When Katie Sue Perrywinkle walks into the Little Shop of Potions, Carly is surprised and delighted to see her old childhood friend. Katie Sue fled her hometown and a troubled family over a decade ago. But she’s not back for a social visit. She’s come to settle a score with Senator Warren Calhoun, who is in town for his son’s high-profile wedding.
But before Katie Sue has a chance to voice any objections, she’s forced to forever hold her peace. After finding her friend dead, Carly vows to find her murderer. Were the corrupt Calhouns willing to go to any lengths to avoid a scandal? Did Katie Sue’s family take the term “bad blood” to a whole new level? And why did the bride-to-be come to Carly for a love potion? As Carly gets closer to the truth, a killer is planning a very chilly reception.
Hold
Your Peace
By
Heather Blake
The Magic Potion shop mysteries
take place in the little town of Hitching Post, Alabama, the wedding capital of
the South. It’s filled with chapels and inns and reception venues. Its inherent
charm is off the charts.
I purposely created the wedding
theme to go along with healing witch Carly Bell Hartwell’s ability to concoct
love potions. As my main character, she needs to be very involved in what’s
going on around town. Weddings and love definitely go hand and hand.
But so does love and murder.
Which is unfortunate for real life,
but perfect for developing a mystery series. And investigating crimes suits
Carly quite well, too. She’s a healer. A fixer. She’s all about justice, even
when that justice is meted out in unconventional ways.
When I was in the plotting stages
of ONE POTION IN THE GRAVE, I happened to be watching Shrek. Do you recall the scene where he’s tossing Donkey in the air
to peek in the church during Fiona’s wedding?
DONKEY
Wait a minute! You wanna do this
right, don't you?
SHREK
What are you talking about?
DONKEY
There's a line you gotta wait
for. The preacher's gonna say, "Speak now or forever hold your
peace." That's when you say, "I object!"
Even though I’d seen this movie a
dozen times (at least—don’t judge), at this particular place and time, this
scene stood out. Kind of like a flashing neon sign from the universe. I’ve
learned over the years to pay attention to those kind of signs.
Speak
now or forever hold your peace.
I started wondering about someone
actually speaking up. And why. And what would happen if someone else didn’t
want that wedding interrupted…
Well, no spoilers here, but how I
ended up twisting those thoughts into a plot are revealed in the book. I will
say that love really can be deadly.
Have you ever been to a
wedding-gone-wrong? Fortunately, I haven’t, but I’m always looking for ideas
for future books.
Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of more than twenty novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be close to her family, read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, and bake cookies. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family and is hard at work on her next book.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE this series. Carly is AWESOME. She's my kind of sleuth, and I just love her personality! I also love the setting of the story. It's so quaint and perfect for this cozy theme.
The storyline for One Potion in the Grave is great. It's full of revenge, secrets, and a murder mystery that's complex and exciting. Page after page, I found myself eager to find out what Carly was going to uncover, and even more thrilled to be a part of this wonderful world that Ms. Blake has created - even if it's only for a few hundred pages.
Rating: 5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own.
Heather is running a month-long ONE POTION IN THE GRAVE Witchtastic giveaway via Rafflecopter (9/23 - 10/23). Win a set of "Cast a Spell" measuring spoons, a set of three Yankee Candle potion bottle tea light holders, a Lego minifigure witch, and a $20.00 gift card to Barnes & Noble or Amazon (winner's choice).
To enter:
AND...
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4 comments:
Looking forward to this, I really enjoy all of Heather's series!
Marie, thank you so much for the wonderful review! And for hosting me here today. :)
Can't wait to get my copy! Thanks for the enjoyment of your books!
I'm always happy when Heather has a new book.
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