Eh.  I generally enjoy Bailey Cates' writing, but a few of my least favorite tropes were trotted out for this one:  the relationship crossroads; the ex's last ditch effort (which was SO transparently meant to give Steve an HEA) at reconciliation; the jealousy bit with Mungo the dog... eh.

The mystery plotting  didn't light up my disco ball either. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great; too few clues and a reliance on the 'lightbulb' moment at the very end.  Reading Golden Age mysteries is ruining my mediocre tastes.

Still, a relaxing enough read when one's brain has been overtaxed in real life.

This book qualifies for the Murder Your Darlings Scene of the Crime card:  Gryffindor Common Room.  This was one of the crime scenes identified by Nighttime Reading Center in the Green Game Round, so worth 10 points for my team (Themis-Athena, Lillelara and myself).

My misunderstanding of the rules left me with this book unused, so I'm using it for the Suspect: Jane Austen cards.  (Alliterative Title)

Since this is the sixth book in the series and I own paperback copies of each, it's safe to say I enjoy Bailey Cates' writing. Her characters are well fleshed out, motivations make sense and the action is mostly what you'd expect in any story, magical or not. The town of Savannah where the action takes place is large, but the group Katie interacts with is a much smaller circle of people.

What intrigued me most about this one is Katie's familiar, Mungo. In this mystery, the accused innocent is actually Mungo's former witch partner. So watching Katie struggle with the jealousy and fear of loss that their reunion engenders enhances her responses. Because of this she's understandably less enthusiastic about clearing up this mystery than others before. 

What I didn't care for was the convenient manner in which Katie's rejected suitor, Steve, is removed as an obstacle in her relationship with her boyfriend Declan. Steve's attempt to use a spell to force Katie to love him isn't out of character. It's what happens when he shows up at her house to beg forgiveness that seems like a cop-out. No, I won't give any more details because spoilers. 

Figuring out who the murderer was was actually pretty simple but not so obvious as to be patronizing. All in all, a worthwhile story, as long as you're not expecting too much depth.