THE MAGICIAN'S DECEPTION

As usual, the tarot cards are correct in their warning of danger from a mysterious stranger.

Hope Bailey and her sister, Summer, are helping their grandmother Olivia Bailey, who’s joining her boyfriend, Morris Henshaw, for a weekend trip to his 50-year high school reunion. Each of them has packed enough for an around-the-world cruise. Olivia is going to miss the Halloween party the family usually holds at their mystic shop in Asheville, North Carolina, but which this year, as a favor to their friend Megan, Hope and Summer are giving as a joint party with her boyfriend's restaurant, the Green Goat, which has been having financial problems. As Olivia gets ready to leave, she's uneasy because Hope’s only tarot reading for the day turned up The Magician, a rarely seen card. Just as Olivia’s heading to the airport, two camper vans arrive, one carrying Lucas Deering, a friend from the sisters’ teen years. Morris’ son, Dylan, a down-to-earth doctor, doesn’t like Lucas flirting with Hope. He likes it even less when he learns that Lucas is a conspiracy theorist chasing down creatures like the chupacabra and sasquatch. The other van contains three people: quiet Erik, Collin, and his wildly jealous girlfriend, Amber, whose dish-throwing fight brings the arrival of Summer’s boyfriend, Nate Phillips, a police detective whose work could well clash with the family’s magical skills. All these conflicts pale in comparison to Hope and Dylan’s unplanned meeting in the Green Goat’s basement with Megan and her boyfriend, Daniel Drexler, who discover Collin's body in a pool of blood. Who most wanted Collin dead: his jealous girlfriend, a fellow conspiracy theorist, or someone who didn’t want him investing in the Green Goat? The motley crew must use all their skills to find his killer.

A touch of romance and magic combine with detection in this charming cozy.