Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine

Jaine has a really quirky neighbor.  She's an old woman who once starred in a Zombie movie and is now thought of as a witch.  If only her cat, Prozac, hadn't gotten out of her yard and scared Cryptessa's bird to death.  Now the old witch thinks she owes her...

Kensington Books sent me an ARC of this story for review (thank you).  It's being published this month so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

Jaine Austen is quite the character.  I've never heard of anybody naming their cat Prozac before.  Her eating habits leave something to be desired.  Her house is no cleaner than it needs to be.  But she's really a good person.  She may be a bit desperate to find a man, would like to lose some weight, but she sure wouldn't kill anybody.  So who swiped her ape suit during the Halloween party and did?

Lance, her neighbor is gay.  He's got his eye on the new neighbor in town, Peter.  So does Jaine.  Watching these two fight over Peter is a hoot.  Unfortunately, the party was at Peter's, so Jaine has to prove she wasn't the killer.  If she didn't, she wouldn't have time to develop a relationship with the new hunk in the neighborhood.

This author fills her story with humor, talk of good food (of the sweets variety), and an interesting plot.  It's a good cozy mystery.  There are more in this series, but this was the first one I read.  It's a stand alone story if you want to start here.  I'm sure all the books in the series would be enjoyable.

If you'd like my copy of this ARC, please leave a comment here on my blog and email me at info at bookfaerie.com with your name and address and why you'd like to read the book.  I'll pick a winner in about a week.

Happy reading.