Sparks & Drops by Susan Laine
2 1/2 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
Gus is the owner of Four Corners' occult shop and is intrigued by a new browsing customer, sharing information about the Wicca practice, Gus soon learns that Niall is a private investigator looking into the disappearance of a local witch and Gus soon finds himself helping the PI with his investigation. Niall is good at what he does but first he needs to learn what he can about the circles that Joy (the missing witch) moved in, finding himself with an assistant Niall soon finds himself on the outskirts of a murder investigation as Joy's friends are being picked off one by one. Niall & Gus soon find themselves heading for unknown danger and their friendship is quickly turning into something more, but they both have to survive and solve the case before they can see where their friendship is going.
Okay so I wasn't too impressed with this story and I think that was all down to Gus, because I took a dislike to him early on. Niall is hired to find a missing woman and his trail leads him to Gus' shop, Gus finds himself drawn to Niall and ends up offering to help him navigate the Wicca world. Together they investigate and find themselves in the middle of something that they never saw coming. Niall is very open minded as he learns the different practices and at first welcomes Gus' help but then as the case becomes serious he wants Gus to step back but Gus has his own idea's. Gus is very accepting of everything except when he feels someone is disparaging his chosen religion, he is also head strong so when Niall tells him to step back Gus has no intention of leaving the case alone.
Niall was my favorite character because he truly was open minded about what he learned and saw, he was also very patient and pretty easy going. Gus said he was open minded but the second someone (usually Niall) said something he didn't agree with he would start preaching and lecturing, he also saw attacks on his religion where none were. The case is interesting but slightly bizarre, especially with the way that things progress, as in the culprit and the reason behind the murders, I could only surmise that the culprit was a complete psychopath!
Learning about the Wicca practice was interesting and I never knew there were so many different traditions but you can clearly see the research Susan Laine has put into this book. The secondary characters were well written and really added to the story. I did enjoy the story and liked how it progressed, I liked that Gus and Niall are at the very start of their relationship and we see them as they work around the case and their attraction, but as I said earlier the reason of the mystery was kind of senseless and I really disliked Gus.
I recommend this to those who love Wicca mystery stories, solving murders, tearing head first into danger, seeing the beginning of a new relationship and a happy ending.
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