Customer Reviews

Witch Hunt (Ophelia & Abby Mysteries, No. 4) (An Ophelia and Abby Mystery)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I didn't think this series could get any better after the third installment, "The Trouble with Witches," but "Witch Hunt" is the best so far. We see growth in Ophelia and Abby's relationship and within Ophelia herself. Now that she has an adopted daughter, Tink, Ophelia's life is completely different. She seems to understand her estranged mother better than before, and I hope we might get a bigger glimpse of that relationship in the future. I'm also glad that Darci has become a strong, minor character. She acts as Ophelia's foil, yet they are the best of friends at this point in the series.

The mystery came to a truly shocking end. I had no idea who the killer was, and some of the characters had mistaken identities that I didn't expect. As usual, Ophelia uses her "talent" to help solve the murder, but the magic in this series is much different than any other series I've read. The magic here is very much tied to the earth, seeming to resemble folk magic. I enjoy the use of runes as well. With the addition of Tink and her ability as a medium, I can't wait to see what this series has in store.

Ophelia Jenson, smalltown librarian, is doing her best to settle into her new life as a surrogate mom to Tink (Tatiana) the 11 year old girl she and her grandmother rescued.

Unfortunately, just a mile from her home, The Vipers Nest has opened. The bar caters to motorcycle riders--and not the rich urban biker types. Everywhere she looks, she's seeing leather clad bikers and she, like the local newspaper editor, suspects trouble.

Trouble comes in the form of Becca, cousin to Ophelia's employee and friend, Darci and a failed California actress wannabe. On her first night in town, Becca takes up with Adder, one of the cyclists and ends up drugged and sleeping with his corpse. Everyone believes Becca committed the murder but Ophelia and Darci. The situation gets dangerous, because there are people with a vested interest in keeping things quiet.

Overall, the Ophelia and Abby series are great tea cosies. The characters are interesting and engaging and have become very real throughout the books. The small town seems like a lot of the little places you could go through, too. This particular novel is the fastest paced of the series so far. Some of the fans who like cosies may object to kicking up the danger a bit, but I found the book to be enjoyable and a good can't-put-down read.

One serious character gaffe in this novel is Ophelia musing after a breakin destroys photos that the printed pic which was destroyed had been on the memory stick of her digital camera and now was lost to her. Hello! That photo had to be processed through a PC, where she should have kept a backup. I'm a librarian and most others I know are quite careful to make sure they have backups of important documents, photos, etc.

It was good, but not as good as the others.
I had a hard time getting into the story. The first 3 books just pulled you in from the first page; this one was a little work. For such a quick read, it took me a long time to finish it.

I was glad of the growth in the characters, but there was just too much hemming and hawing (the story stalled) about motherhood and bad boyfriends. The ending was not a surprise for me. I thought the clues throughout the story made the "bad guys" obvious. In fact, I knew who they were at their first appearance.

I will continue to read this series, because it is a good one. The characters are usually well developed, the mystery engaging, and the story well told. I recommend it.

They're back! Our favorite witches, Ophelia and Abby have another murder to contend with in their hometown of Summerset. As ever, the story unfolds through the eyes of Ophelia, librarian and reluctant psychic. In `Witch Hunt', she has to deal with the effects of a teenager's misuse of a Ouija board, Abby's somewhat unwelcome present of a recalcitrant puppy, and the unwelcome presence of a nasty band of bikers who descend on the town.

One person who takes an unhealthy interest in one of the bikers is Becca. Becca is the cousin of Darci, Ophelia's best friend. And Becca is found in her underwear, holding a knife next to the dead body of said biker.

This is another very enjoyable cozy from Shirley Damsgaard and, in my opinion, it's the best in the series so far. Don't expect a roller coaster ride, though. `Witch Hunt' builds slowly to its climax as Ophelia tries to piece together the events leading up to the killing. Ophelia can usually count on the wise counsel of her grandmother and white witch par excellence, Abby to steer her through the choppy supernatural waters. But here, Abby is more crotchety than in previous stories, and there's even a bit of a falling-out between our heroines. There are also some creepy moments in store for Ophelia as she encounters one particularly scary biker. The exciting conclusion keeps you turning the pages and leaves you wanting more.

If you've been following the Ophelia and Abby mysteries, this instalment will be a welcome addition to your bookcase. For those who haven't yet read any of the previous novels in the series, this fourth story has an integral character who was introduced in the third book, `The Trouble With Witches'; you may want to read that novel before embarking on `Witch Hunt'.

I'd actually give it a 3 1/2 but the half star wouldn't work for me.

The librarian who said pictures had to be processed through a PC. Even us non librarians keep copies of our favorite digitals on our PC. There's no reason someone couldn't save the day and say, "Hey, you should have that saved on your computer somewhere.

Also, for a psychic she sure is bumbling around in this one. In 1, 2 and 3 she's accepting her gifts and learning about them, I can understand that. By 4 she should have it more together one would think. I figured out Cobra when the waitress outed him as a not so bad bad guy. It could have been worked into the book that she figured him out when she put her hand on his arm. And Danny was so obvious to me, especially when he brought his "things" to Darcy's. The actual killer was not so obvious except that, in these mysteries the least obvious is usually the most obvious. I knew he was in the mix when the bikers paid him a visit though I will say I didn't figure him for the actual killer until late in the book, but I thought for different reasons, maybe they went after someone precious to him. I also felt that at least Abby should have figured out the whole ghost in the house thing and/or should have investigated why she felt uncomfortable in her granddaughter's home. I mean, they are witches and psychics, right?

I did enjoy the book though, I love figuring things out and it was a bit exciting IMO. I think it's a bit of a flaw to have a psychic who can't figure out obvious clues. It would have been fun to see Ophelia hone her skills and actually know what was going on around her while still keeping it a mystery to everyone else, including the reader.

All of a sudden, Ophelia's safe and empty house is buzzing with life and friend, so different than it was before. Tink is a new addition, though it surprised me that some of her spunk seemed to die down in this book compared to the last. I really expected her to be more of a spitfire. This mystery involves a group of bikers, all with snake names coming to town and shaking things up. Apparently Summerset has all the makings to be a hotspot for drug trafficking since it connects to highways going North, South, East, and West. That made sense but I still found myself saying "yeah, right" a couple of times. Once again its a frustrating point for the reader that Ophelia seems to have blinders on when she's psychic, but after reading it I think it actually makes sense. She often relies on prejudice and first impressions when she acts since she is after Cobra during most of the book even after Abby and the waitress say he's not really a bad guy. She can't see the truth there yet because she just hasn't gotten to that point as a person. She doesn't even fully accept her powers yet, still kind of in denial, so she just doesn't see things plainly in real life, just as in her dreams. She doesn't even see that she's the only thing holding herself back the whole time. At least now she's even more of a force to be reckoned with, rather than the angst ridden girl in the first book. The haunting was my favorite part and every time Ophelia caught a whiff of cigarette smoke my imagination went crazy trying to figure out what it meant. The mystery in this book was not hard to solve and I got it about halfway in, although I did hope I was wrong about the guy for his families sake. I also really liked Bill and Stumpy, or Arthur, getting bigger roles in this book. I especially liked Arthur's gift for her, nice touch. The ending drove me crazy not revealing what was in Cobra's note though, I reread it to make sure I didn't miss anything.

This series is great. I never guess the ending, the person that is the villan, nothing. Love the writings.

Ophelia has again discovered a dead body - sort of. Darci discovered it first. And now she is on the quest to find a killer. Tangled up in the murder is a bad biker gang that has shown up in town and rumor has it running drugs.

This was a great addition to the Ophelia and Abby Murder series. I really enjoyed both the development of Abby and Ophelia's relationship. Tink is a nice addition to the series and adds a depth to Ophelia's life that wasn't in any of the previous books. Darci and Ophelia's friendship with each develops and seems to click more in this installment book of the series.

What I like about the book is that it has good character development and shows the characters growing. You do feel as though you know these people. The paranormal and "ghostly" parts are nicely done but not overdone. In this day and age with shows like "Ghost Whisperer", books can fall victim to being too hollywood-ish. But this kept a good balance on that.

The plot was a little obvious too soon, which made it frustrating for the reader to see the main character on the wrong track so early. Compared to the cadre of cozy mysteries, this book (and author) are a bit meatier it seems. Overall it is enjoyable and entertaining.

I absolutley love these books!! I had not read a book in 5 years and read the entire series in two weeks!