Home for a Spell: A Bewitching Mystery

Maggie O'Neill, "empath, intuitive, and sometimes witchy nice girl," is oh-so-slowly recovering from a broken ankle in Alt's sprightly seventh paranormal cozy set in Stony Mill, Ind. (after 2010's A Witch in Time). Though Maggie loves her temporary digs with Marcus Quinn, her doting wizard boyfriend, she doesn't want him to delay his back-to-college plans to care for her. Maggie finds a great deal on a place at New Heritage, a local apartment complex, but before she can sign the lease, she and Marcus discover its manager, Rob Locke, floating in the complex's pool, dead from blunt force trauma. Maggie's ex-boyfriend, policeman Tom Fielding, isn't thrilled that Maggie is once again connected to a murder case. As Rob's involvement in some unsavory doings at New Heritage becomes clearer, Alt's light brew of mystery and romance turns deliciously chilling. (Jan.)