Inconsistency is the name of the game with Leslie Meier. She cannot string two good books together at the time of writing. Although the trademark fluidity of the prose was present, the style emphasized starkly the lack of buildup, pacing, plot, and twists in this Halloween themed book. I do know it's the lowest rated book of the series, and the fact that I dislike it is no coincidence. Bill Stone was cruelly underused during the entire thing. He appears only to flip the television channels or if he's being horny. I know he's not the main character but he is very important. If the author has no use for him then may I suggest killing him off? That would put him out of his misery. I can't know for sure what character appeared most here apart from Lucy, but it does look like Ike Stoughton might just be the one. His role is mainly to provide misdirection while the real murderer gallivants about fearlessly. Nobody, not Leslie Meier, not her editor, not anyone who she thanked in her book had the right clue to come up with the type of decent ideas that made this series a roaring success. The biggest blot was the vindication of supernatural Wicca activities which left, at the last chapter, the door ajar, when trying to explain the miraculous events in the book. I do know there are ghostly cozy mysteries but why here? This is not meant to be a spooky book! I'm sure the low ratings reflect how readers reacted to this premise. The only purpose this book served was to make it clear to me that character development is the major thing that attracts me to this series. Likable characters that are a delight to root for. The author has fallen and came back before. I'm sure she'll bounce back in the remaining books, but I'm running out of them. When I do come to the last published book, let me look back on this series with longing instead of relief. Nope. This one just didn't do it for me. Granted it is the 16th book in a series and maybe I picked up the dull one but this just didn't come together for me. I picked this up as a fun Halloween read but I'm going on to something with more substance.Lucy Stone is the main character and she just didn't seem to have an continuity, one minute she's unhappy with the town witch, Diana Ravenscroft and the next minute she's bending over backwards like the with life-long friends, dropping everything to pick her up at the airport when she wasn't even asked in advance. Her behavior just didn't ring true. Her husband Bill was a downright cardboard character. I would hope that other books in the series might have his character more fully fleshed out.There were all kinds of red herrings thrown in the pot and the resolution was just no kind of surprise. I assume the others were better but I'm not at all sure that I'll spend time reading them.
What do You think about Wicked Witch Murder (2010)?
Loved it just got to read from the beginning.
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