Eye of Newt (Five Star Mystery Series) [Paperback]

Denise Dietz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004 | Series: Five Star Mystery Series

Sydney St. Charles is descended from a long line of witches. She owns an apothecary shop in Manitou Falls, Colorado, where she sells spells, potions and talismans. Sydney's charms are very popular, but it isn't witchcraft that has the town buzzing. Clive Newton, a member of the rock band The Newts, has been murdered. Then the band's manager dies in a fire. Sydney finds her attempts to help with the investigation are complicated by her growing attraction to amnesiac, "John Elway." She is also drawn into an ancient family mystery: a parallel murder that happened in Salem in 1692. Through an ancestor's journal, she learns far more than she expected about her own heritage - and also about the modern-day killer. In the end, Sydney must outwit a murderer who will go to any lengths to silence her.

Denise Dietz lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, novelist Gordon Aalborg. (20041201)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a fresh, fun series."
--dorothyl.com (dorothyl.com 20041101)

"...very enjoyable novel..with interesting characters and a strong sense of humor. ..Part romance, part mystery, and all fun, the resulting novel is often downright funny while at the same time providing a very good tale."
--Kevin R. Tipple, The Blue Iris Journal (October 2004) (20041101)

"...Eye of Newt has a certain wacky charm and the story is compelling if only in its looniness and complexity."
-- Mystery Scene (December 2004) (Mystery Scene 20041101)

"Eye of Newt is hysterically funny at times, brimming with Sydney St. Charles's sometimes dry wit. The book also has a character list, which I found extremely useful, with so many people to remember.
Denise Dietz gives us a book filled with mystery, magic, and mayhem, but most of all, charming wit. Eye of Newt is a fanciful romp that should be thoroughly enjoyed and savored."
--Romance Reviews Today (November 2004) (Romance Reviews Today 20041001)

"Great characters...Highly recommended."
--DorothyL (November 2004) (dorothyl.com 20041001)

"Funny, sexy story..."
--DorothyL (November 2004) (dorothyl.com 20040701)

"...fans will enjoy...the Elway and the seventeenth century Salem subplots strengthen a fine who-done-it."
--The Midwest Book Review (October 2004) (The Midwest Book Review 20040701)

"This amazing concoction of self-deprecating humor, raucous familiars, and idiosyncratic family should entertain most."
--Library Journal (October 2004) (Library Journal )

"Skillfully going back and forth between the present and the past, Dietz weaves the two into a parallel story that enables Sydney to solve both the past and present murders. With a pinch of this and a dash of that, a little murder, a little greed and envy, a little love and lust, Dietz has cooked up a bewitching story that will put you under its spell."
--Murder and Mayhem (July 2004) (Murder and Mayhem )

"I can't even begin to do this wonderful book justice. All of these characters seemed so real because of how well written they are and I felt as if I'd made new friends and met some really interesting people...dialogue had me laughing out loud even when at a totally miserable doctor's appointment. I certainly hope this will be the beginning of a long running series, both about Sydney's adventures and about her 1692 relatives' adventures."
--Murder Express (July 2004) (Murder Express ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Five Star Trade (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141040241X
• ISBN-13: 978-1410402417
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,731,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Denise [Deni] Dietz was in the third grade, she wrote her first story, THE PENCIL WHO GREW UP TO BE A STUB. Although the assignment was to write a one-page story, using an ink pen, Deni wrote a five-page story, first-person...and she used a pencil (the narrator of her story). Whereupon, she received a failing grade for not following orders. Just like her series heroine, diet guru Ellie Bernstein, Deni doesn't follow orders unless they make sense.

Years later, after Deni had enjoyed a short-lived singing career and acting career, she sat at her typewriter, flexed her fingers, and pounded out her first culinary mystery: THROW DARTS AT A CHEESECAKE, inspired by her part-time job as a Weight Watchers lecturer. In "Cheesecake," diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight and eating as if their very lives depended on it. The second book in the series, BEAT UP A COOKIE, revolves around a group of M*A*S*H* addicts and is dedicated to Alan Alda.

Switching to a computer, Deni hit the bestseller list with FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER - an Ingrid Beaumont Mystery co-starring Hitchcock the Dog. She followed that success with her stand-alone, FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL, her "reluctant witch mystery," EYE OF NEWT, and the 3rd and 4th books in her diet club mystery series, CHAIN A LAMB CHOP TO THE BED and STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD. "Strangle" was nominated for a Left Coast Crime "Lefty" Award as the most humorous mystery of 2009.

Cloning herself into historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, Deni wrote THE LANDLORD'S BLACK EYED DAUGHTER. Mary Ellen's STARS OF FIRE will be out December, 2010.

Married to Aussie/Canadian author, Gordon Aalborg (AKA Victoria Gordon), whom she met on-line through a writers loop, Deni, with Gordon, collaborated on a romantic suspense, FINDING BESS, and moved to Vancouver Island, where they are owned by a chocolate Lab named Magic.

Deni likes to hear from readers. She can be reached through her website: http://www.denisedietz.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you gotta laugh..., December 19, 2004

By 

Elizabeth Slater (North Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Eye of Newt (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Sydney St. Charles, owner of an apothecary shop in CO, is descended from witches. Too bad she doesn't believe it. While Sydney's charms are popular, it isn't witchcraft that has the town agog - Clive Newton, a member of the rock band The Newts, has been murdered. More `band-related' incidents occur, and Sydney attempts to help with the investigation, but her growing attraction to homeless amnesiac, "John Elway" complicates things for her. Simultaneously, she is trying to solve an ancient family mystery: a parallel murder that happened in 1692, in Salem. She learns more than she expected about her own heritage thru an ancestor's journal. There is `A LOT' of humor in this book - and suspense - mysterious and romantic at the same time. You must like animals (with a sense of humor) also. They don't talk - exactly.....

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Witchy Read, September 7, 2004

By 

Cynthia Chow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eye of Newt (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

For a woman who doesn't believe she's a witch, Sydney St. Charles sure works with a lot of spells. The owner of an apothecary shop in Colorado, Sydney is descended from a long line of witches yet she herself doesn't believe that she has the power to cast spells. She'll have her beliefs challenged when she gets involved in the mystery surrounding the murder of Clive Newton, the sexy lead singer of the Newts and whose body parts are being discovered all over town. What's more important (to Sydney anyway) is her meeting with "John Elway," a very hot homeless man with no memory. Despite her growing attraction to him, she begins to detect that John isn't telling her as much as he knows and Sydney soon begins to fear that he may be involved in the murder.

EYE OF NEWT is filled with eccentric and entertaining characters, from Sydney's warlock brother to her witch aunt who can do spells but couldn't cook to save her life. Chapters shift from the present to the journals Sydney discovers of a young witch in Salem 1692 who has a tragic past and compels Sydney to discover the girl's fate.

Denise Dietz has created an extremely funny and engaging mystery with a heroine who perseveres despite the fact that she believes herself to be an incompetent detective and a worse witch. With its blend of magic, romance, and mystery Dietz begins a series that is sure to please a wide array of readers.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casting a Spell on Readers---Eye Of Newt, October 26, 2004

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Eye of Newt (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Sydney St. Charles is the latest in along line of witches but she does not really believe that she is a witch. Living in Manitou Falls, Colorado, she owns and runs an apothecary shop with the somewhat eccentric help of her great aunt Lillian. While she doesn't believe, the tax write off for selling eye of newt among other things is pretty good as is business. She sells all sorts of spells, potions, and talismans but she has nothing to stop gossipers and those that traffic for free in gossip.

Business is good, but the trafficking in gossip is at a rare level in this small town. Clive Newton, a local boy to some, and member of the rock band "The Newts" was recently murdered. His body was found in Black Forest, an area that is residential but also zoned to allow horses. But the body wasn't entirely intact and the killer has been every so often, mailing a body part to the surviving members of the band. No one knows why and so far the police haven't been able to find the killer/mailer.

And while that is fascinating, Sydney has much more personally important things on her mind. Her niece, Xanthia, is about to turn 13 and party plans of epic scale are underway. During her trip to the store, she makes the acquaintance of a handsome homeless man who is also an amnesiac. As she tries to control her mounting desire for him while helping him to discover who he is and his past, she nicknames him "John Elway" in honor of one of his memories.

Then a body part from Clive arrives in a package addressed to Xanthia at her party and Sydney has no choice to become involved in the search for the killer. As the same time, a journal from 1692 involving a deceased relative who lived in Salem is found in the attic. Are the links in the journal and the current case just coincidence or does the journal hold the key to a modern day killer who is becoming more and more bold?

This very enjoyable novel scheduled to be released on October 16, 2004 by Five Star Publishing blends two complicated mysteries with interesting characters and a strong sense of humor. Fans of the early work of Marcia Muller or Sue Grafton will delight in this heroine and her occasional irreverent attitude towards the world around her. Part romance, part mystery, and all fun, the resulting novel is often downright funny while at the same time providing a very good tale. Hopefully, this book is the start of a new series from this author.

Book Facts:

Eye of Newt
By Denise Dietz
www.denisedietz.com
Five Star Publishing
www.galegroup.com
2004
ISBN # 1-59414-096-0
ARC


Kevin R. Tipple © 2004