Genevieve is going through a divorce after her husband was caught cheating on her.  About the same time, her uncle dies leaving her his locksmith shop in Paris.  She uses this opportunity to return to Paris and maybe take over his business.  She has previously been to Paris to visit her uncle, aunt, and cousin shortly after her mother's death when she was 14.  

This mainly told in Genevieve's POV present tense.  There are also flashbacks to her mother's visit in 1983 and her visit in 1997.  Pasquale (her aunt) also has a chapter dedicated to her POV.  Overall this worked to tell the story; each chapter's POV is clearly marked.

I enjoyed reading about Paris and the neighborhoods with the close-knit community.  I liked reading a little history of WWII and the Algerian War.  I thought it was cool how JB tied the Basques into the story too (with the Embassy bombing).  (Boise, ID has a large Basque population). 

I would have liked more on locksmithing;  it was fascinating reading about the old locks.  I did have a hard time connecting with Genevieve and her mother Angela.  There is no romance in this one.  Angela's secret is easily guessed. 

I read this for Romance-opoly Lady Lane sun track square

I am absolutely charmed (no pun intended) by this cozy mystery series. I’m not entirely sure why – I don’t find the MC’s supposedly Texan roots at all authentic, I don’t care about vintage clothing, and I generally dislike Romance tropes appearing in my mystery/supernatural genre books. But, still, its just a lot of fun. The MC is vulnerable, trying to settle into her true nature, and struggling to resist the urge to deny her true nature for the sake of making her romantic interest less uncomfortable. She’s actually a very interesting character, and I rarely want to slap her silly. The mystery and settings are interesting, too, and the murders and supernatural elements are surprisingly dark for a cozy. I can’t say the final whodunnit were much of a surprise, but the journey was still worth reading about.

Paperback edition. I think I may like reading these in bound version better than audio, although Xe Sands does a terrific job on the audios.

I read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square Murder Most Foul: Any murder mystery.

Prior Updates:

Oct03 146/323 pg

Still kind of goofy, but I like it so far. It's nice to think I might have found another cozy mystery series to enjoy. They make a nice break between the heavier reads. Especially because the audio I'm working on right now is The Testaments.

Blackwell’s Haunted Renovation series has long been a favorite of mine, so this witchy mystery series looked promising. It did deliver for the most part, with an interesting mystery in the midst of introducing a new cast of characters and backgrounds. The author does a good job of delivering information without boring info dumps and provides enough clues and red herrings that the solution is neither too obvious nor a cheat. I did feel that it was a little too heavy on the romance and I don’t care for the constant descriptions of whatever outfit the MC is wearing that day, but overall this silly mystery was a very nice break from the more serious mystery and horror I have been reading for the last several weeks.

I read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square Amateur Sleuth: This mystery will have a main character who is not a member of law enforcement. The main character in this story is a practicing witch who runs a vintage clothing shop.

Prior Updates:

Sep19 15%

Sep21 57%

Still very silly, and a little too heavy on the romance, but enjoying it as a nice break.