Agatha Christie Meets Practical Magic
Cards on the Table: A Witchy Mystery
Witch & Wizard Mysteries, Women Sleuths, Family Life Fiction
Bantam
September 1, 2026
Ebook, Paperback, Audiobook
400
As descendants of a Salem witch, sisters Tori and Cassie Bishop have the occult credentials—but their trickle of tarot readings isn’t paying the bills. On the brink of eviction, they accept a too-good-to-be-true offer: play “witches in residence” for a dying, wealthy widow in her secluded Berkshires mansion for the Fall season.
But from the minute they arrive at the gothic estate, it’s clear: they’ve been dropped into a far riskier game than their smoke and mirrors can save them from. Rose, the widow, is desperate. Her family is conniving. The staff is ominous. And some guests in the house are drawn to the sisters in ways that lean more . . . personal. But just as the sisters are starting to settle into the mysterious home and their role in it, Rose dies after a séance—and her millions vanish overnight.
Trapped in a viper’s nest of competing motives and twisted secrets, Tori and Cassie must untangle a web of greed and deception using every trick they have—magical or not—to clear their names. Because someone else in Berwyn House is running their own con . . . and they’ve set up the sisters to take the fall.
A Cozy Witchy “Whodunnit” Just in Time for Fall
Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon’s Cards on the Table has a strong Practical Magic meets Agatha Christie vibe—making it an especially fitting read as we head into the spookiest season of the year.
The first half of the book leans fully into its witchy atmosphere. Harper and Gagnon give us sisters who seem to have stepped straight out of a cozy occult story, complete with tarot readings, spells in jars, and a magical heritage stretching back to the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. I loved this setup, and the atmosphere felt perfect for fall. I also enjoyed the sisters’ individual romances, which add another layer to the mystery unfolding inside the old mansion.
The second half, however, feels like a different story. The vibe becomes less “occult” and more “Clue.” After the proprietor of the mansion dies, the sisters find themselves surrounded by a family of money-grabbing opportunists. Unfortunately, the sisters’ powers of magic shift to ordinary powers of perception and, even then, there was a feeling that they stayed at the fringes of discussions of inheritances and estates. It was a solid mystery to be solved; I just missed the witchy vibes of the first half of the book.
In the end, Cards on the Table offers two mysteries: the question of who caused the wealthy aunt’s death and the larger mystery of magic itself. What gives magic its power, and who gets to access it? I liked the book’s suggestion that magic is available to all of us—if we’re willing to recognize and embrace it.
I’m giving Cards on the Table 3.5 stars. Despite the shift in tone, I’d still recommend it as a fun read for anyone looking to kick off the season with a cozy mystery and a touch of magic.
Celeste is a woman who is unwavering about certain things in life; three of those being books, cats, and cold brew coffee. If she can enjoy all three at the same time, it’s going to be a good day. Her favorite genres are fantasy or sci-fi romance, historical romance, and historical fiction but every few books she likes to mix it up with contemporary fiction, a good psychological thriller, or an inspiring memoir. She has a busy schedule working full-time for an online university but she makes sure to unwind each day with stories, either by reading to her elementary school-aged daughter or tucking herself in bed with her Kindle or the latest book she picked up at a local book store.
