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A Charmed Cocktail Cozy #0.5
Curses, Cats & Corpses
A chatty black cat travels by tote bag to help solve a murder.
Hi, I’m Marissa Hale. I took a summer job as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub in Florida to escape the cold Pennsylvania winter, and to visit Gran. Although staying with Gran at the retirement condo with a bunch of nosey witches becomes the least of my worries when I stumble upon a corpse in the club freezer.
My coworker, Burton, is suspect number one. If you met him and looked into his dead eyes you might understand why. Unfortunately, I’m a close second suspect since it appears spelling was involved. My spelling skills might not be up to par—but I’m no killer.
I can only hope to avoid making this a permanent vacation in the slammer by solving this murder mystery with the help of Gran, a talking cat, and a demon with a real devil-doesn’t-care attitude.
Hi, I’m Marissa Hale. I took a summer job as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub in Florida to escape the cold Pennsylvania winter, and to visit Gran. Although staying with Gran at the retirement condo with a bunch of nosey witches becomes the least of my worries when I stumble upon a corpse in the club freezer.
My coworker, Burton, is suspect number one. If you met him and looked into his dead eyes you might understand why. Unfortunately, I’m a close second suspect since it appears spelling was involved. My spelling skills might not be up to par—but I’m no killer.
I can only hope to avoid making this a permanent vacation in the slammer by solving this murder mystery with the help of Gran, a talking cat, and a demon with a real devil-doesn’t-care attitude.
82 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 23, 2021
About the author
M.L. Bonatch
11 books153 followersJust a small-town girl, Maureen Bonatch leads a double life. She lives in a magical world as a novelist, and as a nurse leader in reality. Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a new-fangled thing. She’s since changed her focus to writing paranormal cozy mysteries as M.L. Bonatch and urban fantasy as Maureen Bonatch.
While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible.
She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival.
While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible.
She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 7, 2022
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This was a funny, quick read of a cozy paranormal. The characters are unique and funny. I enjoyed this first entry and look forward to reading more about the adventures of Marissa, her Gran, her talking cat and the witchy residents of Gran's retirement village!
This was a funny, quick read of a cozy paranormal. The characters are unique and funny. I enjoyed this first entry and look forward to reading more about the adventures of Marissa, her Gran, her talking cat and the witchy residents of Gran's retirement village!
February 15, 2022
A cute story about a young witch camping out with her grandmother in a Florida seniors complex who stumbles onto an apparent murder (bodies don't normally end up in a bar's freezer by themselves) and investigates between slinging drinks and finding out more than she really wants to know about the other bar staff and patrons.
This one's short, light and quite a bit of fun.
This one's short, light and quite a bit of fun.
March 18, 2022
Lacking
This story is lacking in plot, investigation, clues, intrigue, and personality. It's novella in length but that doesn't mean you should rush through from A to Z without going through the rest if the alphabet. Personally I think, with fleshing out, this could make a good novel
This story is lacking in plot, investigation, clues, intrigue, and personality. It's novella in length but that doesn't mean you should rush through from A to Z without going through the rest if the alphabet. Personally I think, with fleshing out, this could make a good novel
March 10, 2023
This was... Lacking. The story is a good concept and being a novella doesn't automatically make it bad. But being a novella that feels like someone tried to put a full books story in under 100 pages made it not very fun to read. It could've probably been better if it was a full length book.
June 21, 2024
Marissa is a Sleuth
Marissa was suspected of the murder of a elderly warlock. She didn't kill him or even know who did.
I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.
Marissa was suspected of the murder of a elderly warlock. She didn't kill him or even know who did.
I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.
January 24, 2022
Quick funny story
February 28, 2022
Nice
This is a nice short cozy. There is a lot left unsaid so it makes you want to read the next in the series. Not a bad story.
This is a nice short cozy. There is a lot left unsaid so it makes you want to read the next in the series. Not a bad story.
March 25, 2022
Decent short story to the series. Curious to see what the full length novels in the series are like.
March 26, 2022
A short but delightful story. Marissa is staying with her Granma who’s a witch. What she doesn’t expect is a corpse in the freezer. Perhaps one of the witches is guilty. Loved it.
July 3, 2022
cocktail witch
Was a little bland. The love interest just all people in a murder a demon vampires talking cat kind of usual. Not sure I will continue at this time maybe later.
Was a little bland. The love interest just all people in a murder a demon vampires talking cat kind of usual. Not sure I will continue at this time maybe later.
March 4, 2023
This a quick fun read. Liked the characters and will be interested to see how the series plays out.
February 18, 2026
Did not finish.
I did not like the main character. I did not care who committed the murder. I stopped at 20 percent because I was hoping it would get better.
I did not like the main character. I did not care who committed the murder. I stopped at 20 percent because I was hoping it would get better.
May 21, 2024
This story was pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews