Howling Hag Mysteries
Part of the collectionHowling Hag Mysteries→Best for readers who want cosy, funny village whodunits with a magical shiver and a scene-stealing talking cat at the centre of every case.
- Books3
- Arcs1
- Span2021–2024
- StatusOngoing
The series
At a glance.
A cosy-crime mystery series set in the same enchanted-yet-ordinary world as The Last Chance Hotel, but now led by its breakout star: Nightshade, the sharp, sardonic talking cat. Each book teams her with a different human sleuth in a village where nobody believes magic is real, then sets a puzzle turning on dark magic hiding in plain sight, an unearthly howl, a poisoning, an ancient curse. Nicki Thornton keeps the golden-age machinery of clues, suspects and reveals but wraps it in warmth and comedy, with peril kept firmly gentle. Across the run the series builds a lived-in community and a recurring cast of amateur detectives, all orbiting one very capable cat, while its themes of courage, trust and protecting your home carry from book to book.
Best for readers who want cosy, funny village whodunits with a magical shiver and a scene-stealing talking cat at the centre of every case.
Primary themes
Overall tone
- Suspenseful
- Funny
- Whimsical
Each mystery stands alone with its own lead sleuth, so they can be read in any order, but publication order (starting with The Howling Hag Mystery) follows the recurring cast and the village's growing brush with magic most naturally.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcLow sensitivity
Nightshade's village mysteries
A wily talking cat solves a run of cosy village crimes, each alongside a different amateur sleuth, as dark magic stirs beneath ordinary life.
The Howling Hag books trace Nightshade's run of village cases, each led by a new human partner. It opens with secret witch Raven Charming, who fears a rival is practising the darkest magic when a murder and an unearthly howl unsettle her community. The second case pairs the cat with unlucky Oakmoss Hornbeam and young reporter Veena Vale to break a run of bad luck and solve a poisoning; the third puts Veena centre stage as she battles an ancient curse creeping over her riverside town, convincing her friends to band together before dark magic swallows the place whole. Across the arc the mysteries stay cosy and clue-driven, the enchantment gentle, and the recurring cat the constant thread, with each book quietly deepening the sense of a community learning to believe what it sees.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 8–11
- Read aloud · 7–10
- Independent · 8–11
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Adult crossover
Low
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Low overall, and consistent.
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
About the author