Scan barcode
vikingwolf's review against another edition
3.0
Firstly, I do not read cozy mysteries and this kind of book usually has me running screaming for the hills. Five books in this series came to me as part of a book trade so I thought the least I could do was to try the first one. And I was pleasantly surprised!
Unlike a few of the reviewers here, I did like Ophelia. She is suffering from the guilt and trauma of her best friend's death where she was unable to use her magic to save him from a killer. Now she has turned away from her magic and closed herself off from others getting close to her. I have sympathy because I know what stress and depression can do to you and I felt for her situation, and it was fun to see her struggle with social situations and crime solving. I loved her grandmother Abby, the witch pensioner who was kind and funny and a bit kooky. I really liked Darci, the blonde bombshell library assistant who is smarter than she lets everyone believe. There were good laughts with her and the gossipy old women who torment Ophelia through the book. They lurk like vultures looking for something to feed on and her irritation with them was understandable! I also enjoyed Darci's master plan which goes horribly wrong and lands Ophelia in trouble again.
I did NOT like the potential love interests Rick and Ned. Ned seems fine until Ophelia won't share information about Rick and he goes all macho and aggressive, insulting her and being an ass. Not what I would consider dating. But Rick was an obnoxious, irritating, vain, slimy, cocky piece of crap who I would cheerfully have kneed in the nuts if he had been harrassing me like that. He was determined to be a giant pain in the butt, asking personal questions, quizzing her about her life and movements, stalking her on a daily basis and refusing to take no for an answer when she wouldn't date him. I despised him. And if you didn't guess his real identity based on his behaviour then you must have fallen asleep during the book! It was dead obvious who he was.
The author does give you plenty of suspects-angry Ned, the slimy politician, the sinister psycho shop owner, obnoxious Rick, the sheriff, the deputy we never see, the guy who hates women's fiction, the drug addict, the skulking quiet brother etc. Come to think of it, all the men in town were weird or dodgy in some way. I did find it easy to guess who was involved but it didn't spoil the story. I did find the reasons for what was going on quite interesting and Ophelia's unwanted visions were a nice touch. I also liked the idea of a witch trying to get answers on the Internet!
This is not a masterpiece of fiction or a scary thriller, nor is it really an all out paranormal mystery as there isn't magic on every page. It is am amusing, entertaining, light fluffy mystery set in a small town with some interesting characters. You could quite easily read this in one day or night and be resonably entertained. Try it if you like cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist.
Unlike a few of the reviewers here, I did like Ophelia. She is suffering from the guilt and trauma of her best friend's death where she was unable to use her magic to save him from a killer. Now she has turned away from her magic and closed herself off from others getting close to her. I have sympathy because I know what stress and depression can do to you and I felt for her situation, and it was fun to see her struggle with social situations and crime solving. I loved her grandmother Abby, the witch pensioner who was kind and funny and a bit kooky. I really liked Darci, the blonde bombshell library assistant who is smarter than she lets everyone believe. There were good laughts with her and the gossipy old women who torment Ophelia through the book. They lurk like vultures looking for something to feed on and her irritation with them was understandable! I also enjoyed Darci's master plan which goes horribly wrong and lands Ophelia in trouble again.
I did NOT like the potential love interests Rick and Ned. Ned seems fine until Ophelia won't share information about Rick and he goes all macho and aggressive, insulting her and being an ass. Not what I would consider dating. But Rick was an obnoxious, irritating, vain, slimy, cocky piece of crap who I would cheerfully have kneed in the nuts if he had been harrassing me like that. He was determined to be a giant pain in the butt, asking personal questions, quizzing her about her life and movements, stalking her on a daily basis and refusing to take no for an answer when she wouldn't date him. I despised him. And if you didn't guess his real identity based on his behaviour then you must have fallen asleep during the book! It was dead obvious who he was.
The author does give you plenty of suspects-angry Ned, the slimy politician, the sinister psycho shop owner, obnoxious Rick, the sheriff, the deputy we never see, the guy who hates women's fiction, the drug addict, the skulking quiet brother etc. Come to think of it, all the men in town were weird or dodgy in some way. I did find it easy to guess who was involved but it didn't spoil the story. I did find the reasons for what was going on quite interesting and Ophelia's unwanted visions were a nice touch. I also liked the idea of a witch trying to get answers on the Internet!
This is not a masterpiece of fiction or a scary thriller, nor is it really an all out paranormal mystery as there isn't magic on every page. It is am amusing, entertaining, light fluffy mystery set in a small town with some interesting characters. You could quite easily read this in one day or night and be resonably entertained. Try it if you like cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
2.0
See, I finally did read another cozy mystery ;)
Ophelia is a librarian. She has a haunted past. The townsfolk like her, but avoid her. Her grandmother is a witch, but only Ophelia knows this. Her only friend is a woman working at the library, and they are not even friends in a way.
Yeah, Ophelia really pushed people away. But then a mysterious hot guy shows up. And there are strange things happening in town. And then there is that dead body, and her grandmother telling her that she must solve this.
It was a light mystery that I could read fast. Ophelia was nice when you got to know her. There is a hint of romance. But the next book I have is book 6 and it was not that awesome that I will buy the rest. I will just read that sixth book one day.
Ophelia is a librarian. She has a haunted past. The townsfolk like her, but avoid her. Her grandmother is a witch, but only Ophelia knows this. Her only friend is a woman working at the library, and they are not even friends in a way.
Yeah, Ophelia really pushed people away. But then a mysterious hot guy shows up. And there are strange things happening in town. And then there is that dead body, and her grandmother telling her that she must solve this.
It was a light mystery that I could read fast. Ophelia was nice when you got to know her. There is a hint of romance. But the next book I have is book 6 and it was not that awesome that I will buy the rest. I will just read that sixth book one day.
hugbandit7's review against another edition
4.0
The first in a series about Ophelia who has psychic type gifts passed down in her family line but doesn't want to have anything to do with them until she gets caught up in a murder in the small town where she lives.
The book was good but I felt that Ophelia was very standoffish and very uptight. However, as the book progressed she did loosen up some so that is a good sign for the future books in this series.
The book was good but I felt that Ophelia was very standoffish and very uptight. However, as the book progressed she did loosen up some so that is a good sign for the future books in this series.
git_r_read's review against another edition
4.0
MPB, Super magick-al cozy mystery, get more of this series.
hoosgracie's review against another edition
3.0
Decent mystery featuring a librarian and her grandmother who have psychic powers. The characters weren't terribly appealing though.
emilygaynier's review against another edition
3.0
So this is probably more like a 2.5
There were some elements I liked, but the stuff I disliked were bad. As a librarian, I had a hard time reading about the main character at her job. Being mad about overdue library books is not something a sane librarian does. It's such an everyday thing. It's like a construction worker being mad they have to use a hammer.
The mystery was good up until we found out Davis's secret.
I loved Abby and Darci!
Ophelia sucks
It's honestly super hard to tell when this book is set. If it's set when the book was published in '05, I can kind of believe that the library still has the card catalog and has a computer. But even when the internet was still that new, the library would've had more then one patron computer. Also a library only having two employees is not smart or safe. Even if they were only briefly mentioned here and there, there should've been two or more other librarians. Also the author is confused about what the title of librarian and assistant librarian actually do. Calling Darci an assistant was just weird.
Also Abby promising the bees that she keeps that they'll get gallons of sugar water come spring isn't something a good beekeeper would do. Sugar water is not something you should give bees with any kind of regularity
There were some elements I liked, but the stuff I disliked were bad. As a librarian, I had a hard time reading about the main character at her job. Being mad about overdue library books is not something a sane librarian does. It's such an everyday thing. It's like a construction worker being mad they have to use a hammer.
The mystery was good up until we found out Davis's secret.
I loved Abby and Darci!
Ophelia sucks
It's honestly super hard to tell when this book is set. If it's set when the book was published in '05, I can kind of believe that the library still has the card catalog and has a computer. But even when the internet was still that new, the library would've had more then one patron computer. Also a library only having two employees is not smart or safe. Even if they were only briefly mentioned here and there, there should've been two or more other librarians. Also the author is confused about what the title of librarian and assistant librarian actually do. Calling Darci an assistant was just weird.
Also Abby promising the bees that she keeps that they'll get gallons of sugar water come spring isn't something a good beekeeper would do. Sugar water is not something you should give bees with any kind of regularity
hooknthorn's review against another edition
2.0
For a book that I would consider to be in the fluffy easy to read mystery/paranormal genre, I found myself struggling to finish this. Overall it was fine, but I found myself disliking most of the characters and found the plot to be mediocre.
jackirenee's review against another edition
3.0
Ophelia Jensen leads a fairly normal life in small town Iowa, if you think having a witch for a grandma, possessing pyschic abilities, and getting caught up in murder cases are normal, that is. Five years prior, Ophelia has a premonition of her best friends murder, however, it doesn't help her save his life. Now rejecting her gift could cost her own life.
Damsgaard's story if fun with a town full of great characters, recoginizable in just about any small Iowa town. However, some of those characters are bit over done, creating stereotypes and cliches rather than true people. The story is fast paced and enjoyable, although a bit predictable at times.
All in all, this is a great summer read and enjoyable enought that I am looking forward to following along in further adventures as I am sure that Damsgaard will mature as a writer, creating even better storylines.
Damsgaard's story if fun with a town full of great characters, recoginizable in just about any small Iowa town. However, some of those characters are bit over done, creating stereotypes and cliches rather than true people. The story is fast paced and enjoyable, although a bit predictable at times.
All in all, this is a great summer read and enjoyable enought that I am looking forward to following along in further adventures as I am sure that Damsgaard will mature as a writer, creating even better storylines.
hoperu's review against another edition
2.0
I tried this because the main character is a librarian, and it is a murder mystery. Unfortunately, this was very much a first book. Ophelia, the main character, is rather unlikable, and her grandmother, Abby, is too nice and perfect. The writing is rather uneven, and the mystery takes forever to really appear, with lots of red herrings. There is promise there, but I doubt I will be reading any more of the series any time soon.