Hemlock Saga #1
The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic and Murder is Kiri Callaghan’s first book in the Hemlock Saga series. As promised in the title, there is plenty of magic and murder. There is a disclaimer at the start of the book that also lets readers know that, while this is a cozy mystery, it also has some rather graphic depictions of the bodies that might be a bit more intense than a typical cozy. However, that does not detract from the story at all and seems to motivate the characters even more to find the killer. The world the author depicts has a clear separation of the magical and non-magical world, which makes investigating one in the other rather difficult as the average normal human won’t be able to see or tell if there was some magical hijinks happening around them. The heroines are Avery Hemlock and Saga Trygg. Avery is a changeling who was condemned to five hundred years of nightmares in punishment by the Fey. Saga is a woman trying to find herself again, who is a practitioner of witchcraft like her grandmother and aunt, although Saga sees it as a spirituality and not an actual ability to cast spells.
Avery Hemlock is awakened from her slumber punishment specifically to investigate supernatural based crime that has steadily been on the rise in London. This is frightening the powerful Fey, because the increase of crime means an increase in risk that the mortal world and the magical might collide; something they very much want to avoid. Keeping the two worlds separate is of upmost importance to the Fey, so much so that they are more than willing to work with the strong willed and stubborn Avery Hemlock. However, two hundred years have passed and Avery awakes to a world far stranger than she could have possibly expected.
Given practically no support, thrust into this new environment, Avery makes several blunders: both in trying to figure out the new world and technology, but also with people like Saga, who she thinks is a practicing witch of real power. Fortunately, Saga can rely on Avery to help her navigate this strange new world of magic, and Avery has Saga to help her navigate this strange new world of cellphones and indoor plumbing. Not only that, Saga proves invaluable on Avery’s first case which involves a very strange case of organ theft – theft without any kind of damage to the body. The organ is just missing and replaced with something that truly does not belong. The two women, who each have a strong sense of justice as well as a natural ability for deduction, are a force to be reckoned with as they try to catch a killer who could be hiding in plain sight.
Out of time characters can be tricky. It’s hard to write them in a way that readers will enjoy, and not get irritated at their ignorance of things like modern technology. Kiri Callaghan manages to convey Avery as a confident and capable detective that, while baffled by this new world, faces it head on. Avery uses word origins to try and deduce what more modern tech and slang might mean, and often gets very close to the mark, and luckily Saga is there to help her make the final leap. I recommend The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic and Murder for any reader that enjoys a supernatural cozy that goes more in depth into the origins of myth and lore. Kiri Callaghan has references at the end of each chapter for words, phrases, and even some of the creatures mentioned throughout the chapters. The murder investigation itself is interesting, as Kiri Callaghan weaves real investigative techniques and magical knowledge together to keep readers constantly guessing as to what possible twists and turns await our heroines. I very much look forward to seeing what future adventures are in store for Avery and Saga, and how they will help each other learn these new worlds they suddenly have found themselves in. – Carla Schantz