A Wicked Touch

Memory Guild, Book 3

By: Ward Parker

Narrated by: Madeline Mrozek

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Keep your hands to yourself.

There I go again, touching things I shouldn’t.

A knife my antique-dealer mother bought at an estate sale holds the memories of a terrified young woman about to be abducted by a werewolf.

You see, I’m a psychometrist. I can read the memories people leave on the objects they touch. And this ability gets me into a lot of trouble.

I feel obligated to save the young woman before she is killed. And it turns out that she’s not the first woman this shifter has taken. Nor will she be the last. The others are turning up dead.

I’m a member of the supernatural Memory Guild, but I’m no detective. (I do, however, have a sexy detective helping me.) I’m just a middle-aged innkeeper with a 300-year-old bed-and-breakfast, a witchy mother, and a trouble-prone daughter. All of them demand a lot of attention.

When you throw into the mix an evil necromancer raising the dead, and an ancient magical stone, well, things get wicked complicated.

And I have to solve this mystery before someone else is killed. Namely me.

Enjoy midlife mystery, magic, murder, and mischief, with ties to the Freaky Florida humorous paranormal series.

©2021 Ward Parker (P)2022 Ward Parker

Paranormal cozy mystery with some gruesome scenes

Darla reads the memories from a knife her mother bought at an estate sale, and she knows she needs to be on the case. The knife holds the memories of a woman attacked by a werewolf, and Darla just wants to make sure the woman is alive and well.

In the third installment of the series, Darla is taking more risks than ever before. Technically a cozy mystery, this book is darker and has more gruesome scenes than your typical cozy mystery novel. Another difference from regular cozy mysteries is the paranormal aspect. The werewolf in question is some kind of serial killer, and scenes that are usually left out from novels of the kind are present here, with bloody bits and all. It’s something I don’t mind, but I wonder if these books will work well for fans of classic cozy mysteries.

The story was intriguing and well-paced. While the second book had a parallel storyline about Darla’s lost husband, we’ll have to wait to know more from him. This book was mostly about the murder mystery and Darla trying to sort out her feelings towards the sheriff, and the guilt since her husband is still alive.

Madeline Mrozek delivered a fantastic narration. All her characters sound distinct and count with differentiated personalities. Mrozek is incredibly talented in bringing characters to life. Her voice is clear and her audio production skills are also top-notch.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I love this series so much!! :-)

I just finished listening to A Wicked Touch: Memory Guild, Book 3 by Ward Parker, narrated by Madeline Mrozek. While it can standalone, you will enjoy it much more if you start with Book 1. Memory Guild is such an awesome series! Parker's writing is so engaging. I absolutely love the storyline and characters, all of which are well-developed and super entertaining. I have no doubt that both readers and listeners will enjoy this book and series very much. This isn't even my usual genre, but Memory Guild has quickly become one of my favorite series to listen to!!

Mrozek's narration is off-the-charts amazing. She definitely made my overall listening experience that much better. She brings the characters and events to life in a way that reading alone cannot. She's also really funny! I love all the different voices she uses, and I actually feel like she is the characters themselves, rather than a narrator playing each part. For these reasons, I highly recommend the audiobook over the Kindle or print versions. You're going to love listening to her.

A Wicked Touch: Memory Guild, Book 3 by Ward Parker, narrated by Madeline Mrozek is very deserving of 5/5 stars across the board. Fans of the genre, as well as those looking to give something new a try, will not go wrong with this one! I'm confident you will love it and be hooked on this series, just like me!

Thanks for reading my review. I hope it was helpful. Happy listening! :-)

Loved every part of this book

I love that she is discovering new talents; and the hinting towards her husband. I'm looking forward to see what talents her daughter is developing. This story really draws you in and you hate to see the end of the book. I received a copy of this audio book free of charge and my review is based on my own opinions.

Good urban fantasy read!

paranormal, urban-fantasy, small-business, small-town, Florida, family, family-dynamics, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, guilds, necromancy, sit, werewolves, middle-aged, gargoyle, friendship, hospitality-industry, witches, mage, magic, multiple-murder, murder-investigation, supernatural, suspense, psychics, evil, series*****
Great imagery and storytelling!
A really fun series about a lot of different individuals with paranormal abilities narrated by the newest owner of a historic inn in Florida. Darla has only recently come into her psychometry talent when she passed the hurdle of menopause but has had some telepathic receptive abilities since childhood. She comes up against a knife that was used by a victim in a crime and tells her friend the local police detective about it. Oh yes, and he's a werewolf. Things definitely go downhill from there. Loved it!
Madeline Mrozek has the monumental task of narrating the story and giving identities to the cast of many while managing to keep from snurfling out loud! Besides, her delivery is so great that I can listen at whichever speed suits the tasks I'm up to at the time.

A Wicked Touch

What a fun series! To be able to touch an item and get its history, of course it also comes with some TMI moments or in this case a serial killer. I don’t think many of us want inside that mind. This is beautiful written and I love how it digs deeper into the family and what we can expect to see in future books, Fantastic narration, I love how she brings the book to life and me on the edge of my seat!