Review: The Psychic’s The Things by Ada Bell

Posted April 8, 2024 by Lola in Fantasy, Mystery, Review / 1 Comment

The Psychic’s the Thing (Shady Grove Psychic Mystery #7)
by Ada Bell

My Rating: 3 stars

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

Blurb:
Enjoy this small town paranormal cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth by award-winning author Ada Bell.

Much Ado About Murder

When the local college announces the spring play, Aly’s roommate Amy proposes trying out together. Amy’s a drama major, so it should be fun. Aly’s surprised to be cast as understudy to the lead. Erica’s a real diva, so Aly vows to learn her lines and stay behind the scenes. But when a stage light falls onto their star, it’s curtains for Erica. Her death looks like a tragic accident until Aly receives a vision of murder.

Initially, the police think Aly killed Erica to take her part, but what they don’t know is how badly Amy wanted the role. Or how much she hated Erica. When Amy takes center stage as the prime suspect, Aly takes on the detective role once more to prove her friend’s innocence. She just needs to do it without further implicating herself.

Erica treated the entire cast and crew with contempt; who hated her enough to kill? Was it the ex-boyfriend forced to share the spotlight with the woman he once loved? The costume designer whose hard work wound up in tatters? Or was it the actress waiting in the wings to take Erica’s place? With Aly’s help, maybe the play’s the thing to catch the conscience of the killer.

The Psychic’s the Thing is the seventh book in the Shady Grove Psychic Mysteries series. This small town paranormal mystery with an amateur female sleuth will appeal to fans of Annabel Chase, Amy Boyles, and Lily Webb.

My Review

I received a free copy from the author through BookSirens and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really like this series, but I didn’t enjoy book 6 in the series due to a certain event where the main character changes the timeline. Nevertheless I couldn’t help but be excited to hear there were more stories to come about Aly. I really like reading about Aly, her scientific mind and the way she solves mysteries as well as her psychic powers.

Let me start with the mystery, this book had a great mystery. Once Erica is found dead I thought I had figured it out, it seemed so obvious and I was pretty convinced I knew who had done it. Then Aly starts investigating and more truths and information comes to light and suddenly I wasn’t as sure anymore. There was a clue I had figured out almost immediately and I was correct about it, but that didn’t lead straight to the answer for the mystery. There are some great twists throughout the mystery. I liked how Aly ruled out some suspects throughout the book and the twist at the end was a good one and made sense. The only minor dislike I have about the mystery is the fact that Aly hardly uses her powers to solve this one, there are only a few visions he gets.

The thing I kept struggling with throughout the book is the timeline change. My brain just can’t wrap itself around it. I have vivid memories of past events and every time I have to wonder whether those actually happened or not. Or try to remember when and how Aly met someone in this timeline. And the actual events of this timeline are only told in a short info dump in the previous book, so those details don’t stick as well in my mind than the previous 5 books filled with events. I just really struggled with it, it makes me confused and I hate feeling confused while reading. I definitely could’ve used more hints and notes about what happened in this timeline.

This book also has some romance drama which I didn’t care for. In the original timeline Aly dates Sam, but now after the changed the timeline she’s dating Cal, but she still has feelings for Sam. At the end of book 6 she chooses Cal, but in this book the drama starts anew with her wondering if she made the right choice. I just want her to decide and stick with as I don’t like the romance drama. Ofcourse Sam also has the worst possible fiancé who hates Aly and I just don’t like that trope, like how could Sam fall for someone like that? We never get a clue about what he sees in his fiancé. The romance was never my favorite part of this series, but I struggle with it even more now. I don’t feel Aly’s emotions and love for Cal as I didn’t read about them growing closer. And Aly only keeps thinking about how much they make sense, but I don’t actually feel her love for Cal, just the logical sense they make, which isn’t very romantic.

I also struggled with the fact the book feels different, no longer does Aly live with her brother and his son, but she now lives on campus. Instead of the small town vibe it has more of a campus and student vibe. The same characters are still there, but it still feels different. That loss of familiarity and comforting vibe bothers me. And despite that, some parts do feel familiar, like the way Aly solves the mystery. The writing is good and the book is an easy read. I just hope by the next book I’ve settled a bit more securely in this time frame as I do really like this series and want to continue it.

To summarize: The Psychic’s The Thing is a solid paranormal cozy mystery. The mystery is great, I thought I had things figured out from the start, but then new information comes to light and I started to doubt my suspicions. I had one clue figured out from the start, but that didn’t lead straight to the murderer. The mystery has some great twists and turns and I really enjoyed seeing it all play out. Aly rules out some suspects along the way, which I like, I just wish she had used her psychic powers a bit more. The thing I struggle with is the timeline change, in the last book the timeline changes so everything from the first 5 books no longer happened quite that way. It just confuses me to no end and I remember the events and details from the first 5 books not the short summary of what has changed that was in book 6. It just doesn’t work for me, my brain can’t wrap itself around it and I keep feeling confused and I dislike feeling confused while reading. It also doesn’t quite has the same feel or familiar vibe, with Aly now living somewhere different and there being more focus on the campus than on the small town. Despite that it still is an enjoyable book, it’s easy to read and I really like the mystery and seeing everything play out. I just hope the next book will be easier and I can settle more securely in this timeline.