At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities
by Heather Webber
I’ve been a fan of Heather Webber’s writing for some time. I
thoroughly enjoyed her Nina Quinn mysteries - a compulsively readable series
that I wish hadn’t ended. I wrote a little bit about that series here https://storymusing.blogspot.com/2021/04/book-review-nine-quinn-mysteries-by.html
Her standalone novels often feature magical realism, another
favorite genre for me. I reviewed Midnight at the Blackbird Café here https://storymusing.blogspot.com/2021/04/book-review-midnight-at-blackbird-cafe.html
At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities falls
into the magical realism realm. It’s set in Driftwood, Alabama, on the coast.
Maggie runs the coffee shop, Magpie’s, that her mother opened before she
disappeared in a riptide swimming incident many years ago. Like a Magpie,
Maggie collects little things and has an inspired ability to match people to these
“treasures” that always mean more to them than anyone would suspect.
Driftwood is a close-knit community of wonderful quirky
characters, very small town and homey. For example, Jolly Smith has a pet
chicken that she walks with the Snail Slippers walking group. Sienna has coordination
issues and is looking for a job where she doesn’t break everything. Estrelle
makes pronouncements and has a terrible reputation for taking revenge, albeit
in a witchy way, if someone does not follow her recommendations.
Everyone is very worried as Maggie’s father, Dez, has been
acting a bit oddly. He’s talking about a ghost in the house and he has a
tendency to collect things and not ever clear out. Then rumors start that he
might be about to sell the coffee shop.
My heart rate skyrocketed. This
didn’t make sense. My father wouldn’t sell the coffee shop. My mother’s coffee
shop. Magpie’s was a fixture in Driftwood. It was the heart of this
town. Closing it would be devastating.
Maggie’s blood pressure has been a threat lately, with a warning
that she could have a stroke, and the rumors of her father selling the coffee
shop don’t help.
In a fit of pique, Maggie posts an ad outside the coffee shop
for someone to be a caretaker for her father and help him clean out his house.
But she quickly takes it down.
Into this atmosphere drives Ava, half running from the
terrible circumstances of her former boyfriend’s death and her own scary
childhood of seizures. She’s been in remission from them, but something is
going on and she’s scared they might come back.
Someone sent Ava the advertisement that
Maggie put up then tore down and threw away. Ava has her own questions about
how it arrived.
The letter had been sent by a
dead man.
There was no doubt in my mind.
Fine. There was a little doubt.
Okay, a lot of doubt. Buckets of it.
Everyone seems to have their own little secrets in this book,
nothing too terrible, and some even they don’t know.
Along with her seizures, Ava has a hyperacute sense of smell
and hearing that she doesn’t really want anyone to know about. They factor into
the story in lovely ways. When Ava arrives at the coffee shop, there are a lot
of sounds – “the blender, grinder, steamer, rattling ice, clank of silverware,
music, and voices…..” But they somehow don’t overwhelm her. “Why did the whole
town feel like a familiar song?”
Is it all coincidence, conniving trickery, unexplained but
perfectly legitimate medical phenomenon, magic, or some otherworldly
phenomenon?
I adore coincidences in fiction. I don’t need things to be
scientifically and convincingly explained, as long as I’ve been given a good
reason to suspend my disbelief. (Which is odd because the truth is that I’m
something of a doubting Thomas in real life.)
The writing is lovely and humor features beautifully. There’s
a dog that gives a quabark, half quack and half bark, according to Ava.
There are romantic interests for each Maggie and Ava, Donovan
and Sam, that feature prominently in the story. They don’t have their own
character arc, though they do have a little bit of mystery to their actions and
motivations.
I love how you get Maggie and Ava’s perceptions about what is
going on. They aren’t unrealiable narrators, but their perspective changes
slightly as the story progresses and they find things out, which is real.
It happens to all of us.
It was a very relaxing read, not too taxing or strenuous.
I anticipate reading more of Webber’s standalone novels and
giving her Lucy Valentine mysteries a try soon.
