Member Reviews

Every time I pick up a book in this series, I know what I’m getting, and I’m never disappointed. This latest has Lee dealing with the chaos shooting a movie in her town brings, and it’s not long before she’s also hip-deep in a murder. As always, I love the dynamic between Lee and Pete, and how he accepts her poking her nose into his cases and helping him. I also love the side characters that make up this delightful series. I was a little surprised at the ending, in a good way, and I hope that this doesn’t mean the end of the series; I want this delightful, well-written, light, cozy mystery series with a touch of the paranormal to last many more books. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

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What a fun ride! Lee and Pete live in Salem, Massachusetts, and it's October. You can imagine the chaos. Now put in a movie crew trying to finish filming. When a murder happens, it's all Lee (a reporter), and Pete (a police officer) can handle. Who did it? Definitely a page turner. If you want a truly fun book, get this one.

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A horror movie about the witch trials of 1892 shooting in Salem, dead bodies and mysterious happenings have Lee, her detective husband Pete and her Aunt Ibby and The Angels on the case!

The author has created characters you'd love to meet - Lee with her "scrying" abilities. her handsome and smart husband Pete and her Aunt Ibby and the wonderful Angels group ,who meet and watch Midsomer Murders, every week. and the ever wonderful O'Ryan - a cat with secrets of his own. Lee is a relatable character, kind, smart and curious.

The only bad thing is I can't wait for the next book!

All the opinions expressed in this review are my own and I received an ARC from NetGalley.

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Between her duties as WICH-TV program director and producing a documentary on the local filming of Paragon Studios big budget movie, Night Magic, based on witchcraft and time travel. When the female star of the film is found dead on the stage set, Lee’s duties explode as she takes up the mic as an on-air reporter covering the murder, along with her natural tendency to investigate things herself.

Carol Perry involves all the familiar local characters – husband, detective Pete Mondello, Aunt Ibby, best friend River North, and her remarkable cat, O’Ryan. Ms. Perry’s 14th Witch City Mystery is a solid addition to the series.

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Traffic in Salem, MA is always a nightmare in October. But add in a major motion studio shooting a witch themed movie and WICH-TV program director and former reporter Lee Barrett finds the streets almost gridlocked. When the traffic nightmare puts Lee right on the spot to cover several of the incidents that are plaguing the movie, including a death scene that’s all too real, she begins investigating.

This is another strong entry into the series. I enjoyed reuniting with the cast of WHIC-TV and the author adds just enough paranormal elements to make them interesting. I did figure out who the killer was fairly early on but not the reason why so trying to figure out why everything was happening held my interest.

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DEATH SCENE is the fourteenth book in the Witch City Mysteries by Carol J. Perry. I was introduced to the characters in this series through the holiday novellas released by the publisher. Intrigued, I decided I need to read the full-length novels. While I probably should have started with the first book (and I have plans to do so and catch up) I jumped at the chance to read this latest release when I saw it on NetGalley. The author does an admirable job in giving just enough backstory throughout the book, so I never felt lost about who the characters were. And the mystery itself is fully contained and can be read as a standalone. I can see why this has been a long-running series with its charming characters and the history of the witch trials steeped in the locale, Salem, Massachusetts. The protagonist, Lee Barrett Mondello, works for the local TV station, WICH-TV, while her husband is a detective. I like their comradery and they way they work together to solve crimes. The addition of Lee’s Aunt Ibby and her gaggle of friends—known as The Angels, a cross between The Golden Girls and Charlie’s Angels—helping to find clues adds to the enjoyment of the book.

With the town’s Halloween hijinks gearing up along with a studio crew in town filming a movie about the witch trials, Lee hands her hands full. The action ratchets up when the leading lady is found murdered and someone seems to be intent on sabotaging the movie. Pulled into the investigation, Lee bounds from mishap to crime scene. The plot is fast-paced and multi-faceted. Given the number of people working on the movie, along with the multitude of townspeople involved, there were many suspects. I had my suspicions about the culprit, but with each new twist, I changed my mind. In the end, as the clues fell into place, the reveal brought everything to light in a highly satisfactory way. And with the conclusion, I can’t wait to find out what comes next for Lee and her crew!

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I love Carol J. Perry’s Witch City cozy mysteries. I will admit I guessed the killer in the first third of the book, but there are a few cozy series I read for the characters and setting rather than the mystery itself. So, it didn’t really matter to me that the solution was obvious.

Lee Barrett Mondello is the program director, and sometimes a field reporter for WICH-TV in Salem, Massachusetts. She’s also a newlywed, married to Detective Sergeant Pete Mondello, a newlywed trying to juggle her work responsibilities with her new married life. Her latest assignment makes that a little difficult. Paragon Productions is filming “Night Magic” in Salem, a movie involving witches. Everyone in town is excited. Even Lee’s best friend, River North, has a role as the star’s body double and sometimes stand-in.

It’s Darla Diamond, the star of “Night Magic” who is murdered, though. Although Pete doesn’t usually talk about current cases, it’s soon obvious the actress was poisoned. After she died, her co-star, Lamont Faraday, was found asleep in Darla’s trailer. Rumor has it the two hated each other.

But, there are other rumors in town. The hairdressers and bartenders of Salem know all the gossip. Word is that Paragon Productions is way over budget, and they’ve had all kinds of accidents on the set, both in California and in Salem. Is someone determined to shut down the filming of “Night Magic” and, in doing so, ruin Paragon Productions?

Lee’s various assignments send her to the movie set, to an animal refuge for show animals, and to other sites related to the film company. But, she only feels endangered one night at home, when she imagines a figure outside, and the neighbor’s cat is injured. She was warned, though. When River read her tarot cards, she told Lee to be more objective in her decisions. This time, Lee’s feelings might stop her from seeing the obvious.

As I said, I saw the obvious, and there were clues throughout the book as to the killer. It didn’t spoil the book for me. I like Lee, her husband, her Aunt Ibby, a retired research librarian, and, of course, the cat, O’Ryan. The staff at the TV station might be competitive, but they’re also supportive. The Witch City mysteries put community into the cozy mystery series.

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Death Scene is the 14th book in the 14th book in the Witch City Mystery. The story takes place in Salem, MA. Lee Barrett Mondello works for WICH-TV. She is program director with occasional stints as field reporter. She is able to see visions. She is married to Pete Mondello a detective sergeant. They are newlyweds. Her aunt Isabell Russell (ibby) lives down the street from her. Bruce Doan is her boss and station manager. Scott Palmer is another reporter at the station.

Paragon Productions has come to town to finish the filming of Night Magic. They are doing scenes about the Thee Witches House with direct connections to the witches trials. Darla Diamond and Nathaniel Faraday are the stars of the movie. Lee's friend, River North, who hosts Tarot Time with River North with tarot readings and midnight scarey movies. She looks very much like Darla and has been offered a job as her double along with her double from CA, Paulina Fellows.

The company has set up outside of Salem with scenery, etc. to look like the Witches House. Strange things are happening that puts a strain on the movie. Darla is found dead and later determined to have died of Nicotine poison found in her chocolates. Doug Sawyer, a child star which is now grown up is still under contract with Paragon and does different jobs for them.

Aunt Iffy is an expert research librarian who still works part-time for the Salem main library and technology whiz and her senior Angel friends, Betsy Leavitt still models and Louise Abray-Babcock is a financial wizard is very wealthy. They are all interested in myssteries. Michael Martell a well known author who writes mystery books under the name of Fenton Bishop and an antique collectible expert. He teaches creative writing at Trumball Academy. he is sometimes part of The Angels. They are all having dinner with Ibby with watching Midsummer's Murders after.

With the murder of Darla there is so much happening that I will leave it to the reader to enjoy to the exciting ending of who and why Darla is killed. The final ending is Lee and Pete find out that she is pregnant and they adopt Darla's dog Toby.

I enjoyed the book and all the excitement in the book and think I will read this series from the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for this ARC.










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Loved this book! This series keeps getting better and I love how Lee's and Pete's relationship has continued to develop.

Lee wears many hats at her tv job, including live coverage of breaking news. When a famous actress dues under mysterious circumstances, she is on the case.. along with her police detective husband. What follows is a compelling "who done it" and engaging animals that seem to know more than their humans.

Fans of the genre will love this book. While part of a series, this is a stand alone novel, however it's so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all. The author is on my must read authors ' list.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Woah, this one did not play out how A Witch City Mystery series normally ends and it was not unwelcomed! I've been here since book 1 and let me tell you I jumped up with so much excitement at the end... I just really hope that wasn't the end of the series. I have a need for more of Lee, Pete, O'Ryan, Ibby, and the others! I also need Rivers wedding.

A Witch City Mystery series has been promising from the start and this was not a let down! The mystery had me guessing and looking for more clues. Though I figured it out towards the beginning, I could have been led to believe that it was someone else with all of the red herrings and clues that were being left.

I really hope there is at least one more. Though this does feel like a potential end to allow readers to create the rest that they want in their mind I really hope this series continues.

This book was fun, fast paced, and filled with clues. Lee really seems to be wearing every hat possible in this one. I only found a couple mistakes in the ARC copy of the book that I had.

I really do think to read and appreciate this book you should read the others first.

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#DeathScene #NetGalley featuring Lee Barrett Mondello is a great story to keep you guessing.
Lee lives in Salem, MA and works for a television show, wearing many hats and filling in where she's needed.
She also has a knack for getting involved in murder investigations, much to the chagrin of her detective husband, Pete.
This story is very interesting, with many details about witches, and the ending left me amazed!! I'm not sure if this series will continue or not, but I am hoping to see it continue for at least another book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book .

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This is one of my favourite series, I pre-order the books and never check the blurb as I know I want to read it.
If I can find a fault it's the sense of closure at the end of the story: it could be the or it could be a sort of reboot that will promise be as entertaining and intriguing as the rest of the series.
This is a love letter to Salem, its history and the complex mix of historical events and myths that makes this one of the most original towns in the world (trust me I visited it and it's very high on my chart of places to visit again).
The mystery is complex, full of red herring and twists. I guessed the culprit quite soon in the story but i was never sure because there were a lot of twists and the solution was a very satisfying moments.
Lee and the characters are as likeable as usual and O'Ryan is the start, one of my fav cozy cats.
I can't wait to read the next installment, this one is highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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This was a wonderful addition to the series. With the ending it makes me wonder if there will be future books.

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