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lynguy1's review against another edition
3.0
Tonya Kappes has penned an entertaining paranormal cozy mystery with the first book in the Magical Cures Mystery series, A Charming Crime. June Heal took over her deceased mother’s flea market booth that sells natural remedies to heal the body and mind. When her best friend and local police officer, Oscar Park, suggests they move to a town 30 miles away, she’s not sold on it, but ultimately decides to relocate to Whispering Falls, Kentucky. However, soon a member of the community is found murdered and June becomes the main suspect.
June is good in chemistry, has nightmares, and normally tends to see the good in everyone. However, many of her actions don’t seem very believable. Oscar has a bond with June, but didn’t seem to be a great crime solver. I wanted more character depth for him.
While the story is enjoyable, there were several instances when events were over-the-top and unrealistic. Despite this, the story flowed reasonably well and it was a quick read. The idea of a magical village provided a chance to wonder what it would be like to live there; especially with the odd laws they have. Readers are introduced to an eccentric array of characters who will likely show up in future books in the series. Secrets, lies, murder, and trust are threads that are woven into the novel.
Overall, this was an amusing story with magic, murder, discovering more about one’s self, and more.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was June 8, 2012.
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My 3.46 review rounded to 3 stars is coming soon.
June is good in chemistry, has nightmares, and normally tends to see the good in everyone. However, many of her actions don’t seem very believable. Oscar has a bond with June, but didn’t seem to be a great crime solver. I wanted more character depth for him.
While the story is enjoyable, there were several instances when events were over-the-top and unrealistic. Despite this, the story flowed reasonably well and it was a quick read. The idea of a magical village provided a chance to wonder what it would be like to live there; especially with the odd laws they have. Readers are introduced to an eccentric array of characters who will likely show up in future books in the series. Secrets, lies, murder, and trust are threads that are woven into the novel.
Overall, this was an amusing story with magic, murder, discovering more about one’s self, and more.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was June 8, 2012.
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My 3.46 review rounded to 3 stars is coming soon.
fictionalized_bliss's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
potemayo27's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
angels_gp17's review against another edition
2.0
A Charming Crime was interesting and it has some potential.
This first book in the Magical Cures Mystery series was a crazy irritating mystery mess. I felt like I was being thrown all over the place with all the different information coming at me all at once.
Our heroine June was frustrating as a character and all she eats are Ding Dongs. All most every page the author has her picking up a Ding Dong to eat. She’s bothered, lets have her eat a Ding Dong. She’s feeling overwhelmed, lets have her eat a Ding Dong. Does this girl not eat anything else?
June also finds her mother, Darla’s Diary. Does June sit down and read it? Nope. This Diary has a tone of information in it about Whispering Falls, Junes magical abilities, and more. If she had read it, well she would have been better prepared for the weirdness of Whispering Falls.
Then we have the town, Whispering Falls, that is a magical community only for magical people to live in. Ok, so this town sounds cool, but they have all these weird ass laws. They where coming at me left and right and I couldn’t keep up with them. June was given a packet to read about the town and their laws, which she had to sign, and she never sat down and read it. By the end of the story the town is going to change some of the laws. Which is good and for the better, but it felt like the author wanted the storyline to go one way and for it to do that she had to change her laws. Didn't feel well thought out on the authors part.
Last, the murder mystery investigation. Why was her friend, Oscar, who is the police officer of Whispering Falls not investigating? Why was June running around doing the investigation? And, last I have to mention her plan to catch the killer was not thought out. I shook my head at her plan…
All I wanted was a fun paranormal cozy mystery to dive into and A Charming Crime left me feeling frustrated with everything. This book was not for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.
Rated: 2 Stars
This first book in the Magical Cures Mystery series was a crazy irritating mystery mess. I felt like I was being thrown all over the place with all the different information coming at me all at once.
Our heroine June was frustrating as a character and all she eats are Ding Dongs. All most every page the author has her picking up a Ding Dong to eat. She’s bothered, lets have her eat a Ding Dong. She’s feeling overwhelmed, lets have her eat a Ding Dong. Does this girl not eat anything else?
June also finds her mother, Darla’s Diary. Does June sit down and read it? Nope. This Diary has a tone of information in it about Whispering Falls, Junes magical abilities, and more. If she had read it, well she would have been better prepared for the weirdness of Whispering Falls.
Then we have the town, Whispering Falls, that is a magical community only for magical people to live in. Ok, so this town sounds cool, but they have all these weird ass laws. They where coming at me left and right and I couldn’t keep up with them. June was given a packet to read about the town and their laws, which she had to sign, and she never sat down and read it. By the end of the story the town is going to change some of the laws. Which is good and for the better, but it felt like the author wanted the storyline to go one way and for it to do that she had to change her laws. Didn't feel well thought out on the authors part.
Last, the murder mystery investigation. Why was her friend, Oscar, who is the police officer of Whispering Falls not investigating? Why was June running around doing the investigation? And, last I have to mention her plan to catch the killer was not thought out. I shook my head at her plan…
All I wanted was a fun paranormal cozy mystery to dive into and A Charming Crime left me feeling frustrated with everything. This book was not for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.
Rated: 2 Stars
tonyr's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the plot but, as others have noted, it does need editing to clean up a book that could easily rate as a four, maybe even a five
michelereise's review against another edition
4.0
I'm hooked. I can't wait to see how this series develops. Great, simple, uncomplicated read. Welcome break from all the academic reading I have been doing lately.
magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
Magic, mystery and a whole lot of Ding Dongs!
caitkom's review
4.0
June Heal has taken over her mother, Darla's homeopathic cure business, selling her wares at the local flea market. While experimenting with one of her cures, she accidently blows up her garden shed. Her best friend, Oscar is a police officer in their town and he tells June about an interesting town that he found about 15 minutes away. Before she knows it, June has agreed to relocate to Whispering Falls. She is blown away (pardon the pun) when she gets there to find out she has inherited A Dose of Darla, her late mother's shop in Whispering Falls.
When one of the residents is found dead, clutching June's charm bracelet, June starts to learn that there is more to Whispering Falls than she previously realized. I really enjoyed the first book in the series. June meets a whole host of interesting characters, including Madame Torres who lives inside a crystal ball! I will definitely be reading more in this series.
When one of the residents is found dead, clutching June's charm bracelet, June starts to learn that there is more to Whispering Falls than she previously realized. I really enjoyed the first book in the series. June meets a whole host of interesting characters, including Madame Torres who lives inside a crystal ball! I will definitely be reading more in this series.