Ophelia Jensen just wants to be a normal small town librarian. What she gets to be instead is a witch pretending to be a normal small town librarian. Having given up on witch craft four years ago when not even her gifts could help her save her best friend, Ophelia moved to the small town where her grandmother Abby lives and has closed herself off from the world ever since. As a witch herself, Abby does her best to convince her granddaughter that she needs to practice her craft, especially when Abby senses danger around Ophelia and the handsome new stranger in town.

Richard Davis is the handsome new stranger in town and he claims to be a chemical salesman. Only problem is, no one believes him. Since he got into town, he hasn't made one sales pitch. He spends all his time asking the locals questions about the recent thefts of some bomb making materials or annoying Ophelia at the library. When Rick and Ophelia find a body in the park, Ophelia knows the murder is somehow linked to the thefts in town. Abby's convinced that in order to protect herself, Ophelia has to once again put her faith in magick. But they soon discover they'll need more than just magick to help them figure out this mystery.

WITCH WAY TO MURDER is the debut mystery novel from Shirley Damsgaard and also the first book in the Ophelia and Abby mystery series. Unlike a lot of books about witches, there are no spells or incantations involved in regards to witchcraft in WITCH WAY TO MURDER, which I though made the book even more believable. I love that Ophelia struggles with accepting that magick can't help you save everyone you love. It's not the answer to all your problems. I was hooked from the get go and I can't wait to see what Ms. Damsgaard has in store for these two in the next book in the series, CHARMED TO DEATH, being released in March 2006.