Book Review: Tarnished and Torn

Book: Tarnished and Torn (A Witchcraft Mystery book #5) by Juliet Blackwell

Edition: Paperback

Description:

As the owner of a popular vintage clothing store, Lily Ivory can enjoy a day of antique jewelry shopping and still call it work. But as one of San Francisco’s resident witches, searching for hidden treasures can sometimes lead to dangerous discoveries…

When Lily arrives at an antique jewelry fair, her bargain sensors go off left and right—but she also picks up a faint vibration of magic. Could the hard-bargaining merchant Griselda be a fellow practitioner? It certainly seems that way when a sudden fire sends panic through the crowd, and Lily discovers Griselda murdered in a way that nods to an old-fashioned witch hunt…

A crime that hits close to home turns into an unwelcome flash from the past when the police bring in their lead suspect—Lily’s estranged father. Though he may not deserve her help, Lily is determined to clear her father’s name and solve a murder that’s anything but crystal clear.





Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

Tarnished and Torn is a very exciting and suspenseful story as it begins with Lily Ivory and her friends and employees Bronwyn and Maya attending a Gem Faire. They were there looking for old or vintage jewelry to sell at her vintage clothing store Aunt Cora's Closet. However a fun day turns deadly when a fire breaks out and Griselda, a jewelry vendor, was found murdered. The way that Griselda was murdered (she was pressed) reminded Lily, who is a witch, of how witches in the past were tortured during the era of witch hunts. The fire was merely a distraction for someone to get to Griselda because they were looking for a powerful magical artifact. I don't want to say what it since it's not mentioned in the description.

Since the item wasn't found, Lily had two mysteries to figure out: Who had killed Griselda? And where was this artifact and why was someone trying to get it? Ever since Lily moved to San Francisco and opened a vintage clothing store, she has somehow found herself investigating supernatural mysteries. And every step of this mystery kept leading her towards more clues and questions including as to why her estranged father Declan Ivory was in town? Why was she being followed by Clem and Zeke, two albeit bumbling pursuers? Who was going after witches trying to get to the missing artifact? What does the artifact have to do with an obscure legend?

From various discoveries to magical and romantic complications to demons, I enjoyed this fast moving story. It was a good blend of fashion, magic and mystery solving. What I like about Lily is that she really cares about people and wanting to help, from helping her customers find the perfect outfit to using her magic to counteract a curse. This was a good read and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.