A Piper Donovan Mystery by Mary Jane Clark, William Morrow, January 2014.
* An ARC was provided by Harper Collins/William Morrow and Edelweiss for an honest review.
Mary Jane Clark's THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC is set around St. Patrick's Day in New Orleans. Wedding cake baker Piper Donovan wins a contest to apprentice with the renowned Bertrand Olivier, a philandering baker with an amazing creative flair. She's starstruck and vows to learn as much as she can from the baker while she's there. Most of the action takes place on Royal Street in the French Quarter, where during her short stay Piper meets colorful local residents and shopkeepers pivotal to the story. Just after Piper arrives, murders start occurring within the same block as the bakery. A talk radio DJ trying to get higher ratings coins the murderer as the Hoodoo Killer. As usual, Piper winds up in the center of the murder investigation.
The story picks up about one month after the previous book in Clark's series, FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND, and a large plot point revolves around Piper's misadventure from that mystery and her resulting symptoms of possible PTSD. It's not necessary to read the previous book to understand why Piper reacts the way she does, as it's explained in this story. But while in New Orleans, Piper plays a small but significant role in a movie being shot in town in which her PTSD symptoms are amplified.
I don't prefer the author's method of making each scene a separate chapter, as sometimes it's hard to keep up with so many different points of view. However, this is Clark's writing style and probably what her fans expect from her stories.
I give this book four stars because of the complexity of the mystery and how Clark captures the vivacity of New Orleans, almost to the point of making the city a main character in the book. Red herrings abound, and most of the primary characters have motive and opportunity to be the killer. Clark's books aren't too light or dark and are enjoyable stories with just the right balance of action and dialogue, making them perfect to read over a weekend or at the beach.
If You Like This, You May Also Like: Other PIPER DONOVAN MYSTERIES by Mary Jane Clark, DADDY'S GONE A HUNTING and I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN (Apr '14) by Mary Higgins Clark, REGAN REILLY MYSTERIES by Carol Higgins Clark, KINSEY MILLHONE MYSTERIES by Sue Grafton
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