It Takes a Coven (A Witch City Mystery)

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After Lee Barrett joins a former student’s bridal party, she expects cake tasting and dress fittings but not murder. There’s a magical baker, a best man with a checkered past, and a talking crow named Poe as the ring bearer. There’s also an old man dead under his apple tree, one of a series of unexplained deaths of witches in the area.Wedding planning becomes strange when Lee’s scrying talent kicks in. With witches dropping dead before they even come out of the broom closet, Lee’s best friend, River, fears she might have inadvertently cast a dreadful curse on the city. Aided by a very strange crow and her clairvoyant cat, Lee sets out to investigate. Are lives being claimed by vengeful supernatural forces, or by the human variety?--Series: A Witch City Mystery - Book 6Author Carol J. PerryGenre: Cozy Mystery/Witch/ParanormalPublisher: KensingtonIt Takes a Coven is a great addition to the “A Witch City Mystery” series. It is filled with wonderfully charming, intelligent and unforgettable characters. Ms. Perry is a talented writer that puts sentiment and realism in her stories.Lee isn’t your normal average person; she has visions that can be frightening in their intensity. Sometimes the visions make no sense, at other times their meaning is clear as a bell. This time her visions showed her a dead man in a gazebo on a beach, and she knows exactly who he is. It also shows her a dead witch who will go to great lengths to find the killer and get her spell book back. Lee must figure out what to do to prevent another death and to appease the hanged witch before the congregating crows destroy the peace and quiet of the town or another body turns up.Lee’s aunt plays a delightful role in this story and is very helpful as always. River North also plays a bigger role, and it would be wonderful to see her play an even bigger role in the future. Lee’s boyfriend Pete is his usual self and with Lee’s help figures out who the killer is in the nick of time.Setting a witch-based series in Salem could never be wrong. The history and the city lend itself to mystery and magic. For those who have never visited Salem, it will inspire them. For those who have, it will bring back fond memories and give them fanciful ideas.The ending of It Takes a Coven can be a bit baffling for a first-time reader. Although this book can stand on its own, it is helpful for readers to read at least one of two of the other books in the series. Clues to the killer’s identity are there, but they can elude the average reader and make the unmasking a letdown. Longtime mystery readers should have no problem figuring out who did it and why early in the book.There are some issues in general, there is far too much talk about food and Lee’s car and not enough investigating. Lee becoming an investigative reporter might upset fans who enjoy the interaction she has with her students who are intricate to the plot in almost all the other books in the series.This book and series are recommended for anyone who wants a fun, easy to read paranormal cozy with well-rounded characters that will leave them smiling.

I very much enjoyed this book, as I do all of her books, and this series. However, I find it VERY distracting that her characters can't seem to speak in full sentences. I don't know ANYONE who talks like that---"You want this"--"You want me to..." ..." Want this to eat..." and so on. For having has such wonderful examples of English teachers and such, it does not show. It is just plain distracting to an otherwise fabulous read. I'll still read the rest of the series and any other books she writes because I like them, but that is sooooooo annoying.!

Mindless fluff. This is an enjoyable series with a total guilty pleasure protagonist. Lee is a Mary Sue, beautiful, blonde, looks like a model, is single but is not a messy divorcee with emotional baggage or an ex-husband somewhere, but is a respectable young widow who had a perfect marriage until her husband died young and left her with plenty of money. Lee has no parents to harangue her or interfere in her life, she has no kids to take up her time with mundane domesticity, she drives a fast, expensive sportscar, she doesn't have to work but wants to and immediately gets a lightweight job which gives her plenty of time off. She didn't have to date a bunch of frogs to find a prince - she found the strangely single but totally handsome good guy practically her first day in town - Lee gets to eat delicious food and stays slim without exercising like a beast. And oh yeah, she's a witch with the gift of Sight and uses it reluctantly to solve murder mysteries along with help from her librarian aunt and cat familiar. Nothing deep here. Just junk food for the mind. Only gave it 3 stars because of the Mary Sueness of the main character.

It Takes a Coven is the 6th book in the Witch City series which takes place in Salem Massachusetts.I feel a reader should start with book one to follow along with Lee Barrett with her career and life with her Aunt Ibby. The first book was my favorite where Lee fills in as a TV call in psychic. However, Lee says that is her least favorite position in her career. She was not a psychic but was filling in for a deceased psychic.This book has witches dying. Are they being murdered? Why do 20,000 to 30.000 crows arrive in Salem? Some quince and apples trees are stripped. There are funerals, a wedding and a new job or career opportunity for Lee. To top it all off, O'Ryan her cat, plays a character through out the book and is not just a cat image on the cover to draw readers in. There is so much more. I like the idea that Lee is returning to the TV studio where she started as a psychic. I am looking forward to the next book.

This is a sweet little series that I got hooked on when I went to Salem Mass last year and books caught my attention. Lead character has a special psychic gift that allows her to see visions in reflective services. As the mysteries unravel, she sees visions that help her to solve them and catch the murderer/thief or whatever. Kind of clever.Pretty well written and plot moves along fast. My only gripe is that while other books and movies lead us to believe that no characters ever stop long enough to eat, these people are eating all the time and several recipes are included. Not low fat, low calorie stuff, more comfort foods. Every meal or snack is described in detail and are full size meals. Have a snack handy when reading this series!

Love these books! The author has a real talent to pull me into the story, the locations, to really care about the characters. I think they would make an amazing movie series!! So many great characters and plots. And the locations would be amazing!

Another winner in the series. Maid of Honour duties are interrupted by the death of witches and the arrival of a whole murder of crows. What or who is behind it. Does it really fall on her friend's bad thoughts or is there more to it than that. Ghosts abound as does magic and brilliant animal familiars. The characters are getting stronger with each subsequent book and the plot is as fresh as book 1. Terrific and recommended.

It was good easy reading. I can usually tell "who done it" in the first 3 chapters but this book didn't follow the usual plots so it was nice to keep guess until the last few chapters.

A slow but enjoyable read.mystery with a paranormal twist.enjoyed the use of a cat to help drive the plot along

A good author and her work will be greatly missed

This is great series with interesting twists and turns