The White Magic Five & Dime
Tarot Mystery, Book#1
By Steve Hockensmith
ISBN# 9780738740225
Author’s Website: http://www.stevehockensmith.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
Much to Alanis McLachlan’s surprise, her estranged con-woman mother has left her an inheritance: The White Magic Five & Dime, a shop in tiny Berdache, Arizona. Reluctantly traveling to Berdache to claim her new property, Alanis decides to stay and pick up her mother’s tarot business in an attempt to find out how she died.
With help from a hunky cop and her mother’s live-in teenage apprentice, Alanis begins faking her way through tarot readings in order to win the confidence of her mother’s clients. But the more she uses the tarot deck, the more Alanis begins to find real meaning in the cards … and the secrets surrounding her mother’s demise.
Review:
The premise is enticing and fun. Alanis is the estranged daughter of the owner of The White Magic Five & Dime. When Alanis’ mother gets murdered, Alanis inherits the business and feels it is only right to find justice for her mother. It is a light cozy, written as a story told by Alanis. I enjoyed the author`s style of writing. It made for a VERY easy read.
Each chapter begins with a picture of one of the tarot cards and a brief description of the card…according to Miss Chance, the author of Infinite Roads to Knowing. That is very fun 🙂 and….later on you learn of a secret which is surprising and yet……….not surrounding the book. Even if you have little or no knowledge of tarot cards and associated readings, you will enjoy this aspect.
Biddle, Alanis’ male role model when she was growing up and still with her mother (by whatever name she was going by), is an intriguing character which the reader comes to know only in flashbacks that Alanis is having. He imparts wisdom and one comes to appreciate his role in her life growing up, a “somewhat stable” male role model.
I must say that the love interest angle was quite weak….and I was disappointed to a certain degree, but as luck would have it, other aspects of the book made up for this. Josh Logan (Berdache Police Department detective) and Alanis did not seem to really have that ‘spark’ even though Josh was portrayed as a “hunk”.
I quite enjoyed the spunky, older suspect – Kenneth Meldon…he was a hoot…especially when he pulls out his gun (not to worry – no more bloodshed occurred). The twists relating to Clarice added some much needed spice. I liked Clarice’s character……Don’t really want to elaborate….so as to keep the mystery alive until YOU read the book.
Overall, without giving away anything, the story was an enjoyable read. I was able to chuckle at Alanis’ vision of keeping the business alive, even with her lack of experience in tarot card reading. But hey….a con is a con….right? A satisfying end where the bad guy/gal is of course identified…and not who you thought it would be!
