Brighton throws the biggest Halloween party that Coventry has seen in ages. The only problem arises when a dead body shows up in the middle of the festivities, and it's not a costume. The worst part... Someone very close to Brighton is a possible suspect! Broom and Gloom is book eight in the Wicked Witches of Coventry cozy mystery series.
Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can't see them from the basement.)
After briefly managing the Inn in the last book, Brighton decides to turn Hangman's House into a bed and breakfast. The house doesn't like this idea and neither does Meri. However, before she can even think about it, they need to take care of the demons that keep turning up in the basement.
If you recall, there are many tunnels under the town and Meri found the one that contains the thinned veil, but he needs Brighton's help to close it. This was almost a very spectacular failure, almost being the key word here.
Then the house itself begins to rebel against the idea of a bed and breakfast all kinds of problems springing up around plumbing and electric, not to mention food disappearing. Remy comes up with a solution though. Bungalows behind the house instead of using the house itself. Brighton's idea is to do breakfast from seven to ten every morning, followed by a tour of the house. After that the house would be closed to guests.
Remy magically built the bungalows with Brighton helping augment his power when she could. Still, he was exhausted and agrees to stay in one of the guest rooms that night. Brighton couldn't sleep so she went to look at the bungalows to plan out decorating them. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone out there, and Meri has to banish yet another demon but gets hurt in the process. As if that isn't enough two people wander out of the woods after that. They'd been camping and gotten lost. Joanna and Finn Regan had been without water for two days.
Remy calls county dispatch for the sheriff and paramedics, and they bring the couple inside to start getting the hydrated. Gunner finds they are missing persons and contact family to meet them at the hospital.
The opening of the bed and breakfast is a spectacular Halloween party. Well, that is until Annika and Brighton go inside to get more appetizers. Brighton hears something upstairs where no one should be.
With both Remy and Joanna arrested, Annika stays with Brighton. Needless to say, Brighton isn't going to stay out of this investigation.
The first clue she finds is a purse in one of the spare rooms. The wallet inside contains Joanna's wallet, and several credit cards all with the first name Joanna but different last names. All that is pretty suspicious all on its own.
A lot of things happen that next day, Brighton decides not to continue with the bed and breakfast, Remy comes home, and Gunner informs her that Finn had died. Finn's death could be suspicious since there is some evidence of a struggle, and the local police didn't set a guard as they said they would.
There's plenty going on in this book, and every page throws something else into the fray.
Once again, I'm glad I'm reading the boxset so I can continue with the next book without a break.
Finally! Meri's story is told! And poor Meri. I hope Meri gets a happy ending... I know this won't be in Wicked Witches of Coventry, but maybe in Familiar Kitten Mysteries. I am also intrigued by this prophecy that has come up a good number of times now, which Remy comments will have his child as Grand Wizard.
Speaking of Grand Wizard and a prophecy. How does Meri know every detail of the future? It seems Amelda does as well, despite the fact she tried to rid Coventry of Tuttlesmith witches in the past. Even Remy knows this information and it involves him. To tack onto this question, why is Brighton in the dark about all this while no one else is? Why keep it from her, dropping hints only now and then? I am hoping there is a good explanation for this.
Anyway, getting to the point of my rating...
This story is much shorter than usual and very straight forward as a result. For instance, the author gets readers hyped up with Remy's arrest the night of Brighton's Halloween grand opening party, which leaves him undeniably a suspect. Readers can't help but cry out, "Oh no, Remy! Not our Remy! Say it isn't so! We have to save Remy!" Except the next morning Remy is free and asleep on Brighton's couch with Meri, although he is still a suspect. He isn't a strong enough suspect to keep in jail, but he is still a suspect. Now that makes no sense considering Remy is found with the weapon in hand, a man dead before him, and a woman injured nearby. From there, the investigation that begins surfaces only one real suspect -- the victim. The victim may very well have been an abuser attempting to murder his wife for money, but the woman fought back and accused Remy out of fear. Then pieces fall neatly into place, no obstacles stand in the way or they move aside easily, and the woman is found to be both abuser and murderer.
There is also the issue of the victim. The man literally loses the will to live, let's himself die, and turns into a ghost who feebly attempts to thwart the investigation into his own death. He appears in one chapter and then he is gone. Doesn't make sense at all. Even worse, he is narrated over.
Finally... this one happens quite a bit between this book and the previous... personal gain spells. Brighton and friends use magic to cook, clean, and build things that really only benefit them.
Brighton has decided to start a Bed and Breakfast using her house. She wanted to have a grand opening on Halloween. Meri, her familiar helped with demon issue while Remy helped with construction. This were perfect until a man is stabbed at her grand opening.
This paranormal cozy mystery/romance is book eight in the Wicked Witches of Coventry series. The characters are interesting, quirky, full of personality and of course magic. This is a series where the storyline continues, so although you can read it as a stand-alone it is best to start with book one. The mystery was interesting and they had to learn new magic if they hoped to solve it. The romance continues and is charming. I enjoyed this book and the whole series so far.
Brighton decides to throw a Halloween party to involve the entire town. In addition she wants to open a B&B and even gets some cabins built in the back.
Sounds good but the best laid plans of mice and women gang aft aglay as the saying goes. There's a dead body, an angry ghost, a hurt Meri, demons, an explosion, an upset House and enough other things going on to keep this a really good book from beginning to end.
I think maybe Brighton should be tested. She often has the attention span of a flea. Now she has a burning passion to be an inn keeper? Anyway, she has a big Halloween party to celebrate the opening of her cabins. When a death occurs, she investigates, which she does have the ability to focus on and carry through. Remy is steadfast and wholly supportive of her interests. I like how Annika has her own love story.
The character development is still moving along beautifully. You get a little bit more of the backstory of the great familiar cat. And like I said after I finish this series I'm going to have to go back and read all of my familiar kitten series again to plug in the backstory elements that I've picked up.
Again decently written & the regular characters where as good as always. The whodunnit and the victims kinda felt unfinished though. For me the ending also felt a bit rushed. While not a bad read, in my opinion, this book didn't really do anything to advance the plot except for during/after the whodunnit was caught.
When Brighton and Remy help two hikers that were lost and stumble onto her land, they have no idea what is in store for them. Brighton and Remy set a date for the wedding and Gunner catches the trio using magic, so now Anika has spilled the beans.. the hype of this one continued on from the previou.s
So Brighton decides to have her on B & B, which of course goes to hell in a handbasket. The murder victim comes back as a ghost which a very short apperance honestly could have done without it. So happy to read about Meri's story.
After the bed and breakfast burned down Brighton decided to turn her house into one. The universe had other plans. Enjoyed the plot and story. Recommend this series and author.
I am still finding mistakes throughout this book. Again, words left out, extra words added, grammatical errors and so on. What is so difficult to proofread a book? This is getting monotonous.
“Bookface”?? 😏 I keep finding I’m more interested in the continuing story of the regular characters than the “mystery” part. The “investigation” seemed pretty minimal here. And the very end—Gunner’s reaction seemed awfully minimal, & I really wanted Meri to say something!
I posted this review after reading this title as part of the series boxed set.
A stabbing at the grand opening of Brighton's new inn, well that really put a dampener on things, When the young victim dies, you guessed it, Brighton and Co go into detention mode.
A death in a b and b, lost hikers turn up at hangman's house in the dead of night. Brighton decides to open a b and b and on opening night of course there's trouble.
Ok another one of these books! Seems like another chapter to one long book! I think it was marketed wrong I really thought Remey would be in for the murder allot longer!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ugh another one in this series that was jumpy and stilted. The only reason why I'm still reading it is because I have all of them and just want to see how this ends, to be done with it.
This book was a bit more cohesive and while the ending was quick, it didn't seem as abrupt as its predecessors. Still an interesting, quick series to read.
A fast, fun, supernatural story that takes place a a small town. The characters are interesting, I think my favorite is Meri! Love the series and looking forward to the next book. Another great book provided by kindle unlimited.
Meri announced that they had to deal with venturing into the basement tunnels, finding the source of the demonic energy that flowed down there at times, and blow it up somehow that Meri would know about. The purpose was to stop all of the demons from trying to creep upstairs before the house could be opened up for guests to come to the big Halloween party! With Brighton planning to turn Hangman’s House into a bed and breakfast inn, they really did need to deal with the house’s demons first.
Walking down the basement steps, Brighton flipped the light switch but it remained dark. Meri used his orb instead to give them at least a little light to see. After what seemed an hour’s walk underground, they found the hell mouth the demons were using. Brighton tried to cave it in with magic, but instead made the hole bigger and she and Meri fell in! With demons after them, she grabbed Meri and started to climb out of the hole. She just cleared the top with the demon right behind and Meri told her to run. There was a big explosion and Meri joined her. Apparently when he exploded the demon, it caved in the hole. Now Brighton would attempt to magically seal it!
With one problem out of the way, the house decided to interfere with her B&B plans. Plumbing broke constantly with any water use; power outages occurred randomly; and her food constantly disappeared from the refrigerator! The house did NOT want to be a B&B and continued to sabotage her efforts. Remy suggested building bungalows out back for guests, but they would build them magically in a day. He was exhausted and went to the guest room to sleep. Meri was likewise full of dinner and slept on the couch. But Brighton was excited and went out to the bungalows to decide how to paint and decorate them. As she envisioned what she might want, there was a sound outside. Something was stalking her, and it wasn’t human! Should she run for it and try to get inside the house? She looked up when she heard frantic scratching! Meri was trying to get out to get to her – whatever was out here in the dark with her was freaking him out! And now the thing was moving toward her!
There are so many things going on in this book! Book 8 in the Wicked Witches of Coventry series has Brighton continuing to step right in the middle of a disaster! Her plans for a bed and breakfast just aren’t working out, especially since the house itself is stopping her! The bungalow idea seems to be a big hit, until danger comes after Brighton when she is trapped outside alone at night. The characters are awesome and many are familiar to the reader by now. You’ll love that the action never stops! Will her wedding plans ever get off the back burner? Don’t miss this exciting book!
While Brighton works on turning the Hanged House into a B&B, the House isn't happy about the idea. After making its wishes know, Remy magics up some cozy bungalows in back of the property. Of course, the Grand Opening will be on Halloween with a big party for everyone in Coventry. As the gang inspect the bungalows, a couple come stumbling out of the woods on the property. Finn & Joanna are dehydrated after several days being lost. Calling emergency services, Brighton mixes a rehydration drink for them. The couple are transported to the hospital & survive. As the Halloween bash & the bungalows at full capacity, Brighton hears footsteps on the 2nd floor despite it being off limits. As she climbs the stairs, a scream from above has her running to one if the guest rooms. Finn is on the floor bleeding heavily as Remy stands over him with a bloody knife. Turns out he took it from Joanna. She claims Finn was an abuser after he passes away without regaining consciousness. Brighton is not so sure. Who is the real abuser? With her B&B guests gone, Brighton closes her business & searches for the truth. In more ways than one. While this can be a stand alone book, I highly recommend reading the series in order. They're quick & charming reads with an enjoyable mystery in each book.
In this book, Brighton decides to turn her home into an inn. On the grand opening, a body is discovered and someone very close to her becomes the prime suspect. How will Brighton clear her loved one and solve the murder? I don't want to post any spoilers but I really didn't think how the situation was dealt with at the beginning with regard to finding the murder victim was all that correct. I don't think a sheriff would have done what he did. I did feel like the story was rushed a little and some elements weren't explained sufficiently is the snowstorm that suddenly arose while they were going on a breaking and entering exhibition. It sounded very much paranormal but it was never acknowledged in that sense. Other than that I liked and enjoyed it thoroughly.
The house seems determined to avoid having a bed and breakfast in it, so Remy suggests some bungalows our back.
A random demon or two, and some lost back packers make for an exciting preparation for this venture.
Other plans seem to be afoot.
We find out a bit more backstory for Meri.
Remy and Brighton seem finally ready to set the date for their wedding- and Annika seems to have a better chance at happiness with her new beau, Sheriff Gunner.
Action packed- yet it feels that the really big things in store for Annika, Remy and Brighton are yet to come.
I received an advance copy from Booksprout. I read this book and most of the books from this author on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.