Cards on the Table by Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon ~ a Review

by MK French

Tori and Cassie Bishop are descended from a Salem witch, but their Tarot readings don't pay the bills. Rose is a dying, wealthy widow who invites the sisters to her gothic estate to be her "witches in residence." The widow is desperate, and her family is conniving and awful. Some guests are drawn to the sisters in uncomfortable ways. Rose dies after a séance, and her millions vanish overnight. Now Tori and Cassie must untangle a web of greed and deception to clear their names. Someone else in Berwyn House is running their own con, and they’ve set up the sisters to take the fall.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2026; Bantam; 979-8217093229
ebook, print (400 pages); supernatural mystery

Money is tight for the sisters, and Tori wants to protect her younger sister Cassie as much as possible. They agree to the job, which seems like a considerable amount of money to stay for two weeks and talk about the Occult and read the Tarot. Rose is bristly, and her family is obviously money-grubbing with secrets of their own. They're playing off each other and the sisters, putting them down and making us sympathize with them more. We don't like those characters much, for all that we get glimpses of a family feeling decades ago. When Rose dies during the séance, it becomes a murder mystery to prove their innocence.

I enjoyed the story overall and got sucked into the way the sisters interacted with each other as well as with the members of the household. The police presence was almost absent, and it was so bad in such a caricature kind of way. Aside from that, the finale was neatly done and explained everything that was going on. I appreciated it, but hoped to see more of Tori embracing magic and becoming more adept with it. There's something of an open ending, so maybe it can be part of a sequel. 

Buy Cards on the Table at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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