A Potion to Die For by Heather Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I could tell from the way the author chose to introduce characters and advance the plot that this book is clearly meant to belong to and be read as part of the new and probably longer lasting Magic Potion Mystery series.
I was a bit at odds with the first half of the story, since it plunged the reader right into the middle of the action, but on the other hand took about 170 pages to pick up the pace.
There was quite a group of characters introduced at the beginning of the story and one could feel the author’s merciful accomplishment and talent in keeping them from causing much confusion to the reader. Having said that, it was difficult at times to find the actual main thread of the story and I found the overall atmosphere of the town/setting a bit lacking.
The main character was also kept at bay for the first half of the story, making me wonder if I would know enough by the end of the book to form an opinion about her. Many side stories and small tangents were introduced that I think will work quite nicely in keeping this series going for at least another two or three books, but I felt my patience tested as I struggled to form a clear picture of the main character.
The writing style was easy and flowed nicely. The dialogue and narration contained a few typical southern phrases and a bit of a dialect that added to the charm of the books setting of a small town in Alabama.
I was intrigued and impressed by the set up of the murder mystery element of the story. It was so interwoven and intertwined, yet simple enough to detect the obvious connections when thinking about them retrospectively. It kept me guessing and forming my own theories until the culprit was named. Considering the compilation of other genres within this story, this part did not suffer and I am thankful for it.
The magic in this series by the author was kept to a minimum, although one can tell that the foundation for further storylines already exists.
Overall, I found this story to be cute and by the end it certainly had me interested enough to continue with this series. I recommend it for anyone looking for a light summer read.
