This second book is better than the first one. Still missing the coziness, but the story is more balanced. I liked the legend, but at the same time it was a bit of a cliché and I knew too fast what the problem was. That wouldn't have irked me was it not for the fact that it took Emerald so long to figure it out. So, still liking it enough to go on reading the 3th book, but not liking it enough for 4 stars. ( )

This is the second book in the Chintz ‘n’ China cozy mystery series.

Emerald O’Brien is doing a tarot reading for Daniel Barrington, a man she’d never met before. She is also getting a feeling of fear from this worn-out looking man. It isn’t him, personally, that is dangerous but something around him.

Upon leaving the shop, he is hit and killed by a speeding van. He had been turning to go back to pick up the small jade dragon that had fallen out his pocket. It seems the bad luck had struck its final blow to him.

Emerald finds herself with a few mysteries — who are Daniel’s living relatives and where do they live? What is the history of the jade dragon? What is the evil spell that is causing all the trouble to Emerald and her family? How does she break it?

There is also the rash of burglaries that are happening and questions about a neighbour’ s “nephew” who has just turned up. Is he who he says he is? Is he tied to the thefts?

Emerald has her hands full…again! ( )

The bad luck begins for Emerald O'Brien after a client leaves a statue of a jade dragon at her shop, and is then struck by a hit-and-run driver right outside her store. To thwart the statue's curse, Em and her friends will have to follow a trail of heartache which leads all the way back to China's Ming Dynasty.

I enjoyed this second story in the Chintz 'n China Mysteries as much as the first. The author herself is a Witch and Wiccan High Priestess, and uses her knowledge of Wicca and Paganism well in these stories, portraying Em's character realistically in integrating her magickal practices with her everyday life. And with just the right amount of the fantastical added in. :) ( )