A Witch in Time by Madelyn Alt

Book Details
A Witch in Time by Madelyn Alt
Paperback, 304 Pages
2011, Berkley
ISBN: 0425239225
Series: Book 6 of Bewitching Mysteries

Synopsis
Maggie O'Neill-Stony Mill, Indiana's newest witch-is dealing with both her burgeoning love life and her sister's giving birth to twins when she learns that a local teenager has been found dead. Later, at the hospital, she hears a whispered conversation that sends chills down her spine. Could the conversation be related to the teen's death? Or to a murder that hasn't happened yet? It may take all her witchy intuition to find out.

Review
The actual mysteries in the Bewitching Mystery series are often pushed to the wayside in order to focus on the more paranormal aspects of the series. In A Witch in Time, the mystery is still way in the background, but so is most of the witchy action. The focus of A Witch in Time seems to be romance and relationships.

Normally, I'd be annoyed with a book that didn't even introduce the mystery until there was only 100 pages left but A Witch in Time used those early pages in the book to set the ball rolling on romance resolution that has been dangling for a long time now. Maggie, her sister Melanie and her best friend Steff have all had relationship that haven't had much progress in them. They've been stagnating, staying exactly the same, for many books now. While Maggie finally starts moving forward with Marcus, Melanie and Steff have clear cut resolution to their relationships that was necessary and will really help the series in the future.

A Witch in Time is light on the paranormal, especially compared to previous books. There are no N.I.G.H.T.S. meetings, no ghost hunting investigations and no witch rituals or spells. The "spirit"-ual feel is still there, but more in name than action.

The mystery, once it finally gets going, is very good. The clues to the murder were sprinkled throughout the book, well before the killing occurs, so unless you were paying close attention, the ending will be a surprise.

A Witch in Time is light on both paranormal and mystery, the two things the series is about. It doesn't do much to draw in new readers, but series fans will be ecstatic about the much needed plot progression.

Rating

Links

Madelyn Alt's website