A Hint of Mischief is the third book in Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Fairy Garden Mystery series. This light fantasy cozy mystery novel is an engaging page-turner that will keep you on your toes as you try to piece together – whodunnit?
A Hint of Mischief is the first book that I have read in this series, but the book is so enjoyable that I can’t complain about not having read the previous books. That being said, I will still recommend that you read the previous books before you dive into this one just so that you can enjoy the full experience of Courtney, her fairy – Fiona, and the myriad of other characters featured in this series.
When Courtney is commissioned to throw a fairy party for a sorority sister’s birthday, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. It’s a bit last minute, but Courtney has faith that with some help from a few friends she can get it done. What she doesn’t expect is to be roped into the group of “friends” and begin to discover that not all is well within the group. A spa day ends up taking a left turn and things only get worse from there when one of the attendees, famous Farrah Lawson, ends up dead. The big questions? Who did and why? Can Courtney find her way to the truth?
A Hint of Mischief is, for me, a moderately paced cozy mystery novel. I love the twists and turns in this book. There is drama right from the beginning with a strange thief making their way through the various shops in the square. Then along comes the bigger mystery of the big murder that happens. While Courtney isn’t the one to find the body or anything she’s determined to find the truth as to what happened and why. Of course, as is typical, she has the local PD warning her off the case and to “let the professionals handle it.” If that warning didn’t work the first few times she’s stumbled into a case, I don’t think it’s going to work this time either. Do you? LOL! I have to admit that I both admire Courtney’s sleuthing skills, and feel that she needs to fine tune them a bit. Columbo she is not. LOL! But it’s not like she’s a dyed in the wool sleuth. She follows the signs where the point and some...she just kinda makes up along the way.
The one thing that I love the most about this book is the attention to detail. I absolutely appreciate how the author takes into consideration that some readers might not have read the previous books. So what does she do? She gives readers little details in the right places to fill in some of the gaps and questions that we might have as we read this book. In just the right place you’ll get a little tidbit of information to flesh out the story and make it more engaging. Then we get some backstory in the right spots to give us more about certain characters to better understand them, and in some cases...even suspect them.
There were a couple of characters that I felt that Courtney gets a bit hung up on in suspecting them. One in particular I had a hard time suspecting her of really being the killer. She just didn’t fit the profile no matter the drama that she had to go through with Farrah. Then add in some surprises that I would have never seen coming of certain characters making an appearance. I have to say that Courtney dodged a bullet with her ex. I mean...yikes! Self-centered much? If I had to say, I think that he was my least favorite character – even his stint was brief. LOL! Well, him and Farrah. Just wait until you learn more about her! OMG!
My favorite character? Besides Pixie? What?! I love cats and she sounds absolutely adorable! LOL! Okay, okay, seriously, my favorite character was probably – Fiona. She’s striving so hard to be better and get better. She’s also pretty helpful in quite a few moments of this book. If it weren’t for her, I think that things would have taken a bit of a dark turn for Courtney as she plays detective.
I loved the various relationships between the characters in this book. They are all so well done. You immediately get the familial connections between some and then you get the community connections with others. It’s so enjoyable as each individual gets a moment to shine. Of course, they also get lots of moments to gossip, but I love the connected feel that I get from all of them. I also liked the romance angle between Courtney and Brady. I love that it’s not rushed and that things gradually are developing between them, with some sweet surprises tucked in as well.
If you are a fan of cozy mystery novels with some fantasy elements sprinkled in then this the book to pick up. If you have been reading this series and enjoying every second of it, then I highly recommend you grab this book and continue reading. I’m looking forward to book four for sure! I fully intend to catch up with the two previous books in this series as well.
I am choosing to rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I did feel that the pace of this story could have used a little pep to speed it up a little bit, this book was an absolute delight to read. There are some delicious recipes at the end to try, I just wish there were more! All of the food described sounded absolutely delicious. I look forward to more of Courtney’s and Fiona’s adventures and sleuthing!
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