Review: The Grim Steeper by Gretchen Rue

Posted September 11, 2024 by Lola in Fantasy, Mystery, Review / 2 Comments

The Grim Steeper (Witches’ Brew Mystery #3)
by Gretchen Rue

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Bookstore owner Phoebe Winchester is putting on her first major author event when a body is discovered and the plot goes off the rails in this cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Jenn McKinlay.

Amateur witch Phoebe Winchester is excited to host her first big author event at the Earl’s Study, her book and tea store. The author, Sebastian Marlow, is a famous birder excited to put Raven Creek on the map for his rediscovery of a presumed-extinct bird. When Sebastian is found dead before his planned bird hike, where he expected to prove the existence of the bird to fellow birding enthusiasts, it’s obvious someone wanted him to be extinct, too.

Sebastian had a few unfriendly encounters with his staff—including his recently fired manager, who was seen arguing with him at the author event. Phoebe is determined to figure out who killed Sebastian, worried that it will negatively affect her store’s image that her biggest guest author got killed. With the clock ticking, she enlists the help of Rich Lofting, the handsome local private investigator, to help her look into the murder.

It’s not long before another victim is pecked off and someone close to Phoebe is the suspect. She’ll have to work quickly to uncover the killer and figure out who’s up to fowl play in the third charming book in this warm and witchy series.

My Review

I received a free copy form the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really like this series and was excited when I spotted this one on Netgalley. Shortly after getting approved for a copy I started reading this one as I just wanted to read it right awat. I really enjoyed The Grim Steeper, it was great to read more about Phoebe, her store, her witchy powers, her friends and the town she lives in. It really nails that cozy vibe and I enjoyed it.

While I really enjoyed this book, I have to admit the mystery didn’t hook me as much. Not quite sure why, but I just wasn’t as invested in the mystery. There also was this one clue that was interesting to me and I thought it was really important, turned out I was right, but the characters didn’t pay that one as much attention. Part of this is because if was kinda vague, but I had still hoped for more. I also would’ve liked some more clues and twists to come to light before the big reveal. Now everything came to light at once, the murder, the motives and some secrets and it just was more overwhelming this way and made it feel even more like the characters and police hadn’t even been close to solving it.

Luckily everything besides the mystery was awesome. I really like reading about Phoebe. There are plenty of fun scenes in and around her store, about her baking bread and brewing tea. Or buying delicious pastries from the store next door. I like seeing Phoebe interact with her friends and other townsfolk. There’s also more about Phoebe’s witchy powers, she runs into some issues with her powers acting up and I liked seeing how that progressed and how she tried to figure things out. The romance also progresses a bit which was nice to see. I also liked how Phoebe and Rich teamed up a few times to look into some clues. I liked seeing the town celebrate the 4th of July. It was great! This book really has that cozy vibe and I like seeing the town come alive and reading about Phoebe and the other characters.

To summarize: Another great installment in this series. I really like the cozy vibe of this series and had a great time reading about Phoebe, the town and the other characters. The mystery didn’t grip me as much, although I did like seeing Phoebe investigate. A lot of the truth only comes to light after the reveal about who the murderer is and I would’ve liked to see some of those reveals earlier. There also was a clue I thought was important and didn’t get much attention. Besides my issues with the mystery I had a great time reading this book. I really enjoyed reading about Phoebe and seeing how she ran her store. I also liked the plot line involving her witchy powers that are acting up, which is something she has to figure out. There is some development in the romance as well, which was nice to see. And just so many cozy scenes involving the characters, the store and town. And Bob the cat is so fun to read about as well. I hope there will be more books in this series!