By
Abigail Thornton

Wynona and her team are back…but she’s not exactly happy about it.

Wynona’s sister, Celia, is at the top of Wynona’s list of least favorite people.

But when one of Celia’s friends ends up dead…Wynona can’t bring herself to let it go.

Despite having a little sleuthing experience under her belt at this point, Wynona is completely out of her comfort zone as she’s surrounded by the some of the most powerful witches in Hex Haven, trying to pretend she’s not upset about her lack of magical ability.

Wynona’s family might not see her worth, but with Primrose, Violet and a dashing werewolf at her side…Wynona might just find where she belongs, and solve a murder or two along the way.

In the first book of this series we met the key players in these books. First off is Wynona, she was born to a powerful witch family with her powers bound and thus a disgrace and now disowned. Violet, her mouse who was changed from white to purple by a spell thrown by Celia that went wrong. Rascal the Deputy Chief of Police, her boyfriend, who managed to help Wynona solve her first mystery and open her business on schedule. Prim, Wynona’s best friend and confidant. Lusgu, a brownie, he’s the janitor at her tea shop, but there’s something more here. Chief of Police Lugurio, who has a thing against anyone named Le Doux. Celia, her sister who always seems to show up with plenty of insults.

Now in this book, in the middle of a severe storm, Celia calls Wynona, hysterical asking for help at the same time Rascal shows up with a request for her to join him at a crime scene.

This is a favorite scene.

“Wynona,” she said with a sharp smile. “You came.”

Wynona folded her arms over her chest. She felt completely frumpy in her heavy raincoat next to her perfect sister, but right now there was little Wynona could do. Besides, Celia had called her here. “I did.”

Celia huffed. “Figures you would. You always were a bleeding heart.”

“You asked for my help, Celia,” Wynona snapped. “I guess if you don’t need me, I can just go home.” Wynona started to turn, but Celia sighed loud and dramatically enough to wake the dead.

“As long as you’re here, you might as well help these…idiots,” Celia sneered, waving her arm at the police walking around.

Wynona shook her head. “No. You know what? I don’t need this. The police aren’t idiots and I’m sure between them and our parents, it’ll all be taken care of soon.” She turned to walk away again, but ran into a wall. An invisible wall.

“I don’t think you understand…sister…” Celia said, her voice low as she came up behind Wynona. “Dear Mommy and Daddy don’t ever need to know that I was out here.”

Wynona spun, facing her sister nose to nose. “Whyever not? I just heard you threatening to call them. Why keep it a secret? There’s no way the ghost reporters won’t splash this over every page of the newspaper.”

Celia’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t answer.

Wynona’s jaw went slack. “You weren’t supposed to be out here, were you?” She barked a sarcastic laugh. “What do you think will happen? Mom and Dad will cut off your allowance?”

Celia rolled her eyes. “You’re so naive, Wynona.”

“No. I’m free. And it sounds like it’s the exact opposite of you at the moment.”

“Wynona!”

Both women turned toward the shout. Rascal was walking purposefully toward them, his face etched in stone. “Ms. Le Doux,” he said, nodding at Celia before turning to Wynona. “Wy, if you’ll come with me, please?”

“Wy?” Celia snorted.

Wynona ignored her sister. She shouldn’t have come. No matter what panicked emotions had caused Celia to ask for help, it was clear offering anything to her sister was only going to come back to bite her. “Of course, Officer Strongclaw.” She walked away, knowing the wall her sister had put up would be gone. If the police caught Celia using magic at a crime scene, she’d have been in far more trouble than what she already was. “Thank you,” Wynona whispered, knowing Rascal’s ears would pick it up amongst the noise.

Rascal grinned and winked at her. “You looked like you could use rescuing.” He shook his head. “But I’ll apologize ahead of time because bringing you with me means that you’ll get stuck listening to everything that’s going on.”

“That’s fine,” Wynona replied. “Anything is better than dealing with Celia.”

Rascal chuckled as they approached a group of women. One woman was sobbing into a handkerchief while another wrapped her arms around the first. None of the women looked very happy to be there. Wynona was positive they were all witches, just like her sister, since not one of them appeared to have been touched by the storm and were wearing similar long, flowing dresses.

Rascal took his hand from Wynona’s back and pulled a notebook from his pocket. “Ms. Umbra?”

The crying woman looked up. “Yes?”

Rascal consulted his notes. “It’s Callista Umbra, correct?”

She sniffed and nodded.

“And it was your sister…a, Indigo Stocker, who disappeared?”

Again, the woman nodded.

Wynona tilted her head, watching the sister. She was a pretty woman. Light blonde hair and small features. Nothing about her would stand out in a crowd, except that right now she looked particularly frail as she leaned into her friend.

“Do you mind telling me why you were out here tonight?”

One of the women scoffed. “We already went over this with your chief.”

Rascal nodded. “I understand, but I’m asking again.”

“It’s alright,” Callista said softly. She took a deep breath as she looked at Rascal. “We were out here for the storm,” she explained. “Our coven was working together to draw the power of the lightning into some…um…” She bit her lip and looked at the other women.

“Oh, just say it,” the loud one snapped. “It’s not like they don’t already know.”

“Leave her alone, Adel,” the one holding up Callista argued. “It’s not like this is her fault.”

Adel huffed and turned away.

“We were capturing the lightning in stones,” Callista explained.

There it was. Now Wynona understood exactly why Celia didn’t want their parents involved. Capturing lightning took a great deal of power, which was probably why there was a whole coven of witches out here. Petra Luminis, or stones with lightning trapped inside, could be used for large bursts of power, whether for destruction or for extra potent spells. But the most important thing was…they were illegal.

Rascal growled low in his throat, but nodded for her to continue.

“We were on our third stone when there was a particularly large burst of light.” Callista’s voice grew softer and her tears renewed. “I was blinded in the moment, and by the time I opened my eyes, my…” She sniffed and dabbed at her face. “My…”

The woman holding her sighed and squeezed Callista tighter. “Her sister, Indigo Stocker, was gone.”

“Gone?” Rascal asked.

“Gone,” Adel snapped, ignoring Callista’s wail of distress. “Nothing but a black streak in the grass.”
Thornton, Abigail. Sugar, Cream or Murder: a light-hearted, paranormal cozy mystery (Le Doux Mysteries Book 2) Kindle Locations (-488). Angel Music. Kindle Edition.

Things are far more complicated than they originally seem. Wynona is going to face a coven she’s not part of and never will be without magic. Then there’s the traveling husband who can’t be contacted and of course the body that’s not there.

Throughout the investigation, the relationship between Rascal and Wynona grows stronger. Even as the Chief tries to pin the ‘murder’ on Celia.

This is a page turning read with plenty of surprises. I love the developing romance and the strengthening friendships.

I am already reading the next book in this series, I can’t put them down once I start.

5 Contented Purrs for Abigail!

Ever since I was in elementary school I have wanted to be an author. Career day was a bit rough, since there is no official uniform for this job. Pajamas and a laptop maybe? Although my clothes change from day to day, my job as a wife and mother doesn’t. My days are filled with my 5 children and enjoying time with my husband, while my evenings are filled with creative time. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.