Magic Can Be Murder [Hardcover]

Vivian Vande Velde (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (1980)
• ASIN: B000N7D9CQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely enjoyable fantasy/mystery., September 10, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic Can Be Murder (Hardcover)

The setting of this book is unspecified, but it appears to be a historical one, most likely the countryside of fuedal Europe based on the information provided. Since she was five, Nola and her widowed mother have had to keep moving from town to town because they are witches. Now she is seventeen, and wishes she could just stay in one place. But things become even more complicated for Nola when she magically witnesses a murder. When she uses magic to pose as a servant in the murdered man's household and see if she was suspected, she learns she wasn't. However, in her disguise she is a suspect! Now she is caught up in the investigation, and there will be danger, adventure, and romance along the way for her until the thrilling conclusion. An unusual and highly entertaining story that combines fantasy and mystery. I read the book all in one sitting and couldn't put it down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite an Enchanting Read!, March 16, 2007

By 

Amy Graham (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic Can Be Murder (Paperback)

Such a fun (and totally cute) read. Magic Can Be Murder harkens back to yesteryear...there is no specified location or time but one gets the feeling of feudal Europe. In this story we meet Nola and her mother who are constantly moving from place to place to hide their special abilities....because they are in fact, witches. They travel from place to place seeking a bit of work for some food and shelter but at each stop, something seems to go slightly wrong and forces them quickly along to a new place. We are drawn into a feeling of connection to and an appreciation of these characters as we learn a bit about Nola and her mother's backgrounds. Now 17, Nola had a sad and lonely childhood where she could never really connect with or relate to her friends because what was normal for her (magic) was alien to them and dangerous for both her and her mother should anyone find out. Complicating things are all of the "voices" her mother listens to in her head. As we join the story, Nola and her mother are working in the hot sun, picking berries for a farmer in Low Beck. A simple (if backbreaking) job; unfortunately the farmer has more in mind for Nola than paying her a days wages for picking berries...and thus begins their most recent round of fleeing the area. Not long after they run from the farmer they come to a Silversmiths house and there Brinna the maid needs extra help in preparation for the Silversmith's upcoming wedding.

What seems like a stroke of good luck (several days work, food and a decent room for a few days) quickly becomes something much more than they bargained for when the silversmith becomes angry with them and they must flee again. Later, when they've settled in for work at an inn (which strangely suits both of them) Nola sees the silversmith murdered whilst scrying to see if her previous spell is still working (they had to leave so fast it she left the hair in the water). Worried that they will be discovered, Nola concocts a plan to return and undo the spell still in place at the smith's house...a plan that leads to one bad turn after another for her. How will she ever get out of this mess and back to her mother? Read and find out...you'll be enchanted, I'm sure.

Mostly Magic Can Be Murder is a mystery with a bit of a witchy twist and just a touch of happily-ever-after romance thrown in. It's a fairly simple and straight-forward story of two women barely scraping by in life, moving from place to place trying to hide natural witch talents and those talents are both a boon and a burden in the story. I loved the authors use of scrying and glamour...both served to move the story along without having to put in too much explanation (if the main character can see what's happening elsewhere that makes moving the story along much easier)...plus both abilities also provide humor in what might quickly become a tedious and depressing tale. I give Magic Can be Murder four stars...it's highly readable, just perfect for the 9-12 year old range! Heck, even I found it quite entertaining (and I'm 35).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book that has Almost Everything, November 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Magic Can Be Murder (Paperback)

Magic Can Be Murder is a great book by a very witty author, Vivian Vande Velde, (try saying that five times fast).

The book is about Nola and her mother, who both are witches. After fleeing from their horrible employer they end up in a small town where they get a job as maids. One night Nola enchants a bucket of water and drops a human hair into the water (a way of seeing the person who the hair belongs to). As soon as the image appears in the bucket Nola regrets enchanting the bucket because she sees her employers son spying on Brinna, another servant. Then a murder takes place!

I enjoyed this book simply because it kept you at the edge of your seat and was dotted with humor (such as the fact that Nola's mother had a spirit of a baby in her pinky and that Nola's mother is very strange and eccentric. I strongly reccomend that you read this book.