Thursday 10 November 2016

K. A. LAITY - HARD-BOILED WITCH: TOIL AND TROUBLE (BOOK 2) (2014)


Synopsis/blurb......

Hecate Sidlaw finds herself caught between a wannabe witch and one of the oldest hereditary powers in the land. When she and her familiar Henry end up as seconds in a magical duel, will anyone be left standing at the end of the shootout? Enter the dark streets and weird magic of HARD-BOILED WITCH and your life will never be quite the same. This is the second episode in the short story series.

In truth, not a book that will live long in the memory but you know what - it was short, (27 pages), it was seasonal - I read it around Halloween, it had witches and it was a lot shorter than Rowling's HP offerings.


Hecate's working away, her new neighbours turn up and introduce themselves. They're interrupted by the arrival of a young woman done up in her best Stevie Nicks clobber. A young witch is being harassed - drum roll please - Hecate Sidlaw and her cat Henry to the rescue.

Spells turning cobwebs into intruder alarms, pin-sticking magic in beeswax figurines, protection charms and a silent toad called Elvis, we climax with some duelling witches and a granny riding to the rescue.

An enjoyable half-hour or so's reading. A few cultural references, a bit of history and a bit of humour interjected into a narrative fuelled by an over-active imagination.

4 from 5

I read the first in the series of short Hard-Boiled Witch tales - Hocus Pocus You're Dead last year.

K. A Laity has her website here. Catch her on Twitter - @katelaity

An author I'll be reading more from in the future.

Read in October, 2016
Bought on Amazon for Kindle.
27 pages.

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good story to read for the time of year, Col. And it sounds as though there are some fun, interesting elements in it, too. Glad you enjoyed.

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    1. Another notch on the scoreboard and a bit of a fun read. I like what I've tried of her work so far.

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  2. I remember being intrigued when you mentioned this author before, I should give her a try.

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    1. WHITE RABBIT from her has a seance scene apparently.....only saying.

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