A Trinket for the Taking by Victoria Laurie

Summary:

Dovey Van Dalen has a gorgeous day planned for her 200th driving her new Porsche, admiring the cherry blossoms abloom in her adopted city of Washington DC, and a little pampering. But her boss has other ideas. A powerful artifact has been stolen, and he fears it’s causing chaos in the unmagical world . . . The rich and connected Ariti family has suffered a string of suspicious deaths, with no signs of foul play. Yet each member has died in the way they feared most. As the enchanting agent most skilled at blending in with mere mortals, Dovey must find answers and retrieve the dangerous trinket. There’s just one unexpected by the time Dovey arrives at the art gallery where the Ariti patriarch died, FBI agent Grant “Gibs” Bartholomew has taken control of the scene. Dovey needs his cooperation to investigate—but she’ll have to hide her abilities, and her true objective, from a man who uncovers deceptions every day. And as they inch nearer a deadly truth, both will face danger even the spellbound would be lucky to survive (Goodreads)

Thoughts:

A Trinket For The Taking is a well written mystery and fantasy novel, with hints of romance. Victoria Laurie does a great job with incorporating the creative concept of mystics, and how they can embed their powers into trinkets, surpassing the boundaries of physics and chemistry. I was constantly hooked in and the book did not drag on. The ending left me shocked, but it tied the whole book together and all the pieces of the mystery finally click together when the culprit was revealed.

The main characters are Dovey Van Dalen, Grant Barlow (Gib), Elric, Ursula, and Lavender. While working together to solve the mystery, Dovey and Gib begin growing fond of each other. The lighthearted banter between the two and the constant playful flirting provided a nice break from the murders. The relationship was portrayed well and I thought it was very cute. However, Dovey faces a lot of internal struggles, as Gib is unaware that she is a powerful mystic who can’t age, simply believing that she is another fellow detective. Although Dovey attempts to keep her distance from Gib, she slowly falls in love with him and relents. Furthermore, Dovey has a complicated relationship with Elric. She has been working for him for a long time, as Elric “bound” Dovey and they have a bond which forces Dovey to be honest with Elric. For a long time, Dovey was very loyal and believed she loved Elric, even though Elric was married to another woman and slept around during his business trips. I like how the author ends this complicated relationship by having Dovey come to terms with the extent of her love towards Elric.

As mentioned before, this book was paced really well with good action scenes and suspenseful mystery along the way. I was really captivated by the scene where dovey was tasked with retrieving a stolen item from Lavender’s base. When Dovey was discovered by Lavender’s pet snake and got bitten, I was so shocked. Using a pendant trinket which could rewind time was so creative and definitely made me enjoy it more, as it was cool to see what Dovey would do with only a few attempts to rewind time before the trinket wore off. Furthermore, suspense scenes were well done as well. The book didn't have any slow or boring parts, as there was always another murder in the Ariti family and more clues were always discovered.

I agree with why Dovey was conflicted about starting a relationship with Gib. As a mystic, she wouldn't be able to age, meaning she would have to watch her partner grow old and slowly die. The other option was to bind Gib and turn him into a mystic as well, although that may trouble Dovey’s conscience since the binding is an important process that cannot be reversed. However, after reading the book, I noticed the bond between the two is truly special. I also enjoyed the part where a bystander noted how they both looked like they belonged in a magazine, as they both had a strong passion for fashion. Furthermore, I agree with why Dovey hid her true identity from Gib at first. She had to wait and he had to gain her trust and favour before Dovey could reveal herself, as it may be dangerous to both of them. Dovey was also uncertain with her relationship with Elric at the time, which may have been another reason she had to hide her affection for Gib.

I think the main theme of the story is to demonstrate the consequences of power being used responsibly and power being in the wrong hands. The culprit using The Promise ring on members in the family was highly responsible and resulted in many deaths, including those of bystanders such as the janitor in the memorial. Another theme I noticed was about the hidden conflicts within a “perfect” family. From afar, the Ariti family was seen as the perfect family, consisting of both rich and generous members. However, it's revealed that the family had hidden secrets, and secret rivalries between each other. Lastly, I think the author wanted to convey a message of what people would do for the ones they love. For Dovey, she destroyed the promise ring in order to protect her lover, Gib. 

Usually, I don't read many books with mystery and suspense, but I liked this book! It was a nice change and wasn’t too long. It's perfect for a simple cozy read during the fall and winter. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to enjoyers of mystery, fantasy, and romance novels.

Reviewed by Lianna Kwan

November 3, 2024