Bell, Book, and Murder

by Rosemary Edghill

This book is actually three mysteries bound together (Speak Daggers to Her, Book of Moons, Bowl of Night), starring Bast, a Gardnerian witch who reluctantly becomes an amateur detective and spiritual warrior. Written by a Gardnerian priestess, they're absolutely hilarious and the best commentary on the Pagan lifestyle and community I've ever read. They manage to show how a modern Pagan's struggle to be a realist, a mystic, and a New Yorker all at once. Best of all, Bast isn't perfect; she isn't always in the right place at the right time, and she screws up royally on occasion. Just like a real person. I was laughing from the first page to the last, and all the while wheezing, "I know these people!"

Reviewed by Diane Sylvan