AUTHOR: Juliet Blackwell

Author:  Juliet Blackwell     (Hailey Lind)
Goodreads Author Page 
Juliet Blackwell Website Link 
Hailey Lind Website Link 

A Witchcraft Mystery Series
1. Secondhand Spirits
Author's Page Link               My Review
2. A Cast-Off Coven
Author's Page Link               My Review
3. Hexes and Hemlines
Author's Page Link               My Review
4. In a Witch's Wardrobe
Author's Page Link               My Review
5. Tarnished and Torn
Author's Page Link 
6. Vision in Velvet

A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series
1. If Walls Could Talk
Author's Page Link              My Review
2. Dead Bolt
Author's Page Link              My Review
3. Murder On the House
Author's Page Link 
4. Home for The Haunting
Author's Page Link 


Art Lovers Mystery (under the name Hailey Lind - cowritten with her sister)
1. Feint of Art
Author's Page Link               My Review
2. Shooting Gallery
Author's Page Link 
3. Brush with Death
Author's Page Link 
4. Arsenic and Old Paint
Author's Page Link 
 
 

Feint of Art (An Art Lover's Mystery, #1) by Haily Lind BOOK REVIEW

Feint of Art by Hailey Lind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Feint of Art is the first book in the Annie Kincaid Mystery series which is written by Hailey Lind, which just happens to be a name created when Juliet Blackwell and her sister write together. Now, I happen to love Juliet's books, and I am not sure what name her sister writes under normally, or if she does, but I would be happy to say that she is just as good as her sister, if this book is any indication. I loved it!!

The story revolves around our main character, Annie Kincaid, she is the grand-daughter of a master art forger, spent time learning from him and passing some pretty good forgeries herself, but she went straight, now owning a studio that deals in faux finishes and murals and even some restoration of a old piece, which I am thinking who better to clean up and fix a master than a forger, really. She is scrapping by, but their are still people in the art world that want nothing to do with her, but more of them want her knowledge, because when it comes right down to it, when you spend a great deal of money on a painting that is suppose to be an old master you want it verified, and if I was verifying an old master, who better than a master forger to tell me if it is real, or one of their works. Of course, they all want it kept on the down-low that they are using her services and she is fine with that for now.

The story begins with Anne being called by an old flame to verify a new painting at the gallery he works for, only for Anne to have to tell him it is a fake. The old flame makes plans to met back up with her in a couple hours and she waits at the coffee shop only to be stood up, what else is new. So on her walk back to her truck, she sees police lights and finds out that the security guard that let her out just an hour ago is dead and there is no sign of her old flame anywhere. When she can't reach him still days later, she begins to look into what is going on out of concern for the guy, which leads her into a whole mess of things she never imagined!

This was just so well-written and so easy a story to follow, I just loved it and I look forward to more in this series, because I was blown away by all the art information that was tucked into the book, it never seemed like a "teaching moment" but more like real conversation and it was so neat and interesting. I really liked it and I hope you will take a chance on the book and give it a read!


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Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovantion Mystery, #2) by Juliet Blackwell BOOK REVIEW

Dead Bolt by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dead Bolt is the second book in the Haunted Home Renovation Series by Juliet Blackwell, who also writes the Witchcraft (Vintage Clothing) Mystery Series. She is probably one of my favorite authors that is currently writing cozy mysteries. I guess I just get her writing style and her books speak to me, and I love them.

Dead Bolt finds Mel Turner again in the middle of a renovation project, this time she is working on an 1890s Queen Anne style-old house, again in San Francisco. The owners area cute, yet strange couple Katenka and Jim and their new baby Quinn. As the construction is going on, strange things happen like tools missing, handprints in the ceiling and paints. Katenka is thinking it might be spirits, and Mel is not one to doubt her, but she wants to find some history on the home and see what might be going on in the history.

We follow Mel as she hunts down the history on the house, talking to former owners and tenets and finding out what she can about the house and the people who lived there.

Again we see and talk to some of our favorite people in the book, Mel and her dad, Stan and her stepson, Caleb. The always proper Graham, and then through in assorted friends and family, which we might have met briefly in the first book and we get to met more in this book, and I look forward to even more in the next book, which I heard is just now being released.



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If Walls Could Talk (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery, #1) by Juliet Blackwell BOOK REVIEW

If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another cozy mystery in my list of books that I have read, is that surprising anyone at this point. So I like them, I like to get into them and the way characters develop. So this was a new one, the first in a series and a new author to me at that.

This is the first in the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series, and it is a little different from the other cozy mysteries in that the police aren't actually investigating this murder, in fact the only person who seems to be concerned with the murder at all is Mel Turner, our female lead. After a divorce, the unexpected death of her mother has her taking over her fathers construction business, instead of hiding in Paris licking her wounds. The business is good, they specialize in restoring old homes to their former glory, and believe it or not Mel is really good at what she does, which probably is one reason she didn't do so well in her marriage to a professor.

A friend, Matt Addax, and aging rock start at that, buys an old house to flip, and although she agrees to do a walk through for him on the house before he buys it, that was all that her involvement was suppose to be. Until Matt's teenage son calls and wants her to check on him, they had a do-it-yourself demo party that included drinks, not the best combination with power tools. She stops by to find a passed out Matt, empty beer and wine bottles, and alot of damage, then as they are walking through the house, Matt's business partner and friend Kenneth walks up too them with a nail gun, nail shots into his abdomen and his hand sawed off. Kenneth passes away at the hospital and what seems to be almost no investigate ensues.

During the brief, one day search of the place, she finds out that her business name has been forged on the permits, and Matt has asked her to help finish the remodel because he needs to recoup the money. And thus begins the twisted a sorrid tell that ends up involving ghosts and spirts from at least three generations before any work ever gets done on the house!

It took me alot to actually get into the book. I read one chapter, then pushed myself to read the next, then pushed on, it was only about a third of the way in did I finally find myself enjoying the story and looking for some closure. I'm not sure about the series yet. I kinda liked Mel, I really like Graham, old family friend come back into her life, and the teenage boys, Caleb and Dylan, Matt's son and her ex=stepson whom she still has a good relationship with and is in her life more than you would think an ex would be. Her Dad and his best friend, Stan are there, and although they started the business, they have stepped out and let Mel take over. The original reasoning that Mel gives was that her father was just unable to handle it after her mother's death, but late in this story we find out that his wife was a big part of the business, and I think he stepped aside on purpose, I think he had it in his mind to bring Mel in, give her a purpose after the divorce and to settle her down and make her deal with life. She thinks this is temporary and that her Dad will take back over soon, but I don't think he has any plans of taking it back over. So there is part of me that is ready for the next book to see how that sub-plot matures.

Overall, it was a good book, and I defintely think I will read the second book in the series, and I think I will reserve judgement on it until then. Not sure if it will be a favorite or not, but looking forward to learning more about the characters.

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Hexes and Hemlines (A Witchcraft Mystery, #3) by Juliet Blackwell BOOK REVIEW

Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hexes and Hemlines is the third book in the Witchcraft Mystery series by author Juliet Blackwell, who I just happen to really love!

Lily has been asked by Detective Carlos to take a look at his crime scene, it is littered with bad luck symbols, and he wants to know what she thinks. This is a huge step for the detective, he is actually, after her being involved in his last two cases, coming to terms with the supernatural and the fact that witches and ghosts actually do exsist, which is a whole lot better than her said crush, reporter Max Carmichael, who after the last crime and actually seeing her in action, tucked his tail and ran off to Florida! Coward! Of course Lily isn't ready to announce it to the whole world that she is a witch, but she is getting better about letting people get close to her.

The crime scene that Detective Carlos takes her to is on the 13th floor, there is a ladder you have to walk under to get in, broken mirrors, a black cat and all kinds of other bad luck symbols. The funny thing, Lily can't really get a vibe on the place and that kinda freaks her out, so of course she has to get invovled and look into things, especially when she finds out that her friend Browyn's son-in-law was at the dinner the night before and is a "person of interest", which of course is freaking rebecca, Browyn's daughter out to n o end, it is upsetting her "perfect", normal, un-supernatural life.

Of course we learn a little more about Browyn and her daughter, Rebecca and their relationship in this book. We also learn more about Adian and Sailor, who just happens to be involved in this book quite alot, which is really neat, because I like Sailor, in fact I think Sailor and Lily would be a cute couple, but that is just my opinion. We also learn more about Lily. I love how we get small glimpses into her past, things that made her what she is today in each book, and in this book, because we are dealing with this "bad Luck Club" and the symbol of the snake, we learn that Lily is not afraid of snakes and o n incident in her life when she was younger involving her mother and a snake-handling church. It really helps you understand the basic mistrust she has of people, when someone who is suppose to love her can subject her to such a horror.

I am really looking forward to the next book, the Art Deco Ball and learning more about Aidan and lily, and how they are connected, because we know that they both are very powerful witches, and you just know there has to be some connection between them, jut what it is exactly is yet to be discovered. I love finding out more about them in these small doses, as they navigate life and death and reality.

Book Four is titled, In a Witch's Wardrobe, I think, and it is available now. I also hear, from following the author on Facebook, that she is currently working on book five! Love it!

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Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery, #1) by Juliet Blackwell BOOK REVIEW

Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I discovered author Juliet Blackwell awhile back when I found her Haunted Home Renovation Series, and I loved that first book so much, that I researched the author to see what else she might hve written, and discovered this series, A Witchcraft Mystery.

I loved this book. Lily is our lead, a powerful witch, that we know very little about, so we discover just a little about her history, with so many more mysteries in her as a person herself yet to discover. Bronwyn is actually a wiccan, a normal human who practices witchcraft as a religion, but not a real witch and not powerful. Bronwyn shares space in the store with Lily and can already tell what Lily is, before and without Lily telling her. She becomes something of a friend to Lily, the first of her life. Maya is a student at the Fine Arts College that is recording histories of people, and in that role finds a number of vintage clothing stashes for Lily. Se also, although being skeptical of the whole paranormal world, another friend to Lily.

In this, the first of the series, Lily and Maya met with an elder lady who isn't all that she seems, and while they are visiting to look for clothes, a young girl down the street is "abducted". Lily takes it upon herself to try to figure out what is going on and to get the girl back.

It is a well-written and charming story that weaves it's way around, introducing a number of people, giving us just a touch about them, not too much but just enough to keep us interested. So looking forward to the next book to see where each of these people go, the history and pasts that they bring to the story and where they are headed. I find myself wanting to discover more about the people.

Another great book by Juliet Blackwell.

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In a Witch's Wardrobe (A Witchcraft Mystery, #4) by Juliet Blackwell BOOK REVIEW

In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In a Witch's Wardrobe is the fourth book in the Witchcraft Mystery series by Juliet Blackwell. She mixes vintage clothing and witchcraft together into a complex and compelling storyline that also keeps me guessing.

Lily Ivory is a witch, not a fact that she shares with too many people. It has not been a well-received fact in the past and she is still scarred from the reactions of people in her past, which influences how she reacts and acts now. She owns a vintage clothing store called Aunt Cora's Closet, and she also sells some protective tailsmans in the store too.

The thing is if you hadn't read any other book in this series, you could still read this one and follow along well enough. You might wonder about some of the people, but it wouldn't hamper the store in any way. Now, reading them in order is much nicer. You follow a progression and you see Lily start to grow and become more comfortable and happy where she is.

Lily attend the Art Deco Ball with Aidan, a male witch of great power in the area that she is still holding at arms length, mainly because he knew her father. An aside here, we know almost nothing of Lily's father after four books, he is sort of a ghost in her past and not something that she is willing to talk about or think about. She grew up with her grandmother. Back to the ball, while at the ball, a young woman passes out and Lily is sure there is witchcraft involved.

At first she is told to back off by Aidan, but after a few days he tells her that she has to find out what is going on, and to protect people involved without telling her why or how they are tied to him. Of course Lily is already in the investigating phase and what she learns will make changes in her life for the future.

This is a wonderful book, well written as always. I love the storyline and the plot. I love the vintage clothing angle that is so fun, she really describes the clothing and and makes you feel that you can see them and want to wear them. It is so much more than just the witchcraft angle to the story, there is a whole life story to it. I just really feel for Lily and want her to find happiness and someone who understands her.

This has always been one of my favorite cozy mystery series, and one of my favorite authors. It still is and I continue to be impressed by the books each and every time.

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