Seven-Year Witch
The Blurb
While witch and librarian Josie develops her witchcraft with the help of letters left by her grandmother, there are other changes happening in her new hometown. A retreat center is being built at the old mill site, and rumor has it that the location is cursed. That piques Josie’s interest almost as much as Sam Wilfred, handsome FBI agent and descendent of the town’s founder.
When Sam’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Fiona, goes missing at the same time that a bloodied weapon is found, Josie enlists her witchy insight, and her cat familiar, to clear Sam’s name. But then the mill project’s architect is found dead, and it’s clear that someone has been drawing up a vicious plan. Now Josie will have to divine her way out of fatal mischief before this deadly trouble turns double.
The Details
Series: Witch Way Librarian Mysteries – Book #2
Author: Angela M. Sanders
Genre/Category: Cozy – Library/Witch
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 1496728769
Page Count: 288
Rating: 
The Review
Seven-Year Witch is the second book in the new “Witch Way Librarian Mysteries” series. Characters are still being developed, and librarian, Josie is still learning witchcraft and how to use her talents. Other characters, including Sam, Josie’s possible love interest, are also growing and learning. The other characters are likable and quirky, which is always fun in a cozy series.
The victim who isn’t a victim, suspects who are not suspects, and clues that aren’t clues fill the pages of this book. As a librarian and a witch, Josie hears books and gets help from them when she needs it. This is her magic and the witchcraft she uses to solve this murder. The suspect’s motives are a bit hard to understand, but the twists in this story keep readers guessing. The killer didn’t come as a great surprise, but there was enough mystery to make readers follow each clue and figure out the who and the why of this crime. There are a few other mysteries to solve outside of the murder that move the story along to an ending filled with action and intrigue.
There is no clear resolution to some of the questions asked, and many readers will find this a bit disconcerting. This is not uncommon for cozies as it is a means of starting the next book off without the need to recap everything from the previous book. As a witch, I think Josie has a ways to go; even though she is getting lessons on witchcraft from her deceased grandmother, we don’t see a lot of actual magic being performed, and she still doesn’t trust it one hundred percent. For many readers, this can be a plus. I think the writing is good, the characters are affable and unorthodox, but in truth, people don’t fit into square holes. These characters reflect the differences that make people who they are and who we feel a familiarity and affinity with. I enjoyed reading Seven-Year Witch and can see the series getting better with each book.
The Author
Angela grew up in rural Northern California, building forts in the woods where she devoured Nancy Drew mysteries. She earned degrees in economics and public administration, and in graduate school, studied for six months in Paris, sparking a lifelong interest in French culture.
After 11 years as a congressional investigator, Angela realized she was more fascinated by the stories at the edges of her investigations–the decrepit exercise equipment in the ladies’ room of a Czech oil company; the curious number of framed photographs of women on a nuclear weapons official’s desk; the stupendous speed by which a particular Agriculture undersecretary inhaled chili dogs–than by the policies she evaluated. She returned to the west coast to explore the world and her imagination through magazine stories and fiction.
Angela has two cats, one of whom is black, of course, a witch’s freckle in her left eye, and learned to read tarot cards from a pagan priestess. Angela lives in Portland, Oregon. When she isn’t at her laptop, Angela is rummaging in thrift shops, lounging with a vintage detective novel, or pontificating about how to make the perfect martini.
Readers who enjoy this book will also enjoy the first book in the “Witch Way Librarian Cozy Mysteries” series, Bait And Witch.
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