Alice J. (ASJ) - 
Karen S. (BoysMom) - My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Imaginative and engaging cozy paranormal mystery featuring a mysterious library and magical book club.
Shifting and Shenanigans, the first book in Elizabeth Pantley's new cozy mystery series, Magical Mystery Book Club, was a complete and total and happy surprise. I loved the premise that the book club group would be plopped down at the beginning of whichever mystery they had selected and seamlessly incorporated into the story. As Frank and one other member were hold-overs from when GeeGee ran the club, little tidbits of information about how things worked in the past kept coming to light.
I particularly enjoyed the discussion of how the writing style of the author of the selected book determined how the members saw or experienced the book's setting and other characters. If the author was very descriptive of the surroundings or spent a lot of time developing characters, the club members experienced a much more vivid and detailed setting, and the book's characters were more complex in their interactions with the group.I liked how the story written in their copy of the book was only as complete as the group's progress. Also, if the cozy mystery had paranormal aspects, the possibilities for what the club members might find in the story were greatly expanded.
The club's investigation into the murder was simple and straightforward, but after establishing the foundational plot about the book club and the library, we don't really know much about the different club members themselves yet. Character development is a bit thin. But what we get is quite engaging, and I'm already looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Vampires and Villains.I recommend SHIFTING AND SHENANIGANS to cozy mystery readers who would enjoy a very imaginative paranormal storyline.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.
