Four Charming Spells (Kitchen Witch Mysteries Book 4), by Lynn Cahoon

 

Publication March 28, 2023

Kitchen witch Mia Malorie caters a magical but solemn wake for a recently deceased coven member. She's then invited, well, more like drafted to look into the suspicious death. How could a woman in her 50-60's have died of old age? And, why the heck is her elderly aunt suddenly looking not just much younger but exhibiting an odd, abrasive personality? Now, true, one of her spells did zap ol' boyfriend Dorian into Mr. Darcy the cat, an amusing, continuing thread of the story, but Mia needs her back to normal....now. 

Toss in trying to juggle her finances, keep her business thriving, which seems to find itself more and more into catering, both magical and normal, not to mention dealing with a new employee and a seemingly sudden weakening of the wards keeping the ghostly visitors to the old school, now her food business, and her own relationships solid, and, well, Mia is a busy woman. She faces some potentially life-changing decisions,too. And, now she's expected to hold a wedding at Mia's Morsels? It didn't go well the last time she tried to mix business and the frequently uneasy magic surrounding the old school.

Does all that confuse you? You say you're not into hocus-pocus, magical type books? Well, neither was I when I started this series. Heck, I'm still fuzzy on why things happen as they do, but it somehow all makes sense. That shows the strength of author Lynn Cahoon, to convert my skeptical self to always looking forward to the next installment of Mia's magical life. 

What has kept me coming back is the sense of family, friends, and community that surrounds all the magical happenings. You'll like these characters, even the originally unlikable Baldwin, who spends much of the time fretting over his wife's illness while still trying to do his police job. Trent, whose magical abilities are perhaps still not fully shown, and his mother, who does some rather magical work simply baking, have Mia's back, as does non-magical friend and co-worker Christina, whose story line takes some interesting twists this go-round. Heck, even the bewitched Mr. Darcy/Dorian keeps an eye on her.

Thanks #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks- #KensingtonCozies for inviting me to drop into Mia's oft' bewildering but always intriguing life. I've learned quite a bit about catering and arranging events like weddings, too, both magical and normal. Looking forward to stopping by again soon to hang out with this warm, strong network of friends who are there for each other.