Murder by Death

I knew what I was getting into when I bought this; as a self-published book, my expectations weren't very high but the cover was so gorgeous, I thought... maybe.  Plus I needed a "book based entirely on its cover" for a challenge.

I gave 1 star for the cover, and 1 star because the author has the kernel of a good cozy mystery here.  The plot had potential: three women - natural born witches - and their cats, hiding in plain sight face exposure when their coffee shop is burned down with their chef inside and a black magic spell book is stolen.

Unfortunately the writing itself isn't strong; as usual the book would have benefitted greatly by going under the pen of a quality editor.  A copy editor, too, would have had a lot of work ahead of them, correcting grammar and pointing out all the missing words (articles are important!).

It's not enough to have a good idea and a great cover artist at your disposal, you have to be able to write in a way that allows you to communicate clearly; if you're writing fiction, you have to paint a picture with your words.

But man, I do love that cover.

[PopSugar 2015 Challenge: A book based entirely on its cover.]