Shirley Damsgaard, Charmed To Death

Charmed To Death

Shirley Damsgaard

Avon, Apr 2006, $6.99, 304 pp.

ISBN 0060793538

Librarian Ophelia Jensen and her Grandma Abby reside in Summerset, Iowa. They look like ordinary women but they are witches, with Abby training her granddaughter to learn what her gifts are and to use them wisely. They are also psychic, with Ophelia having precognitive skills and the ability to find things. Six months ago using her powers she found a murderer and his cohorts. This action enabled her to come out of her shell, the one she retreated into when her friend Brian was murdered, and left in a dumpster.

Ophelia still feels guilty over Brian's murder because she saw his murder in a vision, and was too late to prevent his death from happening. At one time Detective Henry Comache considered her a suspect because he believed, rightfully so, she was hiding things from him. Now Abby has a feeling that it is time for Ophelia to find closure over Brian's death, which means finding his killer. When Henry comes to Summerset, Ophelia is once again under suspicion when she finds, through her psychic senses, the body of a dead man whom she had a very public fight with. Evil has come to Summerset; Ophelia must find it and bring it out of the darkness before it kills her.

This is a very special mystery in an enchanting series, as Ophelia and Abby perform magic in the traditional Bell, Book and Candle methodology. The heroine has gained strength from her brush with death, and is finally willing to learn how to use her powers. She also overcomes her hermit like existence to make friends with some of the townsfolk, and there is even a hint of romance in the air. Although readers might guess early on who the killer is, it won't detract from the enjoyment of this charming who-done-it and why.