Everything about the books in this series shouts "TWEE!" - from the cover, to the series name, the setting, and premise, but they aren't at all twee.  Even though I know this, they still sit on my TBR for too long because ... twee.

In spite of the facade, these mysteries are well written and almost always go quite a bit deeper than your average cozy; this one was no different.  To Catch a Witch confronts the alarming dysfunction that sometimes exists behind the doors of the healthiest looking families, as well as the ones that advertise their dysfunction for all and sundry.

The mystery plot here revolves around a woman who was universally loved (aren't they all?) who is killed during a running through Salem village.  Abbey truly had no enemies, was actually loved by everyone, and had a moral compass that pointed true north and didn't waver.  So how did she end up dead at the bottom of a gorge, killed by a branch to the back of her head?

This is why I love Heather Webber/Blake; she can write about love and heartbreak and redemption without making me roll my eyes or want to gag.  She somehow manages to do it without the emotional melodrama ... and she writes a cleverly plotted mystery to boot.  Was it fiendishly clever? No. Did I ever suspect the murderer? No.  Yet it was entirely plausible and had me thinking, of course.

It wasn't perfect; the plot twist was transparent to me early on - at least most of it was.  She did get me with the bit about ... never mind.

I'll never rave madly about these books, but they're solidly written and always make me feel a little better for having read them.  The characters are wonderfully likeable, and for those that look for books with strong female friendships, they're bountiful between these pages.  I'll happily read the next one, no matter how twee it looks.

Finally came available to checkout this ebook.

A cozy paranormal mystery that just sounded fun based on dashboard here and other feeds.  

So, I added ebook to library holds.  More than a year ago it seems.

I almost always read library books first to shorten next person's wait, so I'll see for myself after finishing one more library borrow (Magic Slays).

These are the four that arrived this week in the post.  The last two of the books about books, and two new-in-series cozies.

New books: 4

Books read: 4

Total physical TBR: 214

I'm also in the process of overhauling my entire physical library.  I realised awhile ago that while I am fanatical about entering my new books into the library-database software I use (why is barcode scanning so fun?), I've been rather lax about removing books I've given away over the past couple of years.  Since this particular database is only used to track books I own, not my reading, it's now woefully inaccurate.  

So I've worked up the motivation to create a new database from scratch, scanning in each book on my shelves, and while I'm at it, updating or correcting any weird data.  I've also created a new shelving organisation in the database by subject (the old one used author) and I'm going to re-arrange my physical shelves to more closely align with the new db.

A few weeks ago, I read On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books, an article on LitHub about the author's reading of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  In general, I disagree with the categorisation of books as objects, but the article stuck with me as I started this project, and I found myself inadvertently thinking to myself "meh" when I pulled certain books off the shelves, or sometimes I felt nothing at all.  So a happy by-product of this re-organisation is that my big black box is overflowing with books to give away, and I've gained a significant amount of shelf space and I'm only 1/4 of the way in.  The shelf space is fleeting; I have more books in my TBR than my black box, but it's definite progress.

I can't read the books in this series without Disney popping into my head.

NOT the cartoons/animations.  Well, actually, as I write this, I'm thinking yes, Cinderella.  Also Mary Poppins, and That Darn Cat. The premise is a tiny bit silly, but so endearing and the writing is so well done.

The series setting is the tourism-driven Enchanted Village populated by Crafters.  Crafters are witches, but each is limited to a specific skill set (this is where some of the silly comes in - for example, one witch is a lawcrafter; his magic is specific to law. Huh?)  Darcy, the MC, learned she was a wishcrafter after her father died; she and her sister have moved to the Enchanted Village to live with their aunt and learn their craft.

Short summary of The Goodbye Witch:

Darcy’s closest friend and fellow witch, Starla Sullivan, hoped she’d never see her ex-husband, Kyle, again. Two years ago he tried to kill her, and he has been a fugitive ever since. Now Starla claims to have seen him back in Enchanted Village, but it seems she’s the only one who can see him. To everyone else, her ex is invisible.
 
Since the police can’t arrest someone they can’t see, it’s up to Darcy to find the secret behind Kyle’s latest disappearing act—before he does something they can’t see coming….

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake), in my opinion, can't write a bad book and I'd use this series as the perfect example.  When I first read the premise of the series, it was so cute it made my teeth ache.  But I am a huge fan of her Lucy Valentine series, vowed to give these new books a chance and thoroughly enjoyed them all.  This one is her best yet.

I could talk about each of the characters individually, but Heather Blake does her best at writing ensemble casts; each is likeable on their own, but they shine as a group.  Their whole is greater than the sum of their parts, so to speak.  There's a little bit of romance but no love triangles; there's a 'mean-girl' foil who is a nasty piece of work, but she isn't over-the-top and the author keeps her human; some might even find her sympathetic.

The mystery plot was well done.  Different.  We're presented with the group trying their very best to prevent a crime from happening, but find themselves and everything they thought they knew twisted up into something else entirely.  I'll leave it at that because I think the story has a bit more impact if you go into it cold.  But I found it was thoughtfully written in realistic shades of grey.

The overall theme of this book is parting, separation; saying goodbye when one isn't ready to say goodbye.  Additionally, the author presents us with a study in "Fair is foul, and foul is fair":  sometimes what seems unspeakably wrong is simply and horribly misunderstood.  She also lightly touches upon domestic violence and the guilt people carry with them.  Surprisingly for me, the very cuteness of the setting makes these heavier themes easier to read; I "got" the depth of the message, but I was never dragged down by it.

Heather Blake has created an excellent series I wouldn't hesitate to enthusiastically recommend to anyone who still enjoys the odd Disney-like story now and again.