In a Witch’s Wardrobe: A Witchcraft Mystery by Juliet Blackwell

               In a Witch’s Wardrobe, in my opinion, is the best book in the Witchcraft Mystery series so far.  Unfortunately, it has a very sad ending.  An ending I hope gets cleared up quickly in the next book.         

                In some ways it is a surprise that Lily Ivory is going to the Art Deco ball.  Many would think it’s not her thing.  To make the situation even more surprising, Lily is attending the ball with Aidan Rhodes, a male witch that Lily does not always get along with.  They spend most of their time butting heads, and it is rare to find them not disagreeing on one matter or another.  To see them on a “date” together is not exactly what people would expect.

                Despite the surprises surrounding Lily’s attendance, she is looking to have a good time at the ball.  This is why it’s especially unnerving, that practically immediately upon their arrival, Lily encounters something strange.  A woman, Miriam, literally runs into Lily.  While this was an accident, Lily instantly senses something off about the woman.  She also feels that she should know Miriam from somewhere, but she does not know where.

Concerned about Miriam’s wellbeing, Lily wants to find out more about her, but Aidan tells her to ignore what she is feeling and leave things alone.  This is easier said than done for Lily, especially when she finds Miriam ill in the bathroom.  The illness takes a drastic turn when Miriam falls asleep and no one can wake her.  As others try to help her, Lily sees Miriam’s reflection trapped in the mirror.  It is then that Lily knows for sure something supernatural is going on.

                While Lily is trying to figure out what happened to Miriam, her friend, Inspector Carlos Romero, asks her to look into the death of a young woman, Tarra.  Romero thinks some type of witchcraft was involved in her death.  As he is the police and Lily is a witch, Romero believes it would be much easier for Lily to ask questions and get answers than him.  That, however, is where Lily’s assistance is supposed to end.  Questions only, and absolutely no investigating.

Lily is fully willing to comply with Romero’s wishes, until she finds out that Miriam and Tarra are connected.  She realizes that in order to help Miriam, she has to figure out what happened to Tarra, and she has to do it before it’s too late.              

                I was so happy for Lily in this book because she finally started to find love after not having it for so long.  Then the sad ending came, leaving everything in doubt.  Fortunately, Lily still has her friends, a group of people she is getting more confident with by the day.  Her insecurity, created from being on her own for so long, does still appear around people she doesn’t know, but around those she does, Lily is becoming more sure of herself.  However, I’m not sure she should have such confidence in some of the people that are around her.  As the series goes on, I’m led to wonder about Lily’s familiar, Oscar.  It is not always clear as to where his true loyalties lie.