I’ve never read any of this series before, but the first book has been on my want-to-read list for awhile. In fact, I didn’t even realize it until I was half-way through this book. Alanis owns a shop she inherited from her con-artist mother. When one of her one-time clients is murdered, she’s on the suspect list because of her past link to murders in the town. And, when someone from her past walks back into her life about the same time as the murder, she can’t help but wonder if they’re connected. After reading this book, I wonder why it took me so long to read this series. The writing and plotting were terrific, the characters were fun and entertaining, and this was an overall fun book. While being fun, however, the book did have some serious elements that kept this book from being a total cozy mystery. I have no problem with that as I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Not having read the previous two books, I was worried I would miss something, but I followed along seamlessly as everything was explained enough I didn’t feel lost. Now, I enjoyed this book so much, I can’t wait to read the other two and more in the future. If you like fun mysteries, with a tiny element of paranormal, this book is for you! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed. This exact review will be posted on both Amazon and Goodreads.

The mystery was good, the plot twists and the blast from the past were also well-educated.

There were so many characters who tried to get my attention and I didn't root for any of them, heightened by dialogues that felt as if I was listening to "tweens" during recess.

The Tarot cards at the beginnings of each chapter - I wanted to read the descriptions but gave up after a few chapters. It bored me.

There were too many references to TV shows, films, songs, what-have-we-not.

Tarot reader Alanis finds herself mixed up in a convoluted situation involving murder, art theft, and the appearance of a man previously presumed dead.

Give the Devil His Due: A Tarot Mystery
By Steve Hockensmith with Lisa Falco
Midnight Ink
April 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

Raised by a grifting, con artist of a mother, Alanis McLachlan’s childhood was anything but normal. Alanis’s one anchor of security and comfort was Biddle, her mother’s partner-in-crime and who educated Alanis on the art of the con. Alanis last saw Biddle thirty years ago, when she and her mother fled while he faced off against murderous, double-crossed criminals. So it’s something of an understatement to say that Alanis is shocked to find Biddle, smiling and unrepentant, at the doorstep of her White Magic Five and Dive fortune-telling parlor. Considering that Alanis’s half-sister believes that Biddle was both her father and also definitely dead, there are some uncomfortable conversations in their future.

Half James Bond and half Shaft, Biddle lived for the con, saw the rest of the world as suckers to be fleeced, and lied more than he ever told the truth. So when another obvious liar comes into her parlor and then ends up dead, Alanis can’t help but assume that the murder is attached to one of Biddle’s scams. When it’s accompanied by a man disappearing into her bathroom, a driver nearly running over her twice, and then her apartment getting searched, Alanis finds herself sliding all too easily back into the grifting lifestyle she continually tries to escape. Perhaps that why she avoids the phone calls from the perfectly nice gym teacher Victor Castellanos, who is reliable, normal, and walks on the sunny side of the street. Instead, Alanis calls on GW Fletcher, who may be unreliable, devious, and a criminal, but he is also loyal, charming and smoking hot. Perhaps what both appeals and terrifies Alanis the most about GW is that he understands her upbringing the most, and unquestioningly accepts the person she has become.

The highlight of this series has always been Alanis’s cynical outlook, her hilarious inner dialogue, and her insight on human behavior. What shouldn’t be overlooked is how her glibness is often a veneer that covers her loneliness and damage at having been raised without a real name (it could ruin a con), used television characters as her only role models, and been taught to never trust or make friends. Even though her mother established the White Magic Five and Dime as yet another con, Alanis has come to believe in the readings of her tarot cards and the guidebook her mother wrote. As Biddle once again descends into her life, perhaps the Infinite Road to Knowing’s note that “Nostalgia’s great at creating both pretty pictures and crummy history,” never rings more true. What the authors incorporate so well with the undercurrent of emotional realness are the comical and absurdly delightful characters that inhabit the Sedona-like town of Berdache, Arizona. A geriatric hit-woman wannabe, a German zillionaire who’s feuded with Mother Theresa and been head-butted by the Dalai Lama (according to Wikipedia), and especially Alanis’s half-sister Clarice and her naively normal girlfriend CeeCee. One of the most original and humorous mystery series being written today, this series continues to surprise and satisfy with its deft plotting and evolving characters.

This book was good, but was way too busy of a plot to really stand out. There were so many characters coming and going and being introduced and going in different directions you almost had to have a paper listing who was who and going where, been where to even try to keep up. All that being said, I did enjoy catching up with Alanis and her half-sister and seeing how things were progressing with their lives. Sometimes when your mother was a con-artist and you're trying to make things right things aren't so simple. A few curveballs get thrown in Alanis and Clarise's lives and the cards try to reveal how things will work out.

I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley.

Alanis McLachlan, reformed con-artist turned tarot reader, knows something is up when a ghost from her past appears at her occult shop in Berdache, Arizona. Biddle, her deceased mother's former lover, just shows up out of the blue. Alanis last saw him 25 years before being walked into the desert by thugs. She presumed he was dead. But...here he is....decades later obviously not dead. Is he there to come back into Alanis and her sister's lives? Or is he running a con of some kind? Her con-radar is jangling like crazy. You can't con a con,right? It can't be coincidence that the minute Biddle shows up, a private detective starts skulking around The White Magic Five and Dime Shop, and promptly turns up dead, murdered in his car. Alexis wonders what Biddle has pulled her into when the bullets start flying.

Everything from a velvet Elvis painting and a strange woman with an uzi is included in this book. Bad guys pop out of everywhere. And Alexis (with lots of help from her friend GW and her sister Clarice) wants to know why. It's amazing how much trouble a long-lost father figure can cause in just a few days!

This book is a fun read. Lots of humor and quirkiness. Alanis is a spunky, indepedent main character. GW, her small time crook friend, is hilarious and very protective of her. He brings his street smarts to the table, and helps with the investigation. Clarice, and her girlfriend CeeCee, are research and computer experts, helping find information on suspects in legal and illegal ways. Throughout the story, Alexis uses tarot readings to help her decide how to proceed in the investigation. The illustrations and explanations of the cards are so interesting! The tarot subplot really brought some sparkle to the story! It didn't overwhelm the mystery portion of the plot, but added to it.

This book is classified as a cozy mystery, but for those readers who don't like profanity of any kind in a cozy, this book might not be for you. There is a bit of profanity and a few instances of sexual and criminal themes in this book. I didn't find it offensive. It was nice to have a story line that was a bit different with characters that aren't completely good guys. Alexis and her friends are con-artists.....they have just turned their skills to solving crimes rather than ripping people off. The result is an edgier cozy mystery....I enjoyed it!

Give the Devil His Due is the third book in the Tarot Mystery series. The books don't necessarily have to be read in order. This is the first book in the series that I've read and I was able to easily jump right in and enjoy the story. Fun story! I will definitely be back-tracking to read the first two books in this series! I look forward to reading the continuing story as well!

Steven Hockensmith is the author of several books including the Holmes on the Range series and the the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies series. To find out more information on the author and his books, check out his website: http://www.stevehockensmith.com/ Lisa Falco is the tarot expert of this writing duo. In addition to the Tarot Mystery series she also wrote another novel, A Mother's Promise.

**I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Midnight Ink. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

Entertaining enough, but very, very very busy. There are so many people going in so many directions that it is sometimes hard to keep up with. I like the main characters and the story.

"I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

Wow! Never judge a book by its cover, especially not this out-of-box novel! This was my first time reading a Tarot Mystery novel and I definitely want to read the previous novels and that comes next!

Imagine that instead of a clean-record type of characters, you have a family of successful con-artists. After the death of their mother, Alanis and her half-sister Clarise try to keep a straight life by running the occult shop left by their mother, The White Magic Five and Dime shop. Things run smoothly until Biddle, the sisters father figure, comes back after years and shows up at their shop. The thing is he also came with a scheme that can get them into a hell of trouble. In aroller-coasterr of emotions, Alanis is lost in what to do, until a client’s dead body is found. Let the adventure begin, including a crazy lady, old lovers and a small town.

I really enjoyed this steady-paced cosy-mystery. Completely new and refreshing to have a main female character that actually doesn’t fit the usual box of “the good girl”. The characters are great, they have depth and it was very easy to connect with them. The writing also helped in connecting to the storyline and the characters. The description of the emotions and the line reasoning of Alanis only made her more likeable to me and it made me rot for her all the way. The humorous lines and witty counter-backs add colour and spice to the story, they were a delight to read!

The illustration of the tarot cards and their meaning were amazingly used, even if some of those meanings weren’t completely accurate. Even so, I can’t describe my satisfaction in seeing a deeper use of the tarot cards and how they influence the story. Absolutely loved it!

I can say that this book has a bit of everything: drama, humour and mystery. I definitely recommend this novel to all the fans of cosy-mysteries with a twist!

This book was good, but way too convoluted to follow easily. It ends up feeling like every character is secretly planning their own con - understandable with how many main characters are conmen - and there is too much to keep track of. But it does have some shocking reveals, and what I could follow of the mystery was good.

Readers who have followed the Tarot series to its third volume will be delighted to find out that Alanis' mysterious father figure, Biddle makes an appearance. Alanis is deeply shocked to see Biddle as she believed he died years ago. Torn between happiness and distrust, she finds it difficult to deal with Biddle even though he seems to be chest-deep in the latest mystery surrounding her and her shop, The White Magic Five and Dime.

Authors Hockensmith and Falco give us another solidly satisfying entry in the White Magic Five and Dime series. You won't want to miss it. And if you haven't read the other books in the series, The White Magic Five and Dime and Fool Me Once, you will want to do that immediately!

I like this series. Alanis and her half sister Clarise are still living over the occult shop left to them when their mother died. The girls were accomplished con artist along with her and are now going straight trying to run a legitimate business. When Biddle, her father figure from childhood, returns to involve them into another scam it's touch and go as the bullets start flying. Each story gets better and better as the girls deal with their past and set goals for a lawful future. This small Arizona town is set near Sedonia and plays upon the mystic surroundings. The illustrations from various Tarot cards are beautiful.

Alanis McLachlan has ended her con-artist ways and is trying to make amends for the wrongs her mother committed in her wayward life. Attempting to make a somewhat honest living as the proprietor of the White Magic Five and Dime and giving customers tarot readings. When a customer ends up dead, her life is complicated further by the appearance of her mother’s former partner and fellow con-artist.
Hockensmith’s wicked sense of humor comes out on each page. The characters are flawed, crazy, and entertaining and come in all ages from snarky teens to snarky senior citizens. The situations they find themselves in are wacky and all too dangerous. There is something for everyone in this book. Each chapter is preceded with an illustration of a tarot card though the explanation is skewed and hysterical. I believe Falco contributes her knowledge of tarot cards and readings to this series as well as references for books on how to interpret the cards. There are illustrations throughout the book with descriptions of different layouts for the readings. It is a highly entertaining mystery. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy laughter sprinkled among their victims. As it is the third installment in the Tarot Mystery series, a new reader need not have read the first two.


(This will be posted on tumblr and Amazon closer to the publication date unless you need me to post it sooner. )