Lend A Helping Paw

Mountain Home Magic & Mystery #1

by Corrine Winters, Ruby Diamond

Angelica Parker is one busy witch. Between playing fiddle with her band, Blue Mountain Baby, running her organic grocery store, Greenleaf, and healing a mess of maladies for friends and neighbors, her life in misty Mountain Home, North Carolina hums along. With the help of her opinionated familiar, a Russian Blue kitten named Vladimir, and best buddy Willa Kent, Angelica hustles to keep customers and music lovers happy.

And it works!

Until her bandmate, mandolin marvel Maisie Prine, ends up dead. Townsfolk insist that musical ghouls from the mountain’s shadowy dells did the deed. Local teens confess creepy encounters that back up the claims.

Angelica teams up with sexy police sergeant Cary Stewart to suss out the truth behind the tall tales. Together, they uncover a chorus of suspects including a corrupt co-worker, a selfish stepmom, a sticky-fingered student and a frustrated fiancé.

Then, just as the case crescendos to an arrest, the key witness changes her tune.

It’s enough to make you smash a guitar.

Instead, intrepid Angelica picks up the melody. She follows it over hill and dale until she finally finds the wrongdoer, then reveals them in front of the whole town at a high-spirited hootenanny hoedown.

But mysteries remain.

Who’s luring young folks to the mountain’s shadowy glens?

And why do they come home changed?

Genres: Mystery

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2021

Reviews

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was fun. I liked the characters; loved the familiars. I just wanted to dig into them a little deeper to find out who they are and what made them tick. This is the first I’ve read from either author, and even though this is the first book in the series, I was left feeling like I was missing part of the backstory about who these characters are. We’re on the hunt for the killer from very early on in the book, and it was definitely a mystery I wasn’t able to out-think. There are also some threads left open to be explored in future books. I’m curious to see where they’ll lead.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout.

[Willow Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of Angelina's band members is murdered and its up to her and Cary to find the murderer. I really enjoyed the book. It was well written and I never guessed who the murderer was before it was revealed.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cary and Angelica on the Case . . .

Angelica Parker plays the fiddle with her band, Blue Mountain Baby. She also runs an organic grocery store, Greenleaf. And in her spare time, she provides healing for friends and neighbors. Her familiar is a Russian Blue kitten named Vladimir, and her best friend is Willa Kent, who works in Greenleaf and keeps everything running smoothly.

The mayor Kippy had stopped in to ask Angelica about the weather because a busload of tourists were coming to town. Suddenly Dag Ulster, one of her band members, came running across the parking lot and ran inside. Local police Sergeant Cary Stewart shoved through the door right behind him to tell them her friend and bandmate, Maisie Prine, is dead. Laine gave Dag a ride home while Cary stayed to give Angelica the details. Maisie had been wrapped in a tarp, tied with clothesline, and had a massive wound on the back of her head. Then her wrapped body was thrown into the river. The last call on her cell phone was from Dag telling her she didn’t want to do “this” and would regret it. So he was definitely a suspect. While they talked, someone else came in, Clary Needleman, with more information about a big fight Maisie had with Loy Stash that past weekend. He actually had threatened her. Cary and Angelica had to find the killer and quickly. The problem is, suspects start piling up faster than they expected! Would they get to the bottom of this and find the murderer? Would they find the answer to the other strange events going on?

I enjoyed this cozy mystery book, with plenty of interaction among the characters. The story line is intriguing, entertaining, and filled with fast-action, adventure, and mystery to keep the reader excited and involved. Grab your copy and see if you can figure it all out with Cary and Angelica.

[Mary Lou Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

LEND A HELPING PAW is the first book in the Mountain Home Magic series. This will be a continuing story with individual cozy mysteries. I would recommend reading all books as they are released.

The first chapter is a name and information dump. My brain isn’t wired to accept all of those names at once. Instead, I absorb who is whom as the story develops. To say I felt lost would be an understatement.

Once I got a handle of who was whom, the story is as fun and folksy as the series title suggests it will be. These witches live in the mountains, and some are even in a bluegrass band in addition to their coven.

Angelica is bright and outgoing. Her friends each have wonderfully unique personalities which helped with getting to know them. I’m looking forward to future books when I will get to know them even more. One common quality they seem to share is their die-hard loyalty to one another. Probably a result of the small town living they have shared.

The mystery was well thought-out and perfectly delivered. It kept me on my toes and that’s what I want in a paranormal cozy.

I’m looking forward to more from this Mountain Home Magical Mystery Series.

Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC via Booksprout, my opinions are my own and are given freely.


Title: LEND A HELPING PAW
Series: Mountain Home Magic #1
Category /Genre: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Recommended for: 14+
Grammar/editing: received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Corrine Winters

[Wannee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Fun Start to the new series!!!

Angelica Parker is a busy Witch, she owns an organic grocery store, Greenleaf in misty Mountain Home, North Carolina with her best friend, Willa Kent, working with her.

She has an opinionated familiar, Russian Blue kitten named Vladimir; she provides healing for friends and neighbors; Angelica also plays the fiddle with her band, Blue Mountain Baby.

When her friend and member of her band, Maisie Prine, is murdered, there are so many suspects. There is also rumors that ghouls from the mountain’s shadowy dells are the killers.

Angelica and Vladimir will need to lend the helping hand and paw to help Sergeant Cary Stewart investigate to find the murderer and solve the mystery.

This is a fun, page turning book that is hard to put down with likable characters, it's a fast-paced story line that keeps you entertained as you try to figure out who is the murderer and why. I would recommend this book to any cozy mystery fans and I am looking forward to read the next books in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lcr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lending a Helping Paw is the first in a new series from this writing partnership. One day whilst busy running her shop Angelica, her familiar Vladimir and best friend Willa find themselves caught up in an unexpected murder mystery.
This a a good start to the series with some interesting characters but I was left feeling as if there was a previous book that I had missed which explained some of the history. It was still an enjoyable cozy mystery and I recommend it to fans of this genre or anyone who wants a nice comfortable read.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angelica Parker, healing witch, green grocer and musicion in a band has a busy life, which becomes even more so, when one of her band members is found killed. Together with the local police sergeant Cary Stewart she tries everything to solve the murder and bring peace back into her life.
A good story-line with a decent plot and plenty of suspects. The characters are interesting and well-described.
A good book that promises plenty of entertainment.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great new story line with a new witch to follow. Angelica is witch who has her own store and is part of a country band. One of her band mates is found dead and she’s assisting the town police in determining who killed her. It does not help that another band member could have done it. Read on to see how Angelica and Cary, the police sergeant, identify the killer.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

in the start of this new series we're introduces to Angelica and her sassy familiar Vladimir. When Maisie a member of band Blue Mountain Baby is found dead, She pairs up with the police sergeant Cary in an investigation keeping you on your toes.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jodi Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really a great start to the series. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the murder mystery had me stumped! I wish the reader had been let in on more of the reason how Angelica figured it out. Honestly, I may have just missed it thinking it wasn’t relevant. No matter, the book was great!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[holly gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad but,

I liked thus story don't get me wrong , but character development could be better. I didn't really connect with the main character, because we didn't really learn that much about her. Also we were thrown into a potential romance right away. The mystery was good though.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky human characters and snarky familiars make for an entertaining witchy cozy. Would definitely recommend you add this quick read to your paranormal cozy collection!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical and witty whodunit with some very interesting and entertaining characters. Keeps you hanging on until the end to find out the answers. Good who did it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but seems like the characters were really stiff. And I'm seriously confused on the town. Does everyone know that paranormals exist and they're just okay with it? Is it that they only know about a few of them? Hopefully book two goes smoother.

[Rebecca Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book by author Corrine Winters.
I loved reading this book with awesome characters. Could not put it down. It totally drew me in. Highly recommend...

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sara Sigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cary came into Angelica’s and told her about one of her band members was killed Maisie. So she decided to help him solve the case. The person was a surprise that did it! Good book!

[Matthew Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed

I have really enjoyed reading this first book of yours in this series your characters,humor and story line are fun to read.