“When an item is stolen, dark energy attaches to it. Food made in a stolen pan could cause all sorts of problems . . . And most of the coven just ate these scones.” Visitors claim they feel summoned to Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, but can’t explain why. Residents say the same thing. Kitchen witch Reeva Long tried to leave many times only to have fate call her back. Most recently, a year ago to settle her estranged late husband’s estate. Now Reeva owns Hearth & Cauldron, a quaint, cozy shop where her customers learn to make delectable dishes and find perfect pieces for their homes. When a thief makes off with a pair of vintage fluted muffin pans, Reeva wonders if her time in the village is up again. Rather than run, Reeva decides it’s time for a reset and invites the village witches over to bless her cottage. Everything goes perfectly until later in the evening when they’re having refreshments and an elderly witch becomes deathly ill after enjoying a scone and a cup of tea. Did the poor woman’s failing heart finally give out? Were the fluted markings on those scones a coincidence? Or is something more nefarious going on? Hearth & Cauldron is the first book in The Hearth & Cauldron Mysteries. If you like your mysteries on the cozy side with mischievous pets, plenty of quirky characters, and a dash of witchy paranormal you’ll love this series.

“We’ll figure this out. People don’t get stabbed every day. Even in Whispering Pines.” It’s time for the annual Whispering Pines Tour of Gardens, and people are arriving by the busload. Discussions of raised beds, different types of fertilizers, and proper amounts of sunlight can be heard all around the village. Then, just as things are getting underway, someone vandalizes the gardens. Between running her successful shop, Hearth & Cauldron, and dealing with her new teenage roommate who has turned her orderly homelife into the female Wiccan version of The Odd Couple, Reeva Long’s days are full. She doesn’t have time to track down suspects. It’s the middle of the busy tourist season, though, and solving this crime isn’t high on the sheriff’s priority list either. So Reeva and her sidekick best friend, Ruby, dig in. When events escalate, however, and one of the witches on the tour is attacked, the amateur sleuths fear there’s something more sinister going on in the village.

The scent of cookies, scones, and waffle cones fills the air around Whispering Pines’ bake shop. Usually. Kitchen witches Sugar and Honey Graham have suddenly lost their touch. Sugar’s pastries come out all wrong, and Honey’s ice cream is awful. Positive they’ve been cursed, the sisters turn to their coven’s high priestess, Reeva Long, for help. Reeva, however, is busier than ever at her shop, Hearth & Cauldron. Add a crabby teenage tenant, a mysteriously moody best friend, and a new boyfriend (err . . . manfriend?), and Reeva’s plate goes from full to overflowing. How can she possibly squeeze in tracking down a hexing witch? But then a tourist is found dead, and Reeva knows the village has bigger problems than icky ice cream. She and Ruby set everything else aside and put their sleuthing skills to the test to catch the killer.

“What if they’re using candles as a sort of calling card? Or to do a pre-fire ritual. This is a community of witches after all.”As Whispering Pines’ busiest tourist season ever draws to a close, Reeva Long, Ruby McLaughlin, and the other villagers are ready for things to quiet down.Instead, a break-in and a small fire set near Hearth & Cauldron puts everyone on edge. The only clue, a melted candle stub, gives the amateur sleuths little to work with.Soon other fires flare up, threatening the entire village, so Deputy Jayne O’Shea takes charge of the investigation. Can Jayne, with Reeva’s and Ruby’s help, catch the firestarter before someone gets hurt or worse?If you like your witchy mysteries on the cozy side with plenty of quirky characters, and a dash of paranormal, you’ll love the Hearth & Cauldron Mysteries series.