The Witch on Twisted Oak by Susan C. Muller

Ruben Marquez may be a tough Houston cop, but when he gets called in on a murder his first thought is for his mother's safety since she lives next door.  During his investigation, he meets the supposed niece of the victim, Theresa Reyna, but he immediately senses she's not telling the whole story.

Right from the first pages, I knew I was going to enjoy this novel.  I enjoyed the mis-direction of Molly.  A unique character that I didn't expect to play such an important role.  By the time I was 30 pages into the book, I felt as though I'd know Ruben for ages and that I could easily be trading recipes with his mother later at coffee.

I wasn't disappointed in my expectations.  Mamacita, Ruben's mother, grew on me and I wanted to help with her problem.  While she was dealing with that, Ruben was dealing with the revelation that witches and their powers/intuitions were real.  A very interesting twist for a police detective to encounter.

I was kept in suspense the entire way and wasn't able to figure out what was going to happen next or why.  I would have stayed up all night reading if it weren't for obligations early the next day.  The only thing that I was left wanting, was the recipes for the dishes that Mamacita made in the opening chapters.  They had my mouth watering, but then she stopped cooking, a sure sign that she had much bigger problems to worry about.

Ruben's good looking partner, Adam Campbell, has his own story that's told in an earlier book The Secrets on Forest Bend.  Also in the works is the story of Detective Remy Steinberg.

To learn more about author Susan C. Muller, visit her website.

Thanks to Soul Mate Publishing for my review copy and for use of the cover image.