An Enchanting Case Of Spirits (The Gin & Tarot Club #1) by Melissa Holtz – engaging paranormal mystery

An Enchanting Case of Spirits is delightful, fun, and engaging paranormal mystery filled with heart and strong female friendship.

Synopsis

When a fortieth birthday celebration leads to a ghostly visitor, four friends find themselves navigating surprising mysteries and spiritual hijinks, in this clever debut from Melissa Holtz.

Alyssa Mann isn’t adventurous, not since her husband died and she found herself the single mom of a teenage daughter. But there’s no way to avoid celebrating the big 4-0, so when her best friends drag her out for drinks and a tarot reading, she throws caution to the wind and decides to see what the spirits have to say. It’s all fun and games, until she wakes up the next morning with a wicked hangover—and a ghost perched on the edge of her bed.

Sheer panic sends her running to get help from Nick West, the (very attractive) detective who lives next door. When he finds no one inside, Alyssa has to accept that she really did see a ghost. As the dearly departed keep appearing, Alyssa and her friends do their best to learn how to control her newfound power. Trading insults with ghosts, tracking down family heirlooms, and getting closer to the skeptical but helpful Nick is more fun than Alyssa imagined. But when looking into one ghost’s past reveals unexpected—and unwelcome—facts about Alyssa’s late husband’s death, she discovers she just may be in over her head.

Review

An Enchanting Case of Spirits is a fabulous blend of paranormal, contemporary fiction, mystery, and romance.

We meet Alyssa on her 40th birthday—moping, grumpy, and drowning in grief two years after losing her husband in a car accident and she was driving the car. She’s put her life on pause ever since, so she’s less than thrilled when her best friends, Lanie and Nina, insist on celebrating the big 4-0. Their usual Thursday wine night takes an unexpected turn when Lanie suggests visiting a tarot reader, Corrine, who also happens to be a medium. They think maybe Alyssa can get closure by speaking to her late husband, Garrett, and if Corrine is genuine medium, they can call his spirit.

Except Garrett doesn’t show up. Instead, something else happens. The next morning, Alyssa wakes up to find a strange ghost at the foot of her bed—a man who introduces himself as Billy Garet. Panicked, she runs to her next-door neighbor, Nick West, a handsome detective who’s not buying the ghost story and assumes it’s an intruder. A quick Google search reveals Billy has been dead for two years.

From there, Alyssa’s life changes. Corrine tells her that she has a gift—that night, on Alyssa’s birthday, the seance unlocked her ability to see and communicate with spirits. Alyssa’s not thrilled (calling it a “curse” at first) and takes her sweet time accepting it. But more ghosts keep showing up, each with unfinished business, pulling her into cold cases—some connected to recent murder case and, surprisingly, her own accident.

It only took me about three chapters to get hooked. Once the ghosts entered the scene, I couldn’t put the book down. The writing is enchanting, fast-paced, and the small-town setting adds extra charm. The mystery-paranormal-romance mix worked beautifully.

Alyssa wasn’t instantly likable. Her grief was understandable, but she initially acted more like a sulky teenager than a 40-year-old woman—her daughter, Ava, felt more mature at times. Still, once she started helping spirits, she grew on me. She’s kind, snarky, and have learned to lean on her friends, accepting advice and critique with a good heart. Watching her work through grief, get closure, and open herself up to love again was touching and realistic.

The friendship in this book is the real heart of the story—romance takes a back seat, and I loved that. Lanie is bold, brash, and fiercely loyal, bringing humor and beauty to the trio. Nina, the childhood best friend, is the pragmatic cynic hiding her own mysterious and unhappy marriage to the town’s awful mayor. Why Nina continues to tolerate her husband and stay married to him is a mystery in itself. Corrine, the tech-savvy tarot reader, gradually becomes part of the trio despite not being able to see ghosts herself. Her dry, sassy banter with Alyssa was a delight.

The ghosts themselves were fantastic characters—Billy was snarky but likable, Jackson was less annoying to Alyssa but definitely adds color to story. and while some were dangerous due to their emotions, all they really wanted was help. Their backstories were touching, and solving their mysteries with the four women was a treat.

Nick West, meanwhile, was caring, loyal, and still nursing his own grief, but stubbornly skeptical. At first, he humors Alyssa, thinking her ghost talk is a breakdown. At one point, I wanted to unleash the ghosts on him myself—thankfully, author and Alyssa had the same idea. But after his encounter with ghosts, he softens, even if he still leans on physical evidence over supernatural claims.

The climax was a interesting. While I guessed the culprit at one point, the motive was a surprise, and the final revelations were deliciously scandalous. All the ghosts got justice, Alyssa’s home became ghost-free, and she found purpose—and maybe love—again. Nina’s personal mystery is left hanging, teasing the next book.

Overall, An Enchanting Case of Spirits is delightful, fun, and engaging paranormal mystery filled with heart and strong female friendship. I’m definitely continuing the series.

What to Expect

Paranormal twist
Cold cases & small-town secrets
Friendship and Mystery at the heart of the book
Grief & healing
Slow-burn romance
Witty banter & humor

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

What is your favorite paranormal mystery?

Just in case you missed,,,

• An Enchanting Case Of Spirits (The Gin & Tarot Club #1) by Melissa Holtz – engaging paranormal mystery
• A Week of Stories – On Paper and Off : Reading and Life log
• Beyond The Syllabus by Ankur Warikoo – motivational nonfiction for teens

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