I wish Pepper was the lead.

The good things; this series has so much potential. I love the concept of the little town in the New Hampshire mountains. I love the addition of the magical aspect, and all the questions that are apparently going to be gradually revealed about the underlying magic in the town and it's inhabitants. I love the book store, the tea shop, all the old Victorian houses. I love the cats that talk and have a magical mission of their own (though I could do without Otis. Why do authors of cozies seem to believe we always need a jerk in the mix?). I love Pepper, the vintage queen and magical tea shop owner. I like the romantic aspect, which is an important component of a cozy to me, and I also like the fact that it wasn't continually pushing it's way into the main story like it did in book one.
The reader is also very good and easy to listen to.
The irritating things; The main character Willa. She seemed better than she was in the first book when book two started, but once we really get into the mystery she becomes almost as annoying as she was in book one. She is so stupid. She claims to have been a top notch crime reporter earlier in her life, but this is impossible for me to believe. She forms a theory about who the murderer is because reasons (pointlessly stupid reasons, I might add). She doesn't check any facts or look at things rationally, she just decides who the murderer "must" be and then ignores everything else. Once it turns out that person isn't the murderer, she learns nothing, randomly fixes on someone else, and does the same thing with that person. It is stunningly clear to the reader who the murderer must be as there are plenty of clues, but Willa ignores them all. The only real mystery here is who Ranger (the homeless dog) is going to end up living with by the end of the book.
Willa is also rigid, closed minded, and judgmental. She does no research on anything, and at age 48 seems to know very little about the world. She's not quite as bad as she was in book one, but she's still by far the most pointless and irritating character in the book.
I wish Pepper was the heroine. This series would be a lot better that way.
In summary, this a quick light read that's easy to listen to while you are doing other things as it's pretty repetitive and if you missed something it will probably come up again. You just have to be willing to put up with an incompetent main character.

17 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A Spirited Tale

This was an enjoyable book. The mystery was well plotted and detailed. The characters were well developed and engaging. The subplot with the animals add a little magic to the story. The lead character, Willa, isn't always very bright. There were times when I thought she overlooked blatant clues. However, if she caught on to all of the clues the story would be over too soon. I already bought the next book and look forward to listening to it.

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Cats, dogs and ghost, oh my.

Another great story by Leighann. I love her books. This one was no exception. I enjoyed the twist and turns in this story, the ghost and i love the fact the cats meet and talk about protecting the humans. I know some people may think this is silly but this is a fun and light read and just plain good. I recommend this book and this series. Look forward to ore in his series.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Super Cute!

As both a cat and a dog lover, I really enjoyed this book and series. A light, entertaining listen that leaves you feeling happy.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

2.5 Stars

A Spirited Tail is book 2 in the Mystic Notch series. This is a cozy mystery book with paranormal (ghostly) elements. It looks like there is also a setup for future magical elements to the series. The main character is Willa Chance. A 48 year old fairly recently divorced woman with no children. After her divorce, two years prior, Willa moved back to her home town where she had inherited her grandmother's house, business and cat, Pandora.

This book is told primarily from Willa's POV but there are a couple chapters from Pandora's POV. It is set in New Hampshire.

In this book, Willa happens upon a newly murdered body in the backyard of an old estate that has been locked up for years. It just so happens that Willa can also see and speak to ghosts and although the ghost of the murdered man isn't there, there are other ghosts. Of course, it is up to Willa to follow the clues to solve the murder.

Willa used to have a career as an investigative journalist/crime reporter, yet she is not very good at following the clues. Actually, she is terrible at it. She gets hung up on the wrong things and can't see beyond the conclusions that she has already drawn until after she accuses the wrong people and is proven wrong when they are proven innocent.

The cats are the true sleuths and MVPs in the book. They try to guide her toward the answers that she is too dumb to see herself.

The only good things in this book are the cats and her budding romance with the cop. I'm going to give this series one more chance before I give it up entirely.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Gleaned from other similar books

Not very interesting. Scenes were familiar from other novels. Do not recommend. Instead read Cat in the stacks series.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Most enjoyable story.

The performance by Elizabeth Rodgers is excellent, the story by Leighann Dobbs is engaging. Some mystery, humor, magic, cats, and a cast of quirky characters all rolled into a delightful experience!

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

not gonna bother with the next book

I struggle with this series. First I started cause i live in NH but the dialog is so far off the mark for the way people talk. Second the main character is so far off with her assumptions and investigation i find it irritating. I wasn't impressed with the first book but I figured I would give the second a try to see if it might get better, it doesn't.You can basically figure out the murderer by looking at the only person she hasn't accused.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Fifty Years Dead

Willa has settled into her home and bookstore with Pandora, her cat. When she accompanies the local realtor to a home to be sold and catalog the library, they discover a body with a dog standing guard. Time to solve another murder which may connect to the ghost who lives in the house. Great listen.

Nice story. Good setting

I like the setting and the story. The main character could be smarter and grow a little more.