Brownies and Broomsticks

A Magical Bakery Mystery, Book 1

By: Bailey Cates

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery - named after Lucy's cat - Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty - Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer....

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2012 Penguin Group USA (Inc.) (P)2013 Tantor

A Little Mystery with your Magic

Johanna Parker is an excellent narrator as always, and Bailey Cates has created a quirky coven of colorful characters that are worth spending some relaxing hours with. As a cozy mystery, this story doesn't require deep thinking or puzzling. Actually, I think the fun might crumble in the face of too much over-thinking.

If you enjoy baking, the recipes included in the book are available on a pdf at the publisher's website with a code given at the beginning of the recording. I haven't downloaded them yet, but there are a lot of yummy-sounding items at the bakery.

If you enjoy things magical, the basic practices, symbols and herbs discussed are true to tradition as far as my experience. I always wonder about that in a fiction book, so that was a nice discovery.

As far as negatives go, while the female characters are alive and textured, the male characters are flat and fall into stereotypes -- good guy fireman, slimy reporter, cranky detective, thug, nearly invisible husband. Also, since it's the first book in a series, and there are a so many characters, more time is spent introducing people than developing the mystery. I guessed whodunnit within minutes of the murder.

That said, I enjoyed these people enough to listen a second time while I was doing other things around the house, and I will be happy to buy the second book in the series when it comes out in audiobook.

Light Fun Sleuth Novel

Any additional comments?

Its light. Its fun. It is not thought provoking, or emotionally challenging. It took a minute to get out of the Sookie Stackhouse frame of mind due to the narrator but after I got into it it was ok. It was a nice setup novel, just a hint of romance but the setup for a angsty love triangle is created. The story was amusing but not as funny as a Molly Harper or Janet Evanovich. It was "magical" but not overwhelmingly or complicatedly so, more contemporary than urban fantasy, she's not building a whole new world. I give three stars because it was good but it wasn't epic or a reread.

First person narrative problem

I enjoyed the book for most of the story. However a first person story presupposes two items: (1) the narrator can’t die so you know from the first sentence that no matter how deadly the situation is they will still be alive, and (2) the narrator can’t have amnesia— other wise they couldn’t tell the most dramatic part of the story. The author fails on this last point. The book needs at least a postscript explaining how or when the narrator got their memory back.

The reader of the Audible book did a very good job.

Fun, easy read!

A friend recommended this author. It's a much lighter read than I normally read, but I really enjoyed it! I will continue reading the series! Katie is a pastry chef, who moves to Savannah to help out her aunt, who is a witch. Katie finds a lot out about herself, finds a cute dog, and also a mystery! One of those warm, cozy reads.

Cute cozy fiction

A nice light listen that doesn’t require tons of attention- feel good fiction. A little like a hallmark channel movie in print. I really like Bailey Cates.