Toil and Trouble - (Lily Dale Mystery) by Wendy Corsi Staub (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Double double, toil and trouble . . . Bella Jordan faces ghosts, witches and a very real foe in the new instalment of New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub's heart-warming cozy mystery series set in Lily Dale, New York's Spiritualist home.

A relative newcomer to Lily Dale, the quirky New York lakeside village populated by spiritual mediums, young widow Bella Jordan doesn't have time to believe in supernatural entities. She has enough to tackle, what with running Valley View guesthouse, wrangling her seven-year-old son Max and their growing army of pets, and dealing with her lovable but meddlesome neighbors.

So when Pandora Feeney, Valley View's highly eccentric - and reputedly highly psychic - owner, portentously predicts that something wicked this way comes, Bella's more worried about the fact that Pandora's announced she plans to move back into the guesthouse than about approaching danger. Besides, the local theatre is putting on a performance of Macbeth, so it's no wonder that sorcery and black magic are in the air.

Lily Dale is safe. Bella's sure of it. Even if one of her female guests at Valley View is setting her oddly on edge and Max is seeing witches behind every corner. Little does Bella know that a storm is coming, with the power to blow her life, and Max's, right off course . . . or far, far worse.

This charming, characterful cozy mystery series, which invites readers to draw their own conclusions on whether or not ghosts are real, is a great choice for fans of Charmed, The Good Witch and cosy paranormal mystery series like The Vampire Knitting Club, the Bailey Ruth Ghost novels and Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly mysteries.

Review Quotes

Nine Lives hooked me from page one. In fact I didn't want to put it down: with warm characters, an intriguing setting and just a touch of the unexplainable it's a thoroughly satisfying read-- " Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries, on Nine Lives"

[A] lovingly described, quirky, small-town setting . . . [with] sympathetic, well-delineated characters-- "Booklist on Dog Days"

A touch of the paranormal, a hint of romance, and a sweet and sympathetic protagonist will lure readers to enchanting Lily Dale again and again-- "Publishers Weekly on Something Buried, Something Blue"

Charming . . . Anyone who enjoys Nancy Atherton's "Aunt Dimity" mysteries will be drawn to this cozy-- "Library Journal on Something Buried, Something Blue"

Cozy fans will enjoy the company of Bella and crew-- "Publishers Weekly on Prose and Cons"

Staub introduces a host of warmly appealing characters and throws in a touch of the otherworldly. Recommend for readers who enjoy the TV show Charmed -- "Library Journal on Nine Lives"

The real treat is the slow-growing development of the characters-- "Kirkus Reviews on The Stranger Vanishes"

This warm, small-town series will appeal to fans of the Hallmark Channel's The Good Witch -- "Booklist on Dead of Winter"