Potions and Commotion

Jessica Sprigg expected to inherit a bookshop, not magical powers, mysterious new relatives, and a talking cat with an opinion on absolutely everything.

But after the death of her great-aunt, Jessica moves to Lavender Lake and discovers that magic is real, she’s a book witch, and her inherited familiar, Astrix, is equal parts helpful, hilarious, and infuriating. With an enchanted shop to run, newfound cousins to meet, and an entire magical town to explore, Jessica is ready to begin a strange new chapter.

Then she wakes up to find herself splashed across the front page of The Grapevine, Lavender Lake's notorious gossip magazine, alongside a collection of scandalous and categorically untrue rumours.

Jessica makes the grave mistake of confronting its owner in front of half the town. When she visits him the following morning to apologise, her words fall on very dead ears.

Now Jessica is the prime suspect in his murder. Half of Lavender Lake wanted the victim silenced, however, and untangling their secrets proves almost as difficult as controlling her newly awakened magic. To make matters worse, the grumpy and irritatingly handsome sheriff can’t decide whether to enlist Jessica's help or lock her up.

Handcuffs. And not in the good way.

With Astrix providing more sarcasm than assistance and a killer determined to keep the truth buried, Jessica must clear her name before she becomes the next front-page tragedy. But someone in Lavender Lake isn't who they appear to be, and murder may be the least dangerous secret hiding in town.

In Lavender Lake, every book holds a secret, and someone is dying to keep theirs.

???? Clean cozy mystery
???? Witch sleuth
???? Sarcastic cat familiar
???? Snarky family members