This cozy murder mystery, written in the first person, introduces River Halloway as the main character. River is a young witch hiding her powers from the small town of Brimstone Bay, where she moved for her first journalist job.

The story could be faster to start, bogged down by character introductions and info dumping in the first third of the book that could have been rewritten and woven into the action part of the book. The fact that a fresh out of NYU journalist major with a minor in criminology knows more about Police procedures than the town Sheriff was far-fetched, but many of the police procedures were left to be desired throughout the storyline.

Howell’s writing style is suited for a YA audience, as they are most likely not aware of the missteps and are more forgiving about the implausibility of the plot line that older readers might have trouble swallowing.

Perhaps it’s Howell’s choice to write the book in the first person that made it fall flat because, in this writing choice, the reader spends a lot of time with River, getting her perspective on life in Brimstone Bay. The trouble is yielding it to ensure the other persons in the story don’t come off as paper dolls or that the setting doesn’t float about but that readers’ are grounded in the story. Regrettably, Howell fails; we receive a full view of River and a few glimpses of everyone else through her eyes. There is not much about the town except for her office and coffee shop beneath it, which makes it challenging to share in the experiences.  

It was a cute read, but the jarring mistakes in the police procedures that took away the realism of the tale and the lack of connectivity with the characters and surroundings made it a 1-star read.