Hex Marks the Spot

Hex Marks the Spot

By Madelyn Alt

3 out of 5 Covers

The continuing saga of Maggie O’Neill takes an odd turn as the mystery takes a back seat to the on-going soap opera that is the protagonist’s life.  Which is a shame, because the mystery actually has some interesting elements, such as the murder of an Amish man and delving into the myriad traditions of folk magic.  Because the mystery is secondary, there are no real red herrings. Just a fairly obvious culprit.

The saving grace of the story is, again, the use of the supernatural.  It actually plays a role in the mystery this time.  And the reader is also introduced to some of the history of the town, such as the ghost in the library.  There are hints that this history may also have to do with the dark forces that have led to the rise in murders in town.

But to get to those interesting tidbits, the reader does have to wade through quite a bit of soap opera as Maggie debates between dating the policeman or the bad boy magician; a trite and cliché triangle if ever there was one.  It’s not that these characters aren’t well written, but they’re not compelling. 

Having read a few books in the series now, I can ask myself what I would do differently.  Fiction exists as a heightened reality, which is why I’m intrigued by the use of the supernatural in a mystery story.  But most of the story given is merely reality.  The day-to-day routine and on-going romantic complications of Maggie may interest some, but I don’t feel that it should be the focus.  If the characters had more personality or quirks, a la the television show Castle, then I might want to know about their daily lives.  But a television show can tell 22+ stories a year versus on book a year.  TV can dole out character development over a longer period while still focusing on the mystery of the week.  But that focus is lacking in this series.  A mystery novel should be about the mystery and then entertaining characters.  The Bewitching Mystery series has so far given mysteries that are not well thought out while focusing on charming but not necessarily interesting characters.