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The Divination of Celia Connolly: A Magic Mystery
A government agent dies while investigating a mysterious slaying in the remote woods and leaves behind one word with his last breaths:
Celia.
Celia Connolly is a private investigator who uses magic to help her investigate mysteries in Southern California. When she is approached by a man about his son who is locked away for a crime he did not commit, Celia dives into the investigation. Her investigation intersects with the slaying of her former partner, and the cases may be linked to an active serial killer. The only way she can find the truth is to use a new spell she created: Divination.
As the authorities impede, and at times counter, her investigation, Celia pushes forward and takes risks to find and prove the truth. Will she risk too much, or is she as strong as those around her suggest?
- GenresFantasy
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2020
7 people are currently reading
469 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 22, 2020
This is an honest review in exchange for a free ARC from Reedsy Discovery
The Divination of Celia Connolly is a well-paced mystery that takes its time to tell readers about the magical society of which the main character Celia is a member. A highly gifted mage who experiments with spells and employs them in her field as a private investigator. She comes across as cold and overconfident in her abilities, though Celia immediately shows she lives up to the hype. One day she is hired to investigate a murder and prove the arrested suspect is innocent, she finds herself chasing after a dangerous serial killer mage. With the help of magic fan lawyer Jacob Jefferson and other connections in the magical community, she'll get this case solved.
Celia is an interesting character as she struck me as a magical scientist at times with her love of creating new spells and her dedication to continuing her knowledge in magic. Probably why her friendship with magic fanboy Jacob comes across so well. They balance each other out in a way. I never imagined a PI and a lawyer partnering up to solve a mystery, but Celia and Jacob make it work as they have both the case and magic in common. Celia has magic while Jacob is interested in anything related to it. Though most of the time Jacob tags alongside Celia and acts as the audience surrogate, he is interesting in his attempts to navigate the magical world. She is dependent on these connections to keep moving forward.
The world Celia lives in is one where magic is out in the open. There's no reason to hide it, which is a compelling take on the usual secret world most fantasy stories take place. The world-building on how modern society would incorporate magic into everyday life, from education to government agencies. It was a captivating take to read, especially the bits of history mentioned throughout the story as to how magic became officially accepted among the general population.
While she does have a detailed life story seeing what would have fleshed it out more is how her life choices caused her to take the path she currently resides. Purcell wrote an engrossing fantasy-mystery story with a world that makes a reader want to dive in and experience. I do hope we see more of Celia and her friends solve more mysteries in this magical world.
See the additional reviews for this book at Reedsy Discovery and Wordpress!
The Divination of Celia Connolly is a well-paced mystery that takes its time to tell readers about the magical society of which the main character Celia is a member. A highly gifted mage who experiments with spells and employs them in her field as a private investigator. She comes across as cold and overconfident in her abilities, though Celia immediately shows she lives up to the hype. One day she is hired to investigate a murder and prove the arrested suspect is innocent, she finds herself chasing after a dangerous serial killer mage. With the help of magic fan lawyer Jacob Jefferson and other connections in the magical community, she'll get this case solved.
Celia is an interesting character as she struck me as a magical scientist at times with her love of creating new spells and her dedication to continuing her knowledge in magic. Probably why her friendship with magic fanboy Jacob comes across so well. They balance each other out in a way. I never imagined a PI and a lawyer partnering up to solve a mystery, but Celia and Jacob make it work as they have both the case and magic in common. Celia has magic while Jacob is interested in anything related to it. Though most of the time Jacob tags alongside Celia and acts as the audience surrogate, he is interesting in his attempts to navigate the magical world. She is dependent on these connections to keep moving forward.
The world Celia lives in is one where magic is out in the open. There's no reason to hide it, which is a compelling take on the usual secret world most fantasy stories take place. The world-building on how modern society would incorporate magic into everyday life, from education to government agencies. It was a captivating take to read, especially the bits of history mentioned throughout the story as to how magic became officially accepted among the general population.
While she does have a detailed life story seeing what would have fleshed it out more is how her life choices caused her to take the path she currently resides. Purcell wrote an engrossing fantasy-mystery story with a world that makes a reader want to dive in and experience. I do hope we see more of Celia and her friends solve more mysteries in this magical world.
See the additional reviews for this book at Reedsy Discovery and Wordpress!
September 7, 2020
I really like the main character, Celia, who turns out to be a good Mage. I also like Jacob, the lawyer. A good job with the plot, the action, and the ending. I like the way the magic is entertwine with a logical person, the lawyer. I also like the cases that Celia works on as an investigator. Looking forward to more books by this author. Especially with the characters and sense of humor.
July 31, 2020
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I especially enjoyed that the lead character was horrible with people. The descriptions of the manifestations of magic were good. There were aspects of the plot that felt underdeveloped, but overall an enjoyable read.
October 10, 2020
Good
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book. I was not a fan of Celia at first, she grew on me. I can't wait to read the next book.
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book. I was not a fan of Celia at first, she grew on me. I can't wait to read the next book.
January 28, 2022
Good read
This was a good book. The first couple of chapters a little slow but picks up rapidly and is an easy read. Looking forward to see what happens next.
This was a good book. The first couple of chapters a little slow but picks up rapidly and is an easy read. Looking forward to see what happens next.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews