Customer Reviews

Secondhand Spirits: A Witchcraft Mystery

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Secondhand Spirits: A Witchcraft Mystery

I LOVED Secondhand Spirits! I got through most of it in a day since every chapter end kept me turning. The book is set in San Francisco and the descriptions of the city brought me right back to places I've been many times - described well so that those who've not been will want to make the trip someday. Lily and her friends, Maya and Bronwyn, are characters that remind me of some of my own friends - absolutely lovable. Oscar, Lily's goblin/potbellied pig familiar, also has his own place in my heart and I couldn't imagine laughing nearly as much without having him as a part of the story. I laughed throughout the book. I even cried! The research for the series and the depiction of the paranormal escapades throughout is quite impressive as well.

Finished the book and now I want more! I didn't realize that the book had just been released and finding that I will have to wait to read A Cast-Off Coven is killing me, but good things come to those who wait! Secondhand Spirits is an enjoyable and admirable story that will draw you into a world of magic, spirits, witchcraft, vintage clothes, friendship and Lily finding a true place in life. I highly recommend Secondhand Spirits to any mystery lover!

Secondhand Spirits is a well plotted and well written mystery that held my attention from cover to cover. The first in a planned series, Secondhand Spirits is the story of Lily Ivory, a powerful witch who has spent much of her life both hiding from and running from what she is. At age 31, she decides it's time to settle down and she chooses to do so in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco where she opens a vintage clothing store. As the story progresses, we learn that Lily is more than just a powerful witch; she is also a strong, admirable and very likable woman.

Nor was Lily the only character I liked. In fact, while the plot of Secondhand Spirits was fresh and absorbing, what really stood out for me were the well-drawn, fully-dimensional characters. Blackwell has created a book that's just chock full of darned interesting people. I enjoyed meeting them, but more than that, I was (and am) intrigued by them. They have hinted-at-histories that promise to be woven into future entries in the series and I look forward to seeing what Blackwell has in store for each of them.

Comments:
* I found Secondhand Spirits to be somewhat darker than the cover seemed to suggest. (For me, this was not a drawback.) While there are moments of humor - many of them involving Lily's newly acquired familiar, Oscar - the story has a rather more serious overall tone and themes that I feel place it on the grittier side of cozy.
* The vintage clothing aspect didn't interest me on its own, but the way Blackwell made it an important part of the plot did. I can see its potential for driving the story in future entries as well.
* I'll admit that I was pretty sure who the `bad guy' was long before he/she was revealed (and I was right), but it didn't matter because I was enjoying the book and was involved with the characters.
* Secondhand Spirits is enriched by wonderful descriptions of San Francisco, its various neighborhoods and by snippets of the city's history.
* The descriptions of witchcraft were detailed and sometimes complicated. I have very little knowledge of the subject, but this "felt" real, making the story work that much better for me. Early on, I did think some of the descriptions of cleansing spells, etc. went on a little too long and slowed the story down a bit.
* Occasionally, the vintage Mustang should probably have been referred to simply as "the car". :-)

I like mysteries and I like stories with a paranormal aspect but I haven't had a lot of luck finding books that combine the two to my satisfaction. Secondhand Spirits did. I'm definitely on board for the sequels.

Recommended.

***(I'd like to read more paranormal mysteries and if anyone would like to offer a recommendation or two - perhaps as a comment? - I'd appreciate it. Some time ago, I tried the first volume in both Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye series and in Madelyn Alt's Bewitching mysteries and didn't care for either of them.)***

I enjoyed this book and I've never seen a similar plot line. I found it very interesting and wonder how much research into real witchcraft and urban legends was done. I must warn readers that the cover implies a breezy fun read, but it was a little darker than the cover art might make you think. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Juliet Blackwell has crafted a fun read with SECONDHAND SPIRITS. I'm new to paranormal mysteries, but Lily Ivory is a marvelous witch who wants to be normal. Oscar her familiar is a delight with a rogue's eye.
Lily opens Aunt Cora's Closet in San Francisco's most famous area. Aunt Cora's Closet is a vintage clothing store which caters to upscale fashions.
The fun of the story for Lily is the hunt for special merchandise and accessories. But her special powers pull her into the heart of a down neighborhood, child snatching and murder. A fun book to relax with under a beach umbrella.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

Paranormal mysteries that are not silly are hard to find. This book is kind of a cozy, I guess, but it's fresh and fun. Not silly at all. The characters are believable and the story intriguing. The writer is clearly gifted and has done her research. She captures the Haight area of San Francisco very well. She represents the modern witch very well, tantalizes us with her powers, her observations, her struggles, and her quest to find the killer and have a normal---and paranormal life. I like Lily Ivory and her friends. I look forward to many, many more books in the series. Keep up the good work, Ms. Blackwell. Please, keep up the good work.

Secondhand Spirits is the start of a great new mystery series. Lily Ivory is a real, live, magical-power having witch. I love that her actions aren't encumbered by karmic fears. She has no qualms about using her abilities to secure prime parking sports and other frivolous, yet harmless, perks. She lives by her own moral compass and does not relate her hereditary witchiness to any religious belief system. She acquires a goblin-like familiar that pretends to be an innocent pet pig allowing him the luxury of being being cuddled by women and the freedom to wander unhindered into changing-rooms.

Lily owns and operates a vintage clothing shop, which I found much more fascinating than I thought I would. Many aspects of the business were portrayed, from the varying sources she acquires the clothing from to how she uses her abilities to match a person to the perfect retro outfit. A soon to be bride and her bridesmaids came in to pick out dresses and the atmosphere was so fun, I felt as though I was there as well.

Lily has two potential romantic candidates. Aidan is a male witch who exudes an air of danger. Max is a skeptic and professional myth-buster who seems to be falling for Lily despite his distaste for the supposed paranormal. Each man seems to have great potential as both heartthrob and heart-breaker.

Many mysterious things happen in Secondhand spirits, from a missing child to a dead client. With ghosts, demons and other witches involved, the possibility for viable suspects is endless. The book ends in a surprise twist which I never saw coming. Secondhand Spirits is a quality cozy full of witchy fun. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

This is a promising series. The heroine Lily Ivory (white witch) lives in the Haight in San Francisco and owns a shop called Aunt Cora's Closet where she seeks out and sells vintage clothing. Inadvertently, she gets involved in a missing child's case when she goes to an old victorian to pick up some vintage clothing that has been kept in an attic for decades. The culprit could be an evil spirit called La Llorona who is known by superstitious people as a person who snatches children away. The area has been beset by such missing children cases for a number of years. The mystery deepens when someone Lily befriends turns up dead.

Lily is new to the Haight and is trying to settle in and make friends in the midst of all the mystery. She is also given a familiar, a small pig named Oscar who I enjoyed very much.

I enjoyed this mystery, but there were a few irratating things about this book: the heroine seemed a bit too perfect at times, she gets lonely or has some minor troubles relating to people and such, but everything she seems to do from equipping a wedding party with perfect vintage dresses to finding a parking spot using a parking charm, to finding decades old clothing perfectly sealed in a bag, etc., it's all too ultra perfect. Another thing that got to me was that the author often interrupted the story for back story which set me back with my enjoyment. There were many times in the book where the story would get rolling, or characters would begin a conversation only to be interrupted by someone in the street, or vegans lugging signs up the stoop, or even just to savor the wonderful taste of salsa after an important question had been asked. Awkward. I enjoyed the mystery and the story but at times the book bogs down with Lily's observations and memories.

I liked this book enough to give another book in the series a try because I liked the characters and the mystery. I did like the premise and I have spent my time in the Haight in SF and enjoyed the shop that Lily owns and the atmosphere. I think the author has a lot of promise for future stories but needs to put a break on details from the past and minor threads. Most of the action should be driven forward in the story and I found the trips down memory lane an annoyance. With so much going on in San Francisco the atmosphere could have been richer but was okay. If you like light mysteries with an air of witchiness and San Francisco you should give this a try. I also recommend Phil Rickman for a good paranormal read. His books are not of the 'cozy' genre, but are really good.

Well, I have to say, despite the new genre of paranormal and it seems everyone is kicking out book series on witches, ghosts, vampires etc this one was pretty good. I've been reading quite a few and most of them just don't make the grade. However, this one kept my interest going. I really enjoyed the characters, Oscar being my favorite and the seemingly unique plot and surprise ending. Being Mexican, I'm very familiar with the legend of "La Llorona" and I got a kick out of the fact that someone actually used the old legend. About time! I highly recommend this book. I can't wait for the next one. Congrats Juliet Blackwell, your book is dandy!

This story was entertaining, but lacked a little something...like the right amount of spice that keeps a good apple pie from becoming a great one. Another detractor for me was the book touched on a ton of subjects involving the heroine's past and present but went in to very little detail, leaving an incomplete feeling--more so than what a next-book-in-series could cover. Yet again, a few of the spells described went in to far too much step-by-step instructions.

I read reviews that said this book was a little on the "dark side," but I didn't see it. I did become a bit nervous when the children-snatching plot started to play out (as a parent, I just can't handle the hurt-a-child theme) but was relieved that it all remained really light-handed.

Secondhand Spirits, by Juliet Blackwell is a delightful paranormal mystery. Blackwell has written enchanting characters in a world that casually unfolds as the protagonist, Lily Ivory, natural born witch, tells her story. Lily is likable but secretive--a point I particularly like--the protagonist has a backstory, she has secrets that will be revealed as the series continues. The author took a smart approach in not revealing too much about the the main characters and she doesn't burden the reader with overly descriptive world building that commonly bogs down the storyline in first-in-series novels.

The supporting characters are also enjoyable--all witches need a familiar and Oscar (a vivacious and well meaning goblin that doubles as a pot bellied pig) adopts Lily early in the book. Blackwell explains in an author's note, that most of the spells written into Secondhand Spirits, are based on information obtained from practicing witches in the real world. Good research, good humor and a natural gift for story telling, will keep me reading this series. I look forward to reading the next installment, A Cast-off Coven.