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Charm McCall, armed with a library full of Agatha Christie stories and her unique witchy gifts, knows how to solve a small-town murder…
Charm McCall, the oldest of the McCall triplets by a whole day—or one minute before midnight if one’s being picky—is the designated driver for her whole town. Why, if it wasn’t for her Snowy Lake would incinerate or fall into Hudson’s Bay. Now add her Salem Witch heritage that’s gifted her with some unique abilities and she’s all set to keep her family and town safe and on its proper course.
That is, until a hot Mountie moves into town, a busload of strippers breaks down on Main Street and Mrs. Hurst goes and gets herself murdered with poisoned jam. Jam crafted by Charm’s family at the Tea & Tarot café. Now it’s up to her to solve the murders—yes, plural, when another local business owner ends up dead.
Charm knows just what to do. What’s breaking a few laws if she can sleuth out the culprit? She knows the people of Snowy Lake better than any new lawman possibly could. So why can’t he just leave her be to get on with things?
And why does he have to be so darn hot?
General Release Date: 10th September 2019
“Mrs. Hurst called. She wants a reading today. And don’t forget it’s our turn to host the Northern Lights Coven,” Star yelled out from the kitchen of the Tea & Tarot café where she was supposed to be watching a batch of apricot jam simmer. Seven to one she had her head buried in that dog-eared notebook she dragged around, working on yet another song.
At least Mrs. Hurst liked our apricot jam, her only saving grace. I wasn’t alone in thinking that. No one in town could handle more than a small dose of the old curmudgeon, who managed to find fault with even the most perfect of sunny days. I paid closer attention as Star added, “Oh yeah, and Judith Finch wants a stronger love potion. Says the last one’s not working.”
“She needs a heck of a lot more than a love potion if she wants to capture Laurence’s attention—the guy’s ten years younger and headed for parts unknown,” I muttered under my breath, sorting through the newly arrived assortment of crystals, tarot cards, seer stones, spell books, fragrant incense cones, tiny drawstring velvet bags—nice, royal blue this time—and dozens of tiny fancy jars for housing sweet-smelling unguents for the tourists.
Tulip, my presumed helper, had drifted off as per usual. She was busy clicking away on her laptop. My daily prediction—if it wasn’t for me and my military maneuvers, the Tea & Tarot café would fall into utter ruin. At least I had the meeting of our coven to look forward to. Life being what it was in Snowy Lake, it required a lot of female support.
“Who do you think you were in another lifetime, Charm?” Tulip took that moment to look up from her ceaseless blogging to ask another of her inane questions. Okay, maybe not fair. A lot of people counted on her to make sense of their dreams. Oh, and she was darn good at reading omens in clouds. Has a nice following too.
“Probably Cinderella. Looks like I came back as a drudge yet again. Must have liked it so much last time, eh.” I softened my complaint with a smile directed at my triplet and hurried into the kitchen to make sure the other hapless McCall wasn’t leaving the jam to scorch.
“Star!” I yelled. There she sat perched on a stool, ubiquitous pen in hand, dreamily gazing off into space. The fruit she was meant to be tending was giving forth its essence of sunshine and happiness, the fragrance waltzing through the air, making my mouth water. Okay, a mid-morning snack of a fresh muffin with apricot jam was in order. I was also the self-elected quality control officer of our fine establishment, hence my curvy hips.
“It’s fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I just stirred it. It’s almost ready to go. Just needs the pectin added. And the jars are in the oven, sterilized and ready for filling, thank you very much.”
“Good,” I grunted. I took the cheery red oven mitts with the white hearts embroidered on the backs, reached into the oven and brought out the huge black roasting pan full of steaming hot jars. I placed them on the counter on clean tea towels, ready for service. Hmm, she’d even remembered to place the lids and inserts in a pot of hot water on the back of the stove. Will wonders never cease?
“Okay, you stir in the pectin and I’ll line up the jars. Ladle sterilized?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Star saluted, knowing full well it rankled.
“We’ve only got today to set things in order,” I chastised her. “Granny’s coming home tomorrow and I want everything properly done and in place. She’s worked hard enough for us over the years—time we made her days easier.” Even though at sixty-five she appeared to have the energy of a bulldozer, I didn’t take chances with my family.
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
“Yeah, right!”
January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full-blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create a series that features strong women who don’t take life too seriously, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope the stories of her beloved Brass Ringers will capture your imagination as much as they did hers when she wrote them.
If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with two furry babies trying to prove who does a better job of guarding the doorway. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously replied to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.
If you wish to connect in the virtual world, she is easily found on Facebook, Twitter and writes a weekly blog about her journey on Blogger. Oh, and she loves to talk books…
Reviewed by Romance Reader
This is an absolutely delightful romantic mystery. I loved Charm and Ace, and every other character from this vividly described and utterly engaging small town. I cannot recommend it enough...the endin...
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