THREE TAINTED TEAS

A kitchen witch reluctantly takes over as planner for a cursed wedding.

Magic Springs, Idaho, is home to both Mia Malone’s catering service and cooking school and a large coven of witches. Bethanie, a frenemy of Christina Adams, Mia’s housemate, is a bridesmaid at the upcoming wedding. The union of Amethyst Uzzi, who’s from a prominent witch family, and Tok McMann, who’s a shape-shifting wolf, is already problematic before Bethanie ropes in Christina as a substitute bridesmaid because she’s the same size as the woman who pulled out. When wedding planner Chelsea Bachman is fired, the Uzzi family calls on Mia to take her place at the festivities, which are happening in just a week's time. The job turns into a nightmare that Mia’s huge paycheck doesn’t begin to justify because Chelsea, and perhaps an unknown accomplice, are doing everything they can to sabotage the wedding. When Mia goes to Chelsea’s room at the Lodge—the hotel where the wedding is taking place and where she's been staying—in search of contracts for items like flowers and the wedding cake, many of which Chelsea had canceled, she finds her predecessor ripped to pieces. Because the local detective doesn’t believe in witches or shape-shifters, Mia realizes that she must use her prior experience to find the killer. With only their boyfriends to protect them, Mia and Christina depend on magic to keep them alive.

Although the killer may be spotted early, this witchy tale is a hoot.