Again, a fine story. I want to keep knowing what happens next.

I'm really glad to see that Emerald has taken up yoga--I think it's a good move for her. This series just gets better and better, and it's beginning to transcend the rather self-conscious limits imposed by the notion of a "tea-shop" mystery. (It's great to give a protagonist identifiable leitmotifs/totems,habits, brands, etc., but the amount of time spent elaborating Emerald's particular commodity fetishes was starting to make her seem a little emotionally dissociated.)

I guess the one (minor) gripe I have with these novels is really a matter of personal taste: the idea of the "paranormal" (with demons, light shows, and witchcraft) can easily slip into a fairly reified (not to mention commodified) version of spirituality. But seeing Emerald begin to reconnect with her energy-body makes me feel like Yasmine Galenorn is herself on the verge of taking a great leap of faith, and leaving the more constricting elements of the tea-cozy genre behind. She doesn't need them.