Small-town librarian Ophelia Jensen is finally starting to embrace her lot as one of the "chosen"โa psychic and folk magick practitioner, a.k.a. a witch. Expert loving guidance from her magickally adept grandmother Abby helpsโand adopting Tink, an exceptionally talented teenage medium, has given Ophelia's life new purpose . . . until a brutal murder clouds the sunshine of their days.
Ophelia's co-worker and best friend, Darci, is distraught when her cousin is implicated in the small Iowa town of Summerset's most recent murderโthe violent death of a biker. Unfortunately for Darci's cousin, it's her fingerprints all over the murder weapon. She claims she's innocent, but it'll take Ophelia and Abby more than a good incantation or two to get to the bottom of this crimeโwhat with ghosts, crooked cops, secret identities, and a small army of outlaw bikers thrown into this devil's brew.
From Publishers Weekly
Four installments into her paranormal mystery series (after The Trouble with Witches), Damsgaard delivers a scattershot whodunit that's more tedious than tricky. When her friend's cousin is charged with murdering a member of a motorcycle gang, librarian and returning heroine Ophelia Jensen reluctantly agrees to use her psychic gifts to help clear the woman. It's no easy case, however: the suspect, Becca, was found in bed with the dead man, her fingerprints all over the knife that killed him. A reading of the runes persuades Ophelia that the answers lie in the victim's past, and soon she's spinning theories and digging into an old crime that may have involved other gang members. At the same time, Ophelia has more personal concerns to deal with, including her foster daughter, budding medium Tink, and her own long-ignored abilities, which she's hoping to hone with the help of her gifted grandmother, Abby. Although the psychic elements are fresh and well handled, the heroine's habit of leaping to erroneous conclusions and brushing off obvious clues may frustrate mystery fans. (June)
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Review
โShirley Damsgaard brings us a wonderful second paranormal mystery...beguiling.โ (Mary Alice Gorman, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA, praise for CHARMED TO DEATH )
โOphelia and Abby have Charmed me To Death. I love this series.โ (Pat Frovarp, Once Upon A Crime, Minneapolis, MN, praise for CHARMED TO DEATH )
โMs. Damsgaard has proved that her talent is solid and her characters are ones youโll come to know and love.โ (Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA, praise for CHARMED TO DEATH )
โA Golden Broomstick to the seasonโs most unusual sleuths, a septuagenarian witch and her psychic granddaughter. Inventive and imaginative.โ (Carolyn Hart, praise for WITCH WAY TO MURDER )
โ[C]omplex and likable characters...a bit of romance and suspense. Definitely worth trying.โ (Amarillo Texas News, praise for CHARMED TO DEATH )
โShirley Damsgaard has created a sassy, savvy librarian who just happens to be a reluctant witch haunted by her past. (Jo Dereske, praise for WITCH WAY TO MURDER )