Title: A Dash of Sorcery (The French Quarter Witch Mystery Series #1)
Author: Constance Baker and Corrine Winters
Published on: 6 May 2021
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Georgette aka Georgie is the owner of L’Art Vivant gallery in New Orleans. Georgie is a witch who controls fire, wind, water and air. Her best friend and a help at the gallery is Veronique; she talks to the dead. Georgie owns a cat named Mr. Marcel; Marcel is no ordinary cat for he wears a monocle and is 196 years old. He can sense it when people lie. Miss Hallie is Georgie’s mentor and guardian while Raphael, the local detective, is Georgie’s good friend and possible beau (in the future).
Mardi Gras might have just ended but the town is still in festive mood. Georgie and Veronique are excited about the art exhibition at the gallery. Raphael comes bearing bad news – one of the artists was found murdered that morning. He asks Georgie to help him solve the case. Meanwhile, Miss Hallie, who also happens to be a tarot reader warns Georgie of the impeding doom. Georgie finds herself a nemesis in Xavier, a witch hunter.
A Dash of Sorcery is the first book in The French Quarter Witch Mystery Series by Constance Baker and Corrine Winters. I have hardly read any witch themed cozy mysteries and when I saw this was recently up on the KU catalog, I wanted to give it a try.
Overall, this is an entertaining and enjoyable story. A group of witches, a talking cat and a witch hunter, well, doesn’t it sound like a perfect combination for a mystery? Of course, we have a murder – not caused by an angry witch.
The characters are well-portrayed and likable. I really loved Marcie – he might be 196 years old but his cat instincts never fail him. A hiss, a purr and some nice chin scratches, who’s a good kitty?? Marcie is smart, stubborn and a little childish. When Miss Hallie warns her to drop the murder investigation, she refuses.
Knowing the consequences – which includes harm to all those who are close to Georgie – she is adamant on solving the case. When her nemesis confronts her, she snubs him. He’s as adamant as Georgie is. He would go to any extent to ‘educate’ the people of New Orleans of the ‘witch’ exhibits at Georgie’s museum.
The only niggle I found with the story was the character introduction. The Goodreads blurb mentions Raphael is a warlock. I am not sure if I missed this in the story or if it wasn’t mentioned. I mean, a detective wouldn’t ask his best friend to help him solve the case, right? Of all the cozy mysteries I have read so far, the detective warns the amateur sleuth a gazillion times – don’t interfere in police business or face the consequences… Hmm!
I really enjoyed reading A Dash of Sorcery. The storytelling is impressive and the mystery behind the murder kept me guessing till the end. A handful of red herrings and ‘false confessions’ are sure to direct the reader to a dead end so give your detective hat a break!
The ending has a dash of magic to it – surrounded by witches, you see. I loved every bit of this story and I am eagerly waiting to see what’s next for the sleuthing pair (Georgie and Raphael). If you are looking for a unique, light and fun read, do give this book a try.
The Book Decoder 
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