The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder by Kiri Callaghan – Review

Published: October 7, 2025

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Series: The Hemlock Saga #1

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Pages: 445 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
“For all intents and purposes, we are still blissfully separated from the mortals, but there have been…complications.”

When a rise in London’s supernatural crime puts Fey society at risk of discovery, the Winter Council turns to an unlikely solution: Avery Hemlock, the changeling they sentenced to 500 Years of Nightmares. Inherently lacking social grace and missing approximately two centuries of world knowledge, Avery must find a way to acclimate and solve the case or lose her probationary freedom.

After being left at the altar and dropping out of medical school, Saga Trygg attempts to rekindle her faith in life, humanity, and witchcraft. But when her new neighbor, Avery, accidentally reveals the Fey that have been living among humanity all along, Saga realizes magic is far more than prayers, intention, and candles.

Each faced with navigating an unfamiliar world, the two form an unexpected partnership—but shortly into Avery’s investigation, they discover the threat might be closer to Saga than either of them imagined, and Avery will do anything to protect the first friend she’s had in more than two hundred years.

By the time I got around to reading The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder I had forgotten why I requested it in the first place and what it was even supposed to be about. Fortunately, it hooked me from the very first pages! This book has a lot going on, but that means it also has a lot going for it – so many things could snag someone’s attention! I, as always, love a good mystery within a fantasy setting.

The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder follows Avery Hemlock, a half-fey who’s missed two centuries worth of world events but who is expected to solve murders by the mysterious yet demanding Winter Council, and Saga Trygg, a medical school drop out who’s embracing her family’s witchy legacy. The two meet at the café owned by Saga’s family and it turns out that Avery has been put up in the flat above her (221B Baker Street) by the Winter Council – the group of powerful fey who oversee many of the magical goings-on in London. Avery has been assigned to investigate the death of a nurse, who when autopsied, turned out to have straw for brains. Saga is asked to consult when Avery realizes she has both modern medical training and some magical knowledge and the two really hit it off. Things quickly become more complicated when other victims pop up and it’s clear that something more disturbing than they could have imagined is going on.

I really enjoyed all the Sherlock and Baker Street Irregulars references sprinkled throughout the story. For instance, Saga’s family are the Hudsons and have owned the property and café for many, many generations. Avery has Sherlock-esque deduction skills, though I admit they weren’t usually on display in this book. To be fair, she’s been out of the loop for 200 years and had never seen a car before, much less the internet, or modern medicine. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, though I would have preferred something a little more drawn out when it came to their admissions of attraction to one another. I also thought that sooo much more could have been done with Avery’s introduction to the modern world, be it funny, shocking, or just plain fascinating.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and I’ll be keeping my eye out for news of the sequel. This has the potential to be a great series of mysteries and I’m curious to see if there will be some overarching plot or if it will simply be a mystery of the week style. Either way, I would enjoy it immensely!