Month: December 2011

I happen to love stories with a paranormal twist.  It is the first in a series of Mind for Murder Mysteries by Rochelle Staab.

It took me a little while to really get into the story and there was one time that I almost set it aside to not finish. Then I saw it sitting on my nightstand with a bookmark in it and decided, what the heck, I’ll give it another try. What drew me to this story was the fact that it involved tarot cards. I have taken a few classes to read tarot myself and wanted to see how the author would use that in the story.

With my second attempt to read this book, I did get hooked. The protagonist, Liz Cooper, is a psychologist whose best friend, Robin, an assistant for a talent agent, is threatened by someone who has been leaving tarot cards taped to her front door. They aren’t just any tarot cards; they are the same tarot cards used in a reading the night Robin’s husband died.

The protagonist spends most of the book investigating the murder of a Voodoo priestess who didn’t get along with Robin. The two argued, the night she was murdered and Robin became a suspect. So as any best friend would do, she had to prove her friend’s innocence.

• While investigating, Liz discovers a cursed spell book.
• She becomes romantically involved with her brother’s friend, Nick Garfield, a professor who lectures on the occult.
• Her brother, who is a police officer, discourages her from getting involved in the investigation and with his friend because he doesn’t think she knows what she is doing and he thinks his friend will break her heart.
• Her ex-husband, a professional ball player, who played around on her tries to get back into the picture and her tarot card reading mother attempts to play cupid with them because she liked him more than Liz did.

This story is a cozy mystery with a paranormal twist and though the characters are not as well rounded as those in a more literary novel, it meets the standards of this genre. It had a satisfying ending that even made me feel good. The story-line was well plotted and it kept me guessing right up to the reveal. I will watch for the next one in this series.

Happy writing and reading.

Virginia