Member Reviews

I enjoyed this one a lot. I will say that the cover and synopsis led me to believe this would be more Halloween centric than it actually turned out be. Despite being a bit bummed out about the lack of the Halloween backdrop this one managed to pull me in and keep me turning the pages.

I found it to be pretty well written and nicely paced. It was pretty obvious who the baddie was going to be from early on, so I can't say that took me by surprise. The author does throw in a couple of red herrings though to keep it interesting. There is a great cast of secondary characters. Including a cat that acts just a teeny bit human like.

There really isn't any romance per se in this one. Lee has a boyfriend Pete that features heavily in the book. They are already an established couple which I rather liked because sometimes the romance aspect of these cozy mysteries can feel forced. I also found Lee to be a very likable main character. Lastly, there are some super yummy recipes included. What more can you ask for? Two thumbs up from yours truly.

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I liked this story that is book 5 in the Witch City Mystery series. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books. Lee teaches a class on television production in Salem, Massachusetts. It's an adult education class and they decide to highlight the traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos with a video production from the oldest cemetery in town. Lee has psychic visions and with the help of her cat and her boyfriend they solve two murders. I like the technology aspect of her class.

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The day after Halloween brings a slow return to normal in Salem, Massachusetts. Just when the holiday approaches, Lee Barrett’s TV production class suggests extending the spooky season with a traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos. Unfortunately, not all of Salem’s dead are resting in peace; some may even be hanging around in the cemetery the class chooses to focus on and so does murder.

Lee and her class experience a few haunting graveyard visits. When one of her students asks her to help solve a murder, Lee and her boyfriend connect the crime to an unsolved missing person case. Lee’s psychic visions heat up; Lee uses her shrewd cat, O’Ryan to find the evidence needed to close the cold case before she ends up joining the ghost community forever.
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Series: A Witch City Mystery - Book 5
Author: Carol J. Perry
Genre: Paranormal Cozy
Publisher: Kensington

Carol Perry’s, Grave Errors, the fifth book in her “A Witch City Mystery” series is filled with everything a reader would expect from a series set in Salem, Mass. Witches, Ghosts, and murder combine to make an intriguing plot. Lee Barrett returns to investigate another murder mystery, only this time she has to convince her boyfriend, and everyone else that a murder took place.

Grave Errors has a unique premise which allows the reader's imagination to run wild. The characters are believable without being caricatures. All of the characters have quirks and idiosyncrasies allowing the reader to learn more about them as they revisit the characters in each new book. Lee’s aunt, Isobel is still a favorite character but does not play as big a role in this book as she has in the prior volumes.

The setting of Salem is the perfect location for murder and ghosts. The historic nature of the Salem Witch Trials is also the ultimate setting for magic, witchcraft and the main characters new found abilities to develop. Visions abound each time Lee looks at any shiny surface, and in particular the photo of the black shoe hanging on a wall behind her desk.

Salem’s old cemeteries are filled with myths and legends of the dead. However, the use of one of those legends in this book lends to credibility and entertainment with a twist of history. The story of Giles Corey is real. Mr. Corey was accused of witchcraft as was his wife Martha during the Salem witch trials. After he was arrested, Corey refused to plead guilty and was subsequently executed by pressing. Pressing entailed the use of large rocks and boulders piled on top of the accused to restrict movement which crushed the victim's lungs and vital organs. Corey’s execution is the only example of this method being used in American history. Mr. Corey never gave in or admitted to the crimes for which he was accused. He died two days later after enduring horrendous torture.

In Ms. Perry’s book, she embellishes some of the details of Mr. Corey’s death, but the location in which it took place could well be accurate. The execution is believed to have occurred in a field adjacent to the prison where Mr. Corey was held. The field later became the Howard Street Cemetery, which opened in 1801.
The plot and use of history throughout this story make for an interesting and entertaining read. Readers will be anxious to turn each page to find out who the murderer is and whether or not old Giles gets his revenge once again. Grave Errors is highly recommended to readers who love the paranormal, witches and history.


An ARC was provided by NetGalley

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Grave Errors is the 5th installment of the Witch City Mystery series. I chose this book solely because I love Salem, Mass. - it's one of my favorite places! Anyway, I liked the beginning of the story. The author laid out the characters in such a way that it wasn't overwhelming. The story was entertaining, although without having read the previous stories, I can't figure out why a school for adult students runs rather like a high school - full days of class with lunch breaks at noon - rather than the 50-110 minute classes I took in college. The mystery was pretty good, although I was pretty certain of the killer. Overall, the story was entertaining. I'd certainly read more of the series.

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Come on back to Salem! The town is getting ready to gear up for their annual Halloween celebration and Lee's TV production class has an idea to extend the holiday for the town with a Day of the Dead celebration. While they are researching and coming up with ideas for the celebration it is revealed that an accidental death isn't as much of an accident as people were lead to believe. Then there is a fresh body discovered in the cemetery that shouldn't be there.

I had a good idea of who the culprit was in the beginning but there were enough clues to throw me off a bit before the killer was revealed. Another great addition to the Witch City series!

I was given an eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.

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I love a good paranormal cozy!

Lee Barrett’s TV production class is working on a project celebrating the holiday of Dia de Los Muertos, which means many trips to a grave yard and much talk of the dead. A student confesses to Lee that she has her own connection to the dead, she believes that her sister’s accidental death is actually a murder and she is taking Lee’s class to learn to be an investigative reporter to solve the mystery behind her death. Lee too finds herself deeply involved this mystery with the help of her scrying abilities, her cop boyfriend Pete, her resourceful aunt Ibby, her almost human cat O Ryan, and team of sleuthing students.

I honestly haven’t read any of the other Witch City books, and was grateful to find this series easy to jump into. I very much enjoyed this well written spooky cozy mysteries. The main character Lee, is very likable. I will definitely will go back and read the first four books in this series.

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I've enjoyed this series since the first book and Grave Errors by Carol J. Perry is another good addition to the series.
Lee Barrett is a fun, quirky character who has the ability to see things, not ordinary things, but visions. When she looks into a shiny surface, Lee is never sure what she will see.
As a teacher at The Tabby, a new student joins her class for one reason, she needs Lee's help to prove her sister was murdered.

With her new students in tow, Lee, with the help of her aunt, begins an investigation that unravels secrets and clues to what really happened.

As much as I enjoyed the book, I felt it was missing something. Usually I am at the edge of my seat reading a book in this series, but that didn't happen this time.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

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The Witch City mysteries are exemplary paranormal cozies. Lee Barrett teaches tv production, but her unique gift - that of receiving visions, puts her in the midst of murder investigations more often than her boyfriend Pete, a local detective, would prefer. He does, however, agree that her visions are useful and important, particularly in this case.

Lee’s students join her class for a variety of reasons, but this is the first time one has joined in order to find the identity of her sister’s killer. Dorothy is convinced that the police are wrong, and her sister’s accidental death was in fact a murder. Pete agrees to look into the matter, and the class plans a Dia de Los Muertos celebration for the city. But when a threatening letter arrives at the school, Lee and the others start looking deeper into Emily’s final days, using their collective skills to determine why Emily was targeted.

Part of what I enjoy about these novels is Lee’s strength of character, her intelligence and persistence. It’s easy to believe she was once a news anchor. Perry makes Lee’s train of thought natural and easy to follow. The steadfast romance between Pete and Lee is another nice element. And of course you can’t forget O’Ryan who always plays an essential role. There are even recipes at the end for those tantalized by the descriptions in the book. I definitely would recommend Grave Errors to anyone who enjoys paranormal cozies.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Grave Errors from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

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Cozy, entertaining and creepy all at the same time!

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I have found a new author and series to follow. I thorughlt enjoyed the book. See my blog for a entire review of the series. Great work

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Salem and Halloween, one of my favorite combination and series. This book is a great addition to the ongoing series. Love the strength of the Lee Barrett character and the touch of paranormal. An absolute enjoying read.

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A fantastic cosy mystery, the main character, Lee, is a strong, smart and believable character and I was hooked from the very beginning of this story. The book follows Lee as she investigates the mysterious murder of her students sister (no spoilers!) The perfect balance of paranormal and normal keeps this book both entertaining and completely relatable. I loved the spooky atmosphere and the gripping mystery. I hadn't realised it was part of a series but now that I do, I will DEFINITELY be going back to book one and reading them all, I'm so pleased to have discovered this series! (just in time for Fall with a big mug of hot chocolate and a cosy blanket, perfect!)

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This series never disappoints! I love the characters, and premise.
The whodunit was as always first rate.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

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First time reading this author, now I will be looking up her other books in this series. Lee and Pete work well together as they work out who the killer is. I enjoyed the students and their project.

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Thank you so much for letting me review this book .It is refreshing to read about something different in the cozy world .
Salem has so much history to write about and enjoy reading the mixture between seeing visions , ghosts and a uptodate story . The story about Lee her gift of seeing visions , Pete , aunt Ibby and o'Ryan the cat come together beautifully with in the story . The school Trumbull Academy in which Lee is a teacher in television pulls together the pupils for each book . I guessed that the Happy shores. Estate agent had something do with it all but not who it could be . I really love all the history mixed into the story . Brilliant couldn't put it down . Can't wait until the next one come out thanks again .

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There is nothing more satisfying to me than a really great cozy mystery ghost story. Carol J. Perry has a way of making a paranormal cozy feel perfectly normal and complete! Grave Errors is out August 29th and is book five in the Witch City Mysteries. I love this series, it is not at all what I expected when I picked up book number 1 and I am more surprised and enchanted with each additional book. I was blown away. Main character Lee, is very much relatable to me, actually she is one of my most favorite characters of all time in all the cozy series I read. She is someone I could completely be friends with. She is smart, takes things as they come and has about the best mental health balance of any characters out there. Despite the fact that she is widowed, orphaned, she is about as untraumatized and yet strengthened by these very things that would make most of us throw in the towel. She has a great job as a teacher in a school that is based in an old department store in Salem Massachusetts, she is a Nascar fan, has a great yellow cat, boyfriend on the police force, an Aunt who is like her own personal google search engine and she see visions in shiny objects....Seriously I could not make this up but I am so glad that Carol J. Perry did because this book was the perfect read for someone like me who loves the fall, Nascar, Witches, Cats and knows a great paranormal cozy when I read one! This one is highly recommended and I am thrilled I got to read it early!

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This is another winner in the Witch City series. Set in Salem, Lee teaches a class on investigative reporting when a student tells her she's taking the class so that she can find out who killed her sister. Lee starts to have visions that she thinks must be related - she's a scryer that sees visions in shinny objects. Lee, with the help of her class begin to look into things, despite Lee's boyfriend Pete telling her not to.

What follows is an engaging paranormal mystery that fans of the genre will love. I particularly enjoyed the way the author wove the history of Salem into the tale, making for a wonderful novel. Add this one to the top of your TBR list. The author is on my must read authors' list.

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Lee is back and death is following it's after Halloween and her class decides to cover the Day of the Dead which honors or family and friends that have past one. The history of Salem the each book covers gets better and better along with each mystery. O'Ryan I'd my favorite smart familiar that he his. The mystery is always woven together with enough information but not too much information that the story gets bogged down The characters and series have developed and grown beautiful with each book

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