Title: Body at the Crossroads: A Viking Witch Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Ratatoskr Press
Author: Cate Martin
Pages: 194pp
Price: $11.99 / $3.99
With her career as an illustrator stalled, and her mother recently deceased, Ingrid Torfa finds herself at loose ends, and on the verge of homelessness. Bidding good-bye to her childhood home, she fills her Volkswagon with her precious art supplies and her cat Mjolner and heads north to live with the only family she has left: her grandmother. But all is not quiet in the little fishing village on the shores of Lake Superior. There are secrets here; very old secrets … and they are Ingrid’s to protect, if she can just find the magic that lies deep within her ….
I am always on the hunt for new paranormal mysteries to read, especially those with a more Pagan-friendly bent. So when I saw “Viking Witch” in the subtitle, I immediately grabbed a copy of Body at the Crossroads.
Over all, I enjoyed the book. Ingrid is an appealing protagonist, and I love the relationship that she has with her grandmother. And I really enjoyed the background laid out for the fishing village, how it came to be, and why its biggest secret needs to be protected. (Sorry, no spoilers.)
The mystery itself wasn’t much of a mystery. The villain was obvious; it was only the motivation for the murder that needed to be revealed. (I have the feeling that the source of the villain’s power is going to play into future volumes. There are forces out there that want to destroy the village, and will use any means at their disposal.)
Body at the Crossroads is a fun, if very light and fluffy read. The characters are sympathetic, and the evolving relationship between Ingrid and her grandmother that lies at the heart of the story is a strong one; I would keep reading just for that, even without the mysteries to be solved.
Recommended to fans of The Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles by Rebecca Chastain, The High Society Lady Detective series by Sara Rosett, the Sonoma Witches series by Gretchen Galway, and A Witch of Edgehill Mystery series by Melissa Erin Jackson.
[Reviewed by Rebecca Buchanan.]
