7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fairy Entertaining, September 10, 2007
This review is from: The Witch Is Dead (Ophelia & Abby Mysteries, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Ophelia and Abby series was possibly in need of some light relief after the sinister happenings in
Witch Hunt (Ophelia & Abby, Book 4), and light relief is what we get here. Well apart from the mutilated corpses. Not too many laughs to be had there.
The delightfully dotty Aunt Dot, an elderly relative of our heroines, joins the regulars for this colorful yarn. I particularly enjoyed Shirley Damsgaard's description of the rotund nonagenarian, seen through the eyes of Ophelia, Head Librarian and resident witch in the sleepy town of Summerset: "[Aunt Dot] proceeded across the room like a steamroller, her head whipping from side to side as she took in the library." Well, it made me laugh. And she communes with fairies!
Although there are hints of what is to come in the story, much of the first half of `The Witch is Dead' is devoted to character development. We learn a little of the Appalachian-based members of Abby and Ophelia's witchy clan and, as ever, we join Ophelia in her day-to-day life. These novels are written in the first person from Ophelia's point of view.
As this series has grown, continual references are made to events in preceding stories. While this novel can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, I would recommend that newcomers to the series take in the third instalment,
The Trouble with Witches (Ophelia & Abby, Book 3) and the fourth, the aforementioned `Witch Hunt' before reading this fifth book.
Since its rather stuttering first instalment,
Witch Way to Murder (Ophelia & Abby, Book 1), this series has blossomed into an enthralling saga with each new tale eagerly awaited. Shirley Damsgaard has created a regular cast of likeable and eccentric characters. I feel that Abby should be more prominently featured sometimes, though. She often seems a little sidelined and I sometimes wonder if the author wouldn't be more advised to label the series as `Ophelia Jensen Mysteries'.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whimsical murder mystery, October 25, 2008
This review is from: The Witch Is Dead (Ophelia & Abby Mysteries, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
Enjoyable read about a group of witches with psychic capabilities. I am not a complete fan of murder mysteries but this one provided some light moments with the addition of Aunt Dot, Ophelia's great aunt, from the Appalachian mountains. I enjoyed the psychic parts of the book as well as Aunt Dot's cavorting with fairies. However, for me the murders and dead bodies which are the murder/mystery part of the story were a bit gruesome. That being said this is still a worthwhile read and will keep you guessing about the mystery and chuckling at Aunt Dot until the end.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Ophelia & Abby Mystery Yet!, July 16, 2008
This review is from: The Witch Is Dead (Ophelia & Abby Mysteries, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
This was a thoroughly satisfying read. The characters of Ophelia and Abby continue to grow more intriguing, and my initial reservations about the introduction of Tink as a regular character are completely gone. Aunt Dot was a hilarious addition to a rather gruesome story, and the return of Cobra/DEA agent gave me hope for romance in Ophelia's future. The pace never lagged, and the parallel stories were fascinating. I cannot wait for the release of the next installment now!
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