Bell, Book & Candlemas: A Wiccan Wheel Mystery
Cozy
Jennifer David Hesse

Keli Milanni is a full-time attorney, lives in Edindale Illinois and has a secret, she's a Witch. Candlemas is a few weeks away, even though she celebrates with all her heart, she keeps this part of her life hidden from her friends, coworkers and her boyfriend. It takes thieves causing trouble in town for her favorite shop, Moonstone Treasures, and its owner, for her to open up and let the secret out. Things go farther than threatening notes and harassing phone calls, murder becomes the end game.

Keli wants to help her friend, but she is deeply worried about what will happen to her life and career if her secret gets out. At this special time of year, when life begins to bloom again death should not be a part of it, what is she supposed to do? Will she throw caution to the wind to help catch a killer before he strikes again, or will she fade into the shadows and do nothing allowing her innocent friend to go to jail for a crime she hasn’t committed, or perhaps for merely being a Witch?
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Fear of being found out motivates Keli to come to terms with her beliefs. She can no longer continue to hide who she is and what she believes. The only way for Keli to help her friend is to admit who she is and not allow the fears of others ruin her faith. This makes the story hard to believe. Although Keli is a likeable character, her hesitation to help her friend is a sticking point.

Keli’s best friend Farrah is interesting, she is loyal, honest and keeps Keli on her toes. There is more to Farrah than a pretty face. Wes, Keli’s boyfriend, takes the news that she practices Wicca with a smile and a few questions. He is smart, funny and wants Keli to be happy. The entire cast of characters are entertaining, well written with personalities not soon forgotten.

As a reader, I would like to have learned more about Keli’s mysterious aunt Josie in this volume, and a lot more background on Mila and her husband, as well as Keli’s boyfriend, Wes. The ending of the book is a bit drawn out and might have been better if it hadn’t carried on long after the killer is revealed, but it is not disappointing. This book is a little slow but has great detail, is well-written, and the characters are warm and inviting. The location is somewhere you would want to explore and spend time. Readers will enjoy this book if they like writers such as Carol J. Perry or Sue Ann Jaffarian.





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Bell, Book and Candlemas is the second book in A Wiccan Wheel Mystery series. Keli Milanni is an attorney and a solitary Wiccan in Edindale, Illinois. Keli has yet to tell her friends and co-workers about her Wiccan beliefs. Keli is walking to work and notices a crowd near a Moonstone Treasures. Someone has defaced the outside of the store by writing "witch". The owner of Moonstone Treasures is Mila Douglas. Mila is a Wiccan and Keli gets her supplies from her store. Moonstone Treasures is part gift shop and part psychic boutique (tarot card readings are one service offered). It turns out that this is not the first problem Mila has had recently. She has been receiving threatening notes. Someone wants Mila to give up her shop. There have also been a rash of burglaries in the town. The police have not been able to catch the culprit. Keli and her best friend, Farrah decide to stake out the shops and see if they can catch the burglar. Instead, the find a dead body inside Moonstone Treasures. Keli sets out to find the killer as well as who is behind the threats to Mila.

Bell, Book and Candlemas is easy to read and nicely written. While it is the second book in the series, it can be read alone (without reading the first book in the series). The pace is good and the book can be completed in just a couple of hours. I did find Bell, Book and Candlemas interesting and I enjoyed reading it. I give Bell, Book and Candlemas 3.5 out of 5 stars. The mystery, though, is not complex and most readers will be able to puzzle out the perpetrator. I also felt that the romance was too dominate in the story. The mystery should have been the main focus, but it was competing with the romance storyline between Kali and Wes (I prefer a slow building in the background romance in cozy mystery novels). I wish the author had not put so much detail about Keli’s spells or rituals (we did not need that much information on each and every spell/ritual). I also felt we did not constantly need to be told that Keli is a vegan (once was enough). It seemed to be mentioned in every chapter (sometimes more than once). I did find Bell, Book and Candlemas to be better than the first book in the series. I will be continuing with A Wiccan Wheel Mystery series. ( )