A Toxic Trousseau: A Witchcraft Mystery by Juliet Blackwell

             It took me awhile to read this Witchcraft Mystery, which is unusual for me.  Normally I read these books very quickly after I pick them up from the library.  I think I hesitated this time because I was concerned about Lily and Sailor’s relationship.  People around Lily keep saying that because she is a witch she cannot have love.  I would hate to see something happen that would lead that to be true.

                It was only a matter of time before Oscar, Lily’s familiar, got Lily into trouble.  Always up to something, Oscar was in his pig form when he headbutted a woman in Lily’s store.  Now the woman, Autumn Jennings, is suing Lily for what Oscar did.  Lily does not think things need to go that far, and that the matter can be handled personally.  She goes to Autumn’s vintage shop to talk things out, but instead of having a conversation, Lily finds Autumn extremely ill.  Lily and her employee, Maya, who came with her, call the paramedics to try and save Autumn, but they are too late.  With Autumn’s sudden death being so strange, Lily sets out to pursue the possibility of a curse.

                Not that Lily is sure there was a curse in the first place.  Something else could have made Autumn so ill.  What brings a curse to mind is the fact that in Autumn’s possession is a trousseau that has a dark and legendary history attached to it.  As Lily investigates, she suspects more and more that the trousseau could have been what led to Autumn’s death.  Not necessarily because of a curse, though.  What Lily suspects is the arsenic from the dyes of the dresses is what killed Autumn.  What is suspicious about this is, how much arsenic was on the dresses that caused Autumn to be killed so quickly?

                While Lily works to figure out what happened to Autumn, she must also deal with overseeing the magic community.  The usual overseer, Aidan Rhodes, is out of town, and he is leaving Lily in charge.  Lily is not sure what to do with her new responsibilities, especially when people come to her to settle their disputes.  Fortunately, what Lily quickly figures out, is that once she mentions Aidan’s satchel, the people become very nervous and figure out a solution themselves.  Why everyone becomes so anxious about the satchel, Lily doesn’t know, but it does help her get out of some sticky situations.

                Through everything that is going on, Sailor is by Lily’s side.  Their relationship is becoming closer, and Sailor is even beginning to let his lighter side show.  They are creating a great and loving relationship together, but the thought of even moving in together is making Lily nervous.  It would mean a big change in the life she has worked so hard to build, and Lily must decide if that is what she wants.

                While I won’t tell you exactly what happens between Lily and Sailor by the end, I am happy to say that Lily is staying true to herself, and that her and Sailor’s relationship is going in a good direction.  Her relationship with Aidan, I’m not too thrilled with.  No matter what, Aidan always tries to find a way to undermine Lily.  After a long battle with insecurity, Lily has gained confidence in herself, yet Aidan must bash at that by telling Lily the way she got the confidence was wrong.  Now, maybe he’s right, that remains unknown, but what bothers me is that all the time Aidan works to brings Lily’s confidence up, then just as quickly he works to bring it back down.  The constant back and forth of his actions makes me think Aidan wants Lily to be subservient to him forever.