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Moon Investigations #1
A Captive Moon
Welcome to Crystal Lake
Where rival elf gangs will rob or curse you, dragons strut through the streets and magic is as finicky as technology.
Private Investigator and witch Hazel Moon does her best to help her community. This includes finding runaway familiars, negotiating with trolls, and breaking curses.
When a mother comes to her searching for her missing daughter, hazel is eager to take the case. While the police may think Rose Stone simply ran away to join the revolution on the main island, Hazel isn’t so sure.
With the help of a bounty hunter and seasoned witch, Hazel uncovers Rose’s secret life and a ritual that could bring all life on the island to a fiery end.
Where rival elf gangs will rob or curse you, dragons strut through the streets and magic is as finicky as technology.
Private Investigator and witch Hazel Moon does her best to help her community. This includes finding runaway familiars, negotiating with trolls, and breaking curses.
When a mother comes to her searching for her missing daughter, hazel is eager to take the case. While the police may think Rose Stone simply ran away to join the revolution on the main island, Hazel isn’t so sure.
With the help of a bounty hunter and seasoned witch, Hazel uncovers Rose’s secret life and a ritual that could bring all life on the island to a fiery end.
- GenresMystery
211 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2023
10 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Marie Batiste
6 books8 followersMarie Batiste loves writing dark and creepy stories, crocheting, cooking and reading. She is a night owl and ferocious coffee drinker. So much so her blood is probably mostly coffee at this point and she's okay with that. When she is not writing novels or writing freelance articles, you can find her binge-watching shows on Netflix, cooking, watching anime or reading a story about morally ambiguous characters that make her question her morality.
She longs to one day be a notorious recluse with a tortoise named Guy.
She longs to one day be a notorious recluse with a tortoise named Guy.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 17, 2018
Fantasy, suspense, paranormal, supernatural thriller, crime/detective mystery— A Witch Hunt on Crystal Lake is a multi-genre novel portraying a world where one can literally walk down the streets with dragons and teddy bears, or have lunch at the neighborhood café with warlocks, witches, vampires, werewolves and many other mythical creatures. Crystal Lake is an alternate reality bordering the human world, where anything fantastical can happen.
There are many aspects about Crystal Lake, which mimic the political and social upheavals of the human world. Even in such an enchanted place, crime, infighting, and social injustices happen. The author does an excellent job juxtaposing a supernatural world against a human world and revealing that personal, economic, social, and political strife happens in two very different but not so different multicultural spheres.
The heart of this story revolves around a missing witch name Rose. Hired by her mother to find her daughter, Hazel and her accomplishes trail a magical, spellbound adventure to uncover Rose. It’s this part of the story that’s true to the detective crime genre. All-in-all, I enjoyed the story, and at times wished for more. I understand this is a series so I suspect the author has more revelations and magic up her sleeve. I can’t wait to see what the next book reveals about this fantastical place called Crystal Lake.
There are many aspects about Crystal Lake, which mimic the political and social upheavals of the human world. Even in such an enchanted place, crime, infighting, and social injustices happen. The author does an excellent job juxtaposing a supernatural world against a human world and revealing that personal, economic, social, and political strife happens in two very different but not so different multicultural spheres.
The heart of this story revolves around a missing witch name Rose. Hired by her mother to find her daughter, Hazel and her accomplishes trail a magical, spellbound adventure to uncover Rose. It’s this part of the story that’s true to the detective crime genre. All-in-all, I enjoyed the story, and at times wished for more. I understand this is a series so I suspect the author has more revelations and magic up her sleeve. I can’t wait to see what the next book reveals about this fantastical place called Crystal Lake.
April 2, 2018
Witch Hunt on Crystal Lake is a quick read sure to keep you guessing. It opens up a lot of potential paths for Hazel after the first installment, which is always fun to speculate. I love the mystery to it and how well it's tied together. I enjoyed the mix of magical creatures that called the island home.I definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of quick, magical mysteries.
I recieved a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I recieved a copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 17, 2018
This is an excellent witchy mystery that doesn't rely on cliched tropes. Of course there's magic and mythical creatures, but it reads more like a "whodunnit?" with a variety of magical characters.
Hazel's life is never boring between living in the midst of supernatural center and running her PI business with the assistance of her bounty hunter friend Lola who features more prominently in the second book Restless Bones on Crystal Lake.
The author has a very concise writing style that I really like. This is odd for me since I'm a long winded writer myself, and the "purpler" the prose the better, but I enjoy how such a method works for the PI type stories. There are no words wasted, and while the main character Hazel is witty, she doesn't meander into overly snarky territory, which is becoming more and more common.
The ending/climax is a bit quick and we barely see the bad guy in those moments, but there are enough red herrings to keep you guessing. Despite the minimalist style, the world building is still intriguing. Just enough to whet your appetite and make you wonder not all what the island contains, but the rest of the world as well.
Hazel's life is never boring between living in the midst of supernatural center and running her PI business with the assistance of her bounty hunter friend Lola who features more prominently in the second book Restless Bones on Crystal Lake.
The author has a very concise writing style that I really like. This is odd for me since I'm a long winded writer myself, and the "purpler" the prose the better, but I enjoy how such a method works for the PI type stories. There are no words wasted, and while the main character Hazel is witty, she doesn't meander into overly snarky territory, which is becoming more and more common.
The ending/climax is a bit quick and we barely see the bad guy in those moments, but there are enough red herrings to keep you guessing. Despite the minimalist style, the world building is still intriguing. Just enough to whet your appetite and make you wonder not all what the island contains, but the rest of the world as well.
January 11, 2018
Check out this review, and many more, on my blog https://jessjesinghaus.wordpress.com
What a delightful mystery! Witch Hunt on Crystal Lake is a lively blend of cozy mystery and supernatural fantasy. After reading this book I think I figured out why I don’t read too many cozies; they’re just too mundane. I like a little fantasy in my life, and Witch Hunt delivered that.
Hazel Moondance is a witch. She lives on an island populated by a plethora of magical beings: elementals, shifters, vampires, ghosts, dragons and more. Apparently, some time in the distant past, all magical beings were forced to withdraw from human society and now reside on a series of islands. Where these islands are, exactly, is still a mystery, but since this is the first in a planned series I imagine we’ll learn more in the future.
The world was familiar but oh-so-different at the same time, peppered here and there with so much magical wonder. Ms. Batiste’s writing style is crisp, the story told with a staccato rhythm that suits her main character and narrator, Hazel. Speaking of Hazel: what a great MC! She’s plucky, determined, a little unsure of her abilities, but 100% content to be doing a job she loves and helping other people (even if the pay is barely enough to make ends meet).
My one (small) complaint is that the ending of the book seemed to come about so quickly. It’s a short book, in the 150 page range, but the climax of the story came and went so quickly I almost wondered if I’d somehow skipped a few pages. Likewise with the story’s resolution: the ending was upon me before I was really ready. But I guess that’s a good sign. I didn’t want to leave Crystal Lake! There are some unanswered questions (the biggest being the bad guy’s motives) but again, with this being the first in a planned series, I have faith that these questions will be answered later in some over-arching storyline. Might I be wrong? Possibly. But is it worth the bet? Absolutely!
What a delightful mystery! Witch Hunt on Crystal Lake is a lively blend of cozy mystery and supernatural fantasy. After reading this book I think I figured out why I don’t read too many cozies; they’re just too mundane. I like a little fantasy in my life, and Witch Hunt delivered that.
Hazel Moondance is a witch. She lives on an island populated by a plethora of magical beings: elementals, shifters, vampires, ghosts, dragons and more. Apparently, some time in the distant past, all magical beings were forced to withdraw from human society and now reside on a series of islands. Where these islands are, exactly, is still a mystery, but since this is the first in a planned series I imagine we’ll learn more in the future.
The world was familiar but oh-so-different at the same time, peppered here and there with so much magical wonder. Ms. Batiste’s writing style is crisp, the story told with a staccato rhythm that suits her main character and narrator, Hazel. Speaking of Hazel: what a great MC! She’s plucky, determined, a little unsure of her abilities, but 100% content to be doing a job she loves and helping other people (even if the pay is barely enough to make ends meet).
My one (small) complaint is that the ending of the book seemed to come about so quickly. It’s a short book, in the 150 page range, but the climax of the story came and went so quickly I almost wondered if I’d somehow skipped a few pages. Likewise with the story’s resolution: the ending was upon me before I was really ready. But I guess that’s a good sign. I didn’t want to leave Crystal Lake! There are some unanswered questions (the biggest being the bad guy’s motives) but again, with this being the first in a planned series, I have faith that these questions will be answered later in some over-arching storyline. Might I be wrong? Possibly. But is it worth the bet? Absolutely!
May 5, 2018
Going against the grain
Great easy read. Making a living as a PI is hard and her family are dead against it. However she finds satisfaction and fulfillment in the job. Her new case may however kill her. She is asked to look into the case of a missing student. It is with surprise that she learns that more girls have also gone missing as there isn't an active investigation or any public information about them. With two others she starts looking further. Can she break the wall of silence about the "boyfriend" that no one has met? Magic and mayhem ensue as she tries to find the girls. A good plot and great characters but just wish that there had been more information about her and what kind of supernatural she was.
Great easy read. Making a living as a PI is hard and her family are dead against it. However she finds satisfaction and fulfillment in the job. Her new case may however kill her. She is asked to look into the case of a missing student. It is with surprise that she learns that more girls have also gone missing as there isn't an active investigation or any public information about them. With two others she starts looking further. Can she break the wall of silence about the "boyfriend" that no one has met? Magic and mayhem ensue as she tries to find the girls. A good plot and great characters but just wish that there had been more information about her and what kind of supernatural she was.
July 2, 2018
What an imaginative mystery fantasy book! It was a quick read but packed a lot of story into a few pages. Warning: until such time as some editing is performed, the reader should suspend all expectations of proper spelling and punctuation.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews