you don’t need to think too much. These stories are a bit monotonous. The same story and snarkiness every time. She’s not a very good investigator, the twins are brats that take advantage of her. The grandmother and the cat is ridiculous. They are supposed to be looking for TDO but it’s hardly ever mentioned. She has no personal life and what’s the continuous thing with custard creams and blueberry muffins? Please pick up the pace.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was one of my favorite entries. The mystery was told well, and the relationship with the sister was a bit more normal. I still am not fond of Kathy and the relationship, and feel it is toxic, but the character has mellowed in this, so I am glad that is so. The cousins, are also mellowing out, and I am glad to see that. Maturing, might be a better word. I will continue on to see how things progress. Again, good mystery. Course, the biggest mystery of all is how does she really support herself. LOL

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same same

I really really am starting to have issues with the same things in each book. There's only so much abuse of a person that goes unchecked or dealt with that a person can take! Every person in these story's abuses the kindness of Jill! I have enough of that in my own life and its starting to trigger recollection of all the oppressors and issues I have had. It's starting to make me angry that someone would write about continued abuse like that and I am really hoping that the next book in the series is in better form or it will be my last book in the series.

[Pegge D Marjamaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome series, just so cute and funny and a lot of fun to read. I can't really remember reading such an amusing group of books with so much that grabs you and ha vs on plus gives laughs to boot! Kudos for a series that continues to intertain, rumors and keeps you wonder I g what will happen next. Fun, fun, fun. Thank you from the bottom of my soul, it is keeping me grounded in a time that is hard for me to deal with and keeps me border line depressed

[Janet Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed up number of mystery’s combined with TDO thrown in.

Our PI continues to live in both worlds bouncing back-and-forth and trying to keep grandma happy. This seems like it is an impossible job. The end of this book leaves you wanting the next one to see what happens. And of course Winky Is at it again!

[Arnaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally some movement on TDO side

About time we see some action on the side of "The Dark One". 8 volumes to finally read some beginning of a plot relating to what is supposed to be our main character nemesis. Now it should become quite interesting :-) Otherwise good volume with a good (but rather sad) mystery!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is fun and fluffy. I enjoy them but they aren't exactly page-turners! Jill's sister, cousins, and cat are extremely annoying, and Jill has no backbone so that keeps my ratings low. It isn't great literature, but they're cute, and give me a giggle from time to time, so I'll probably keep on with the series.

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this series. It makes me laugh. I enjoy Winky the cat. I don’t care for Jill’s sister Kathy she is too negative towards Jill all of the time. You can relate that to several people in real life today. That needs to improve. Kathy’s kids are the same as their mother. A little discipline seems should be in order for them.

[Memento Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was better than the 7th part, but still. The text quality has fallen down. Not satisfied with humour anymore, but some good moments and jokes still remain, so 4/5 for sure.
Okay, I have 2 more books of this series. Let's have a look!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voices...

Some strange things are going on, and Jill needs to figure it all out. The Colonel is dead now and our lovely P.I. must find the killer. Winky is up to his trucks again, and revenge will be sweet.

[Books Lucy King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was great! I laughed so much with everything...and it was even a bit sad, of course, because of who was the murder victim this time.
I very much enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to continue with the next book. I love Jill and Winky and pretty much everyone in this serie :)

[Billy Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend has been killed and her sister needs Jill's help to clear her husband of the crime. Not that Jill could ever believe Peter could have done it. While grandma continues to stir things up for the witch PI.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read. They always make me smile. Jill’s antics are so funny. I feel as though I am part of the book now. This is my ninth book, and I’m hoping to keep on going throughout the whole series.

[Terence Boissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are just getting better

What can I say the more episodes I read the more I want to read. You are always left hanging at the end of each book and yet each stands out in its own. A must read series.

[Liana Twaites · Rating 5 out of 5]

So love these easy to read, wash right right over you, totally entertaining books. Short chapters, talking animals, all sorts of spells & the continuing will they / won't they storyline will make any reader smile.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witch Is When The Hammer Fell (A Witch P.I.Mystery Book 8)

This was a good book how ever I do wish the author had done more to make it more interesting.I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the mystery plot. The characterization and the main character is where I’m feeling the disconnect. The main character was becoming annoying this book. Eh.

Still recommend the series, but I’m taking a break.

[Charlene Kaup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read!

Absolutely wonderful characters that interact with each other beautiful! Fabulous plot twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this series.