The Howling Hag Mystery

Howling Hag Inn #1

by Nicki Thornton

Raven Charming knows the rules of using magic in the real world. So she is horrified to uncover the worst kind of trickery in her village. Luckily, help is at hand - a sharp-talking black cat called Nightshade with a talent for solving magical mysteries...

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Mystery, Cozy, Childrens, Audiobook, Cats

343 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Nicki is a former bookseller, and still lives in Oxfordshire where she ran a bookshop for more than ten years. She remains passionate about books, bookshops and anything that celebrates reading for pleasure and writes a regular Mystery Journal celebrating all things crime fiction for young people.

Nicki Thornton’s ‘wickedly funny and wildly original haunted whodunit’ The Last Chance Hotel, was selected as Waterstones Book of the Month October 2018 and has gone on to be an international bestseller, being translated into fifteen languages. Nicki Thornton’s debut won the 2019 Ealing Junior Book Award, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2019, was shortlisted for the 2019 CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Children, the 2019 Oxfordshire Book Award Best Junior Novel, Shortlisted for the Warwickshire 2019 Junior Book Award and longlisted for the Specsavers National Book Awards 2018.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could be an easy 4 stars if I hadn't paused my listen to it so many times. I've been listening to this for a while but had long periods of time where I didn't pick it back up and the think that ruined my experience with this. Of I had given it more time and devotion I would probably have given it more stars. It was a good story but I didn't feel a pull to pick it back up after putting it down

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 1st book in the companion series of the Seth Seppi series. Nightshade, the amazing cat from the original series, is the MC of these, along with a new kid MC each book he encounters, & goes on a detective mystery adventure with. When there's a murder in Twinhils & a hag is heard howling at the inn, Raven Charming realizes she may not be the only secret witch in the village. She could have a rival- 1 who practises the worst kind of magic. With the help or amateur sleuth, Mortimer Scratch, & Nightshade, a talking cat with a feline sense of detection, she sets out to solve what's been going on... Loved this. Nightshade always had my heart so this was great. It alternates POV between him, & the kid of this mystery he is trying to help-Raven. I loved the mystery of this, & just the whole plot. I loved this town, Raven & her family, & the friendship that develops between her & Mortimer(love him!). The magic of this was incredible. I never saw the whodunnit coming. Loved the twist the author did with that so much. Had a blast with this, & highly recommend. BEAUTIFUL cover by Héloïse Mab too.💜

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of 2021

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why but I found this a slog of a read! I wonder if there were just too many characters.

A fun light-hearted spooky(ish) adventure about the Howling Hag and her curse on a village school. A nice reminder of how we all need friendship 😀

[Ronel Janse van Vuuren · Rating 1 out of 5]

When the most interesting character is a cat, you know there’s something missing in the main character.

The dialogue is clunky with loads of info dumps – that shouldn’t even be happening according to the rules the witches have of keeping everything secret.

What the new boy in town knows about witches is mostly from Roald Dahl’s book “The Witches”.

But what irked me was Raven’s mother saying the new boy was spraying her with water when she rode her bike past his house because he likes her/wants to be friends. Honestly, telling little girls that boys bullying them is a show of affection is complete BS and harmful: how many women in abusive adult relationships don’t continue to believe that lie?

Too many issues for me to continue this book.

DNF 23%

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch out for secrets and rumors, for they are power, and power, just like knowledge, is dangerous.

I loved this book, some will say it's for children, but for me, this is the kind of books that teaches me more about life. I loved the friendship in it, the sisterhood, the cat, obviously 😂, and the not good enough (NEG) feeling Raven felt all through my reading, how she delt with it and all the emotional conclusions she came to by the end of this book. And, of course, the mystery was brilliantly crafted with lits of lessons to learn!

Definitely going for book two!

[Tihare]

DNF

Got to chapter 5 but it may have been for a much younger audience

[Hadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt amazing meeting Nightshade again after so long! 🐈‍⬛ I still miss the original Seth-Nightshade combo but seeing some new faces was quite refreshing. Especially since most of it was set in a school, which is one of my favourite settings.

[Virginie Lalonde · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Lecture professionnelle -

3.5

J'étais tellement heureuse quand mes collègues travaillant chez Michel Lafon m'avaient présenté une nouvelle histoire de Nicki Thornton ! Enfin, j'allais pouvoir lire un roman inspiré de l'univers du personnage de Seth Seppi (je vous invite à lire le roman L'Hôtel de la dernière chance si vous ne l'avez pas encore lu), mais où le personnage de Belladone (le chat parlant de Seth) allait mener l'enquête.

Toutefois, je ne peux pas dire que j'ai autant aimé ce roman que les précédents que j'ai lus de la même autrice. Oui, l'univers était semblable (enquête mélangée de magie), mais je me suis particulièrement ennuyée des personnages que j'avais rencontrés dans les autres histoires.

Ceci étant dit, j'ai tout de même apprécié ma lecture. Belladone devait être en vacances à Buttesjumelles, mais il s'avère qu'elle se joindra à deux enfants, Sombra et Morty (environ 8-9 ans) pour enquêter sur les étranges méfaits survenant à l'école de ces derniers. Nul doute, la magie est utilisée pour créer des situations étranges. Même le toutou de l'enseignante, M. Cornichon, a été trouvé éventré!
Tout le monde parle de la sorcière hurlante... Mais se pourrait-il qu'une autre famille magique que celle de Sombra soit établie à Buttesjumelles?

Une enquête bien construite où deux narrations se côtoient rendant la lecture un peu plus complexe malgré son contenu. Contrairement aux autres romans de Seth Seppi, je dirai que celui-ci s'adresse à un lectorat plus jeune, mais bon lecteur.trice - 9 à 11 ans-.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The detectives in this story have a very serious weakness: they are hopeless at getting witnesses to talk. Raven in particular is fobbed off again and again. With neither authority nor force, she has to rely on her charm and wit, which are sadly inadequate. Her courage is nothing special either. Not a very compelling protagonist. Morti is not much better, but his fun, funny and confident personality make up for his lack of talent.

There is evil here, but of a petty trickster kind. So there is no main character who commands my respect. Lightweight without being really funny. I didn't finish it.

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of the Seth Seppi series since the first book came out, not least because I love sassy talking cat Nightshade with my whole heart, so when I heard she was also starring in this new sort of spinoff story I was absolutely thrilled. It follows a girl called Raven Charming, who is desperate to find her magical affinity as she’s sick of feeling inferior to the rest of her magically talented family, as she seems up with Nightshade and the new boy in town Morti Scratch to unravel the mystery of the curses that seem to be tormenting her school. Much like Seth, Raven is a bit of an underdog, and I absolutely adored her. She very definitely was good enough from the very beginning, if you ask me, but I loved seeing her realise that about herself. Morti was also a really fun character, I enjoyed Rookery and Finch and the cast of suspects were very interesting, but Nightshade was undoubtedly the star of the show. The chapters from her point of view can only be described as joyful, and she made me laugh so much, as she always does. This is a fantastic new magical mystery from Nicki Thornton, and while it does stand alone, I’m kind of hoping for a series following Raven, or perhaps seeing Nightshade solving more crimes.

[Eleah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again I find myself reading a book that has been poorly edited and I am left wondering if producing book after book for profit has become so necessary that quality is now unimportant.

Oh well, not much to be done I suppose.
Despite this, "The Howling Hag Mystery" is a fine book.
An interesting magical premise and a decent mystery for middle-grade readers. It did drag on at moments, but I think I'm going to put that down to the editing. Worth a read if you are interested in the premise but there are better books out there that do the same thing.

[Alix Gisele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre and definable not YA. Should be listed as junior fiction. Somewhat good plot. But not enough on the murder mystery, which I thought was going to be the main plot.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I didn’t initially realise that it was linked to the Last Chance Hotel series and just grabbed it to read more by the author as that series is a comforting favourite of mine. Meeting Nightshade again and finding out more about her character was a real treat. I really enjoyed finding out more about how magic works in this world and the changing points of view between Nightshade (the world’s greatest detective cat) and Raven (the girl she’s trying to help in this book) was effective.

Raven is born into a magical family, with a sister whose powers are ever-growing. She’s desperate to find her affinity and have magic herself, but also terrified of the potential danger. With the help of Morti, a new boy in the town, Raven begins to investigate a series of events that suggest that there’s another magical family in town.

If you enjoy mysteries, magic and friendships, then absolutely read this book!

[Jasmine Wilkes]

I decided against giving this a rating as I am not in the age range of the intended reader. For a younger reader I think will be perfect for them; full off mystery and magic but for someone older (like me) it bored me and I could guess every little plot twist. It was very easy to read and I got through the book within two sittings but I will be passing this on to someone younger who I think will enjoy it a lot more.

[Arliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Howling Hag Mystery” does exactly what it sets out to do and it accomplishes it with verve and humor. I believe it is middle grade but I laughed more than once. The characters are all a joy and the adventure is silly fun. Next to Marshmallow, the cat in the Mimi Lee series, Nightshade is my favorite cozy mystery cat. I Love this series and can’t wait until there are more.

[Laetitia G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children is a small school face a terrible threat: a witch is spreading her wickedness everywhere. Nobody is safe but two children are going to solve this mystery.
There are so delightful clichés that kids will love (a black cat with green eyes)
The end is unpredictable which is a great surprise for a junior fantasy book.

For children 8 to 10 years old

[Manon • étenduedemots · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 : it was entertaining as a children’s book but it definitely wasn’t the best children’s book I’ve read. The writing is a bit repetitive and actions are quite slow which is a bit annoying as nothing happens for a while and then suddenly you have a whole lot of things happening at once… But there’s a talking cat.

[Tina Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great middle grades read. The kids in the story were quaint and relatable. Raven was cautions and Marty was a perfect counterbalance. Add in a talking cat, and it’s a winning storyline. I’m craving nothing but light, fluffy works right now. This fit the bill nicely.

[Wendy Pollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving this series so far

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A talking cat is the star in this mystery adventure.

[Silke · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars
Really liked this story, it was very entertaining.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lucie Aran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Někdy jednoduše nemám náladu na nic komplikovaného, nebo náročného. A přesně v takových chvílích, často sáhnu i po knize pro děti. Chci si prostě jen užít příběh, odpočinout si a relaxovat. V případě Záhady Kvílející čarodějnice, to byla skvělá volba.

Příjemně komplexní, a přitom nekomplikovaný, místy vtipný, jindy kouzelně poetický, zábavný a zajímavý příběh, ve kterém není nouze ani o zvraty, či odhalení, a hlavně, stále se něco děje. Kniha je oproštěná od zdlouhavých a nudných popisů, jako oddechové čtení, má co nabídnout i mimo věkovou kategorii, pro kterou je primárně určena.
Já sama už se moc těším, na další díl.

[J.K. Keane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book about witches and cats. Well written and I loved the ideas and the characters.

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. By no means a bad book, but could have benefited from good editing. Did not keep my interest.

[Léah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely more of a children’s story. Cute, though!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice start to the spin-off series. I do love Nightshade.

[My Blomqvist · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8* 🌟
Cozy but a lil slow started first

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I accidentally listened to book 2 of the trilogy before reading this book! I have to say I enjoyed the mystery of book 2 much more!