Spirits, Pies & Alibis

The Witches of Pinecroft Cove, Book 1

By: Nicole St. Claire

Narrated by: Stephanie Murphy

After moving to the magical world of Pinecroft Cove, will Tamsyn’s life ever be normal again?

Tamsyn Bassett is having a bad week. Like the "losing your job and getting dumped by your boyfriend" kind of bad. So, when her great-aunt invites her to spend the summer at her inn on a remote island in Maine, Tamsyn jumps at the chance. But instead of the peaceful getaway she expected, she's immediately confronted with the preposterous revelation that she's descended from a long line of kitchen witches and is the last hope of her generation to keep magic alive in Pinecroft Cove. That she's the world's worst cook could be an issue.

As if navigating a strange new world of spells, magic, and exploding blueberry pies isn't enough to handle, that awkward boy who had a crush on her when they were kids seems to turn up everywhere she looks. Only, now that he's a super-dreamy doctor, it's Tamsyn's turn to be the awkward one. If she didn't know better, she'd swear someone put a hex on her.

One more thing. Tamsyn's pretty sure she's being haunted, and not by just any ghost but by Doctor Dreamy's dead uncle. If she can't harness her powers in time to figure out the truth behind his mysterious death, she may never have a moment of peace again.

When death strikes the island’s controversial real estate mogul, will Tamsyn’s newly discovered powers be any match for murder?

Don’t miss the new Witches of Pinecroft Cove series of paranormal cozy mysteries!

©2019 Nicole St. Claire (P)2019 Nicole St. Claire

Enjoyable story - annoying narration

The narrator does a pretty good job, but she tends to life her voice just before every pause/end of sentence. Reminds me of Allison Hannigan's character in American Pie - "This one time, at band camp..." Gave me a headache.

With that said, It was a wonderful, cozy mystery. I liked the characters and the story itself.

Fun!

This was a fun story. Everything that could go wrong does for the heroine. But it all works out in the end. Looking forward for the next story.

good mystery

I had no clue who the perpetrator was. What a twisted path to the villainy. I enjoyed the journey. The teaser at the end is intriguing. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life.

I really enjoyed this first installment in a new series

I really enjoyed this first installment in a new series. Nicole St. Clair and Stephanie Murphy make a winning team for this cozy mystery which has loads of laughs and a fun adventure. I highly recommend this book/audiobook to cozy mystery fans.

Fun paranormal cozy mystery

This is a fun paranormal cozy mystery. I can't even imagine losing my job, and boyfriend in the same week. Then getting a letter from a Great Aunt asking me to come live with her. To find out I am a witch on top of it all would be too much for my brain and heart to handle. This is just the beginning of what Tamsyn goes through in this book. It was fun to listen too during my commute to work.

Ambitious Beginnings Would Give it 3.5

This is the first book in this series and I was surprised by the depth of the story. Although positioned as a supernatural cozy mystery this went further than the typical stories I listen to. There is an impressively large cast of characters and fast switching plot that meant this was not for a casual light listen. At several points the transitions from scene to scene and plot point to plot point happened so quickly I would be lost and have to click back a few minutes to make sure I knew what was going on. That isn't a bad thing, but was just something that was a bit different from the lighter cozies I listen to while driving or doing chores around the house. There is also more detail and depth to the magic being described, as well as a slightly different mechanic in terms of covens that stick within certain families where each family specializes in a specific style of magic, however each person could cast a variety of magic using their medium. The main character, Tamsyn, is a bit of a black sheep and not in line with her family's magic. There is lots of playfulness and humor around her family and the small town community that Tamsyn is coming into. There is also a bit of a cliffhanger in terms of new suggestions about Tamsyn's magic that are given in the last five minutes of the book but not elaborated upon. I am a bit torn about the narrator. Stephanie Murphy is not a bad narrator but I almost felt that she would be great for a children's book, and in this tale found her rhythms and voices to be a little repetitive and left me wanting. But again she is much better than many narrators I have heard but I think my ears wanted something a little different for this story. There were lots of twists and turns in the mystery and suspects and the vaguest of hints of romance, there is no foul language for those that have that concern, and you get a happy ending. This really did feel like an ambitious story that goes into much more detail and description than many cozies I have read but often times that made it a little harder to follow because it was dense and had to race to keep up. Sometimes I think this is just an issue of some stories that flow better when you are reading the print version versus listening to the audible. I would definitely give the second book in the series a go especially if the author continues to develop things that are hinted about at the end of the book. Although there is humor it is not as much as say Beechwood Harbor/Ghost Mysteries or Molly Harper, nor is there the romance here like Kristen Painter's books, the most time is paid to the mystery itself and the mechanics of magic that takes place in Pinecroft Cove. If that is of interest to you then grab your ear buds and dive on in.

Will Tamsyn be able to solve a murder and control her magic?

Spirits, Pies, and Alibis is the first book in the Witches of Pinecroft Cove series. Tamsyn accepts her great-aunt’s invitation to visit her inn after she’s had a really unlucky and bad day. Once she’s there, she finds out about her family’s legacy, that she’s supposed to be a kitchen witch, she’s crushing on a guy who used to have a crush on her, oh, and his uncle was murdered and she can see his spirit! Will Tamsyn be able to solve his murder and get her magic under control?

This book was really fun to listen to, and I really enjoyed this magical world that Ms. St. Claire has set up! Tamsyn was a great mix between being unbelieving at first, to clumsy with her magic, and even by the end, there’s still some mysteries behind her witchiness. I really enjoyed learning about this history of Pinecroft Cove, the side characters were engaging and entertaining, and I loved the mystery behind the murder! It was fun to have the magical elements trying to solve the murder, as well as the whole who did it atmosphere! I also thought that Ms. Murphy did a great job bringing all of the characters to life! I really enjoyed listening to this book and look forward to more from this author!

Loved it

Tamsyn has a series of bad luck events that lead her to go live with her aunt in Maine. Once there, she encounters a murder victim and sets about trying to solve his murder. Along the way, she learns that she is descended from a long line of witches.
This was a really cute cozy mystery. I love the characters and plan on following along with the series as books are released.
The narration was great.

Very Entertaining Paranormal Cozy

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and any opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the first book in The Witches of Pinecroft Cove series. It starts in a similar vein to a lot of cozies in that the MC loses her job, her boyfriend, and her home which then allows her to, in essence, return back home. In this case, the MC Tamsyn moves in with her great aunt to help with the bed & breakfast and while living there, learns that her family and Tamsyn herself are all witches. Besides being a witch, there's also fun paranormal elements to this story. Tamsyn is a very likeable character - adorable even. I especially liked her conversations with her great aunt - which often brought a chuckle. I really liked that the awkward boy who had a childhood crush on her was now a very handsome doctor and that there was no insta-love between the characters. The mystery was interesting and entertaining.

The narrator, Stephanie Murphy, made you almost feel as if a friend were telling you a story - her voice was warm and inviting with just the right amount of tongue in cheek whimsy.

I love this type of story

If you're looking for a wholesome,and fun witch story. Then this is the book for you. I loved everything about it. From being dumped, finding out you're a witch, and a murder mystery to go along with it!