4.5 stars. Love this series so much! It is so cozy and comfy, a great October/Halloween mystery. I love how she gets her magic from books, I love the rainy dark nights, the fireplace, the library, her conversation with the books. I love the town and all the residents, I feel like I myself am an old friend and love seeing how everyone is progressing in the town and “catching up” with them. The addition of Sherlock was super fun! And I love Rodney the cat. The mystery itself too felt more fun than usual, although a bit hard to follow and convoluted. I can also tell the writing and storybuilding/world building has improved a lot since the first book! Love seeing that in a series, when you can tell an author is getting better at their craft. I also like that she still gets lessons from her grandma :)

I would say 4.5 stars. Docking half a star because I got so tired of Josie putting up with everyone’s crap! Helen was so rude just told her she needed to solve the mystery for her and she wasn’t going to help? Then letting Martin into her home and sleep in her bedroom and hiding him and doing everything he asked and also agreeing to solve this very dangerous case while he hides away?? Then Roz has no boundaries and doesn’t take no for an answer and decides she’s entitled to moving in?? I get why these people needed to be uninvolved in the investigation because we want to see Josie do it all, and Roz staying in the house had it’s own need, but maybe we can do a better job of writing Josie as a total doormat? Also why did Lindy not get in trouble for attempted murder of Josie, why did we wave that away? Wouldn’t anyone also be mad at Josie for hiding Martin away secretly? Sam deserved a better explanation for being lied to.

Anyways, those were my frustration, but it didn’t take away much from the book. It was still a light, fun and cozy read and a great little escape. Love the whole atmosphere and all the vibes of the book. It gave me exactly what I wanted from it. Can’t wait for the next!