I loved, loved this magical detective story with a side of buddy comedy. It had a layered storyline, witty dialogue, an intriguing mystery, surprising plot twists, and suspense. I was equally desperate to read it all at once to solve the mystery and also to savor it and make it last. Adair Finch was the most powerful warlock in the world, and one of the best private investigators for hire. But when his brother died, he retired from PI work and stopped living his life. Bree Blackstone, a twelve-year-old witch, bangs on Finch’s door at 4:34 am after her mother has been murdered and asking for Adair’s help. Finch reluctantly agrees to help Bree and thus begins an unlikely partnership and Adair’s resurrection. The interactions and juxtaposition between grumpy Adair and vibrant Bree (and mischievous Kull) was what really made this story so very good. The character arc for them was delightful despite the story being about murder. I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this story. I need more of these characters in my life.
Annie Ellicott, Jeff Hays and Justin Thomas James did a phenomenal job narrating the story and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly. Reading the story was great but listening to it raised the enjoyment to a whole other level. Soundbooth Theater narrations are always a step above other narrations.