A Witch Named Hazel - Crafty Witch, Bk 1 Author:Sara Bourgeois She’s in a better place… — A surprising call from a rather crabby lawyer was an unpleasant interruption to Hazel Holloway's otherwise blissful day off. She's baffled at the news that a great uncle she's never even heard of before has left her his old funeral home. — Stranger still, the mortuary is in an unfamiliar small to... more »wn. Fullmourn is less than thirty minutes away, but the place is a complete mystery. Things get even weirder, though… More shocking than a surprise Great Uncle and a peculiar small town is the "gift" she receives from a ghost.
The gift is the craft. Witchcraft, to be exact.
The spirit of an old witch has to pass her magic onto someone before crossing the veil to the afterlife. Since no one shows up for her memorial, Hazel was the "lucky" recipient of her strange and unusual powers.
But, the whole witchcraft thing might have to wait…
When Hazel gets into an argument with grouchy Fullmourn resident, George Cadell, she knows her reputation is about to bite the big one. Of course, George appears to be innocent in the squabble, so when he's found dead in front of the funeral home Hazel just inherited, she becomes the prime suspect. Hazel is one toadstool short of an alibi, and the hunky town Sheriff, Nicodemus "Nico," Quillen doesn't entirely believe in her innocence. But Hazel isn't the only one in Fullmourn who might have wanted George -- an unrepentant jerk -- on the other side of the grass. Hazel needs all the help she can get exhuming the real culprit.
With her new familiar, Loftus, the cursed mouse, and her cousin, Rook, the mortician, at her side, Hazel's prepared to harness her unique abilities and summon any spirit, to catch the real killer. She's desperate to clear her name before the funeral home goes belly up, but will her mission lead her right into a killer's snare?
And!
One Halloween isn't enough for the town of Fullmourn, so they decided to have two. The New Halloween happens as winter becomes spring each year. Still, instead of dressing up to keep away ghosts and ghoulies, the point of New Halloween is to keep the evil fae at bay.
It's a holiday that terrifies Loftus because he knows better than to cross the wild woodland creatures. Some of them have terrible and frightening powers. Loftus is lucky the curse inflicted on him isn't worse.
Of course, the town's people think this is all just a fun bit of folklore. So, they all dress up as either sparkly fairies or terrifying demonic fae creatures and have a giant festival to celebrate.
When someone dies at the festival, Hazel finds herself haunted again. The spirit claims they were killed by a fae monster, but Hazel isn't so sure. After becoming a witch, she believes the existence of the fabled beasties is entirely possible, but could there be a more… human explanation for the murder?« less