“Zippy and fun, with just enough ambiance to satisfy readers seeking spooks and humor.” —Kirkus Reviews Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities—and a killer on the loose—she’s leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble . . . Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she … Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon’s new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn’t as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber, Josie discovers a body in the woods . . .
Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she’s descended from a long line of witches—and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie’s thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library—and her life . . .
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BAIT AND WITCH by Angela M. Sanders
The First Witch Way Librarian Mystery
When her co-worker disappears after they blow the whistle on government corruption, librarian Josie Way decides to run, at least until after the trial. Taking a job as head librarian in the tiny out of the way town of Wilfred, Oregon, Josie feels as if she’s found home. Her senses have come alive and the unique library housed in a Victorian Manor seems to welcome her. Even the books call to her. Before she can get settled, Josie learns that the library is on the chopping block as the majority of the trustees want to sell and have a retreat center built in its place. Then she finds a dead body! Certain that the body is someone sent to silence her, Josie wonders if she can save both the library and herself!
I absolutely loved this book! A complicated mystery with several subplots, BAIT AND WITCH stands apart from other cozy mysteries in that our protagonist isn’t trying to solve a murder or prove someone’s innocence. She just wants to survive and save the town’s library. The story is filled with twists and turns and lots of surprises keeping readers on their toes.
The First Witch Way Librarian Mystery gives us lots of unique complicated characters. Their nuances, their quirks, and their backstories provide a rich landscape that the author cultivates brilliantly. Almost everyone seems to have a secret agenda and even the books and portraits in the library have character and express emotion.
I love the way the magick reveals itself and can’t wait for Josie to fully accept and explore her abilities. She had me quite put out with her at one point as I shouted at her to use her magick! Of course, I adore Rodney and look forward to seeing more of him.
BAIT AND WITCH gives a powerhouse start to a new series. I was completely engrossed and enchanted and can’t wait to return to Wilfred, Oregon.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
A new cozy series with a paranormal theme – couldn’t pass it up. Josie is the main character, a young woman on the run from danger as a result of being a whistle blower back in Washington, D.C. Her co-worker has disappeared and she fears she will be next. When she gets a job offer to become the librarian in a small town in Oregon, she can’t get there fast enough. Not only will she be looking over her shoulder but a dead body appears as soon as she arrives and she discovers that she is a witch.
The town is hiding secrets and she may not even have a place to live and a job. It turns out that the great old Victorian house where the library resides and where she will live is going to be torn down. Josie’s life has become very, very complicated.
I enjoyed Angela M. Sanders previous series the Vintage Clothing Mysteries set in Portland so I was happy to give this series a try. The mystery was well constructed and Josie came across as a believable character even with the witchy theme. I’m adding the next in the series, Seven Year Witch due out August 24, 2021 to my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Bait And Witch is the first book in a new series. I found it highly entertaining and immensely fun. I am always a fan of witch or book-related cozies, and this book has both. Josie is a witch with a unique magical ability, she just didn’t know it until she found herself hiding out in a library in Oregon, and the books started talking to her. Unfortunately, she finds out that the library may not be around for long as there are plans to bulldoze it. But with the news, a body turns up, and before she knows it, she is looking for a new place to hide, because somebody may want her dead. The murder of an unknown woman comes on the heels of Josie arriving in town. After hearing a backroom deal being made by a politician and a contractor, Josie, along with a co-worker who goes missing, is in danger. She takes the job in Oregon to spend a few quiet weeks, hoping that no one will be able to track her to the town.
Josie is a good character with issues. She wasn’t aware that she had magical abilities, but now that she does, she is frightened and excited at the same time. Unfortunately, there is a small issue I had with this book. When Josie finally tells her mother about knowing she is a witch, all they seem to do is try to find a way to suppress her magic instead of learning to use it. This makes it hard to like Josie’s mother and makes Josie a little less likable. Josie’s sister, on the other hand, is a wonderful character. The location of a small town in Oregon is nice, but I would like to have had more description of the town and so forth. Other characters that join Josie throughout the book are interesting and should make future books action-packed and filled with intrigue.
There aren’t many suspects, but those that there are, seem to have a good motive and little in the way of alibis. The story is short on evidence, and what there is can be challenging to understand. However, after a while, the reader will begin to piece the story together and see how the evidence works. I could have used a bit more magical influence throughout the book, and I hope that we will get to find out what Josie’s grandmother’s lessons entail. I’d like to hear more about the library as well. Overall, Bait And Witch is an excellent start for a new series, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Josie is hiding out in a small town, working as a librarian. She discovers she can do magic….and that the books respond to her magic and help her. Which comes in handy when she’s dodging a killer after finding a body.
Fun first book in a new Paranormal Cozy Mystery series. I enjoyed it very much.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
This was such a cute read. It was interesting take on a witchy librarian character. I love the powers that Josie possesses. It would be so cool to be able to hear books! I would’ve liked a bit more about her powers although I know the main story is about the murder. This looks like it’s only the first in the series though so I’m really looking forward to learning so much more about her!
Josephine works at the Library of the Congress, a day during her lunch break she overhears a shady deal between two men so after she reported it to the authorities she decides to go on the run. She is lucky enough to get a job as librarian in an Oregon little town, but when she arrives she soon understands that her life won’t be quiet as she expected, with books that speal to her and the discovery of a dead body near her new house.
I wanted to try something new and I decided to try to read some cozy mystries books, and what’s better than start a new genre with reading the first book in a new series? I tell you, nothing.
I’ve really enjoyed Bait And Witch, it was such a nice read that kept my attention all through.
I loved the magic element and how our heroine discovers her magic powers slowly and gradually.
Angela M. Sanders depicted her characters really well, especially the towners that seem all friendly but every single one of them keeps a secret from the others.
The mystery is intriguing and very well developped, you won’t solve it until the author wants you to.
I wish I can read soon Josie’s next adventure.
I have never read a book by this author, but I was definitely intrigued by the blurb on this one. I love cozy paranormal mysteries, and I dived in. This did have a rocky start by being a little bit slow. However, once it got going, I was hooked. I enjoyed Josie and Josie’s journey to her discovery of her abilities, and I enjoyed the action to finding out who was behind it all. I was a little let down again with the reveal and the motivations, but not enough to not to like this one. It is a series-starter, and those can be a little rocky. I am really looking forward to the next one to find out more. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Featuring a library housed in a lovely old Victorian, quirky characters, more than one mystery, a lovable kitty and a relatable librarian as the main character, this new paranormal cozy series by the talented Angela M. Sanders is off to a great start!
Josie, big city librarian on the lam turned small town sleuth after relocating to rural Oregon, moves into the apartment within the Victorian, only to discover the house is slated to be bulldozed. This additional stress is amplified by her emerging magical abilities, a murder mystery, and a whole new life filled with people who may be hiding violent tendencies.
The area residents really shape the setting and help create the atmosphere of a barely there town with more than its share of quirky vibes. I agree with another reviewer that this mystery was better than usual for cozies because there were more elements.
Josie is a great character, a young woman who thankfully lacks the brittle faux sophistication that seems to characterize so many contemporary fictional heroines. I look forward to her next adventure and I hope it includes more magic.
I was kindly provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. (*)
Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders is a great start to a new paranormal cozy mystery series. And if you’ve been reading my reviews for any amount of time, you’ve probably come to realize witch cozies are my catnip. Since I’ve read so many of them I am very particular when it comes to deciding if I will continue the series and the Witch Way Librarian Cozies is one series in which I will definitely be seeking out future books.
Josie is a wonderfully strong female protagonist who has some solid morals. Rodney, the cat that comes with the library she’s working at, is the perfect blend of sass and loving. Although he seems to be Josie’s familiar, part of me is wondering if he’s actually a human that was turned into a cat… just from a couple of things I read. And, of course, you can’t have a cozy without a cast of quirky characters and a romantic interest.
The one really fun/bizarre quirk is that people from the trailer park will come over to the library, which is a big, old mansion, to bathe. At one point, one of the characters walks into the library with a towel ready for her bath. This just really stood out and amused me for some reason.
Although Josie starts to accept she’s a witch, actually a very powerful one, she doesn’t do much with her powers in Bait and Witch. But with the way this book ends you know that the next book will be exploring her powers in great depth, which I’m really looking forward to.
This story is quite interesting. The storyline flowed well and it was easy and fun to follow the plot. There are a number of characters besides the main character, Josie Way, who are very likable. I liked how Josie discovered her magic and that she realized she has a lot to learn to use it safely.
I enjoyed this mystery and am looking forward to reading the next book. This is primarily a mystery, the paranormal element is pretty light and could easily have been left out. On the paranormal side, Josie’s handling of her power had me raising my eyebrow a bit. On the mystery side, I thought the killer’s motive for killing and handling of it was weak. Also, Josie seems very savvy in some aspects in her move to Wilfred, but makes really rudimentary errors especially given the powers the people after her would have. However, while I was reading the story I just accepted everything and was able to enjoy it.
3.5/5.0
I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The first in a new cozy mystery series and I am so glad to start at the beginning of this charming cozy.
Josie and her coworker overhear some shady dealings at the Library of Congress and become whistleblowers. When her coworker disappears, Josie fears for her life and takes a job across the country at a small library.
On her first day work day she discovers that the library, which is housed in a Victorian mansion, is slated for demolition although some of the library board members are trying to fight it. She also discovers a dead body. She freaks out and believes it is someone sent to silence her but there are other strange things happening in the “town” and the history of the sudden closing of the town’s mill, so she’s not sure. And the death is not the only strange thing happening to Josie-She also discovers an ability to recommend the right book and even describe where to find it (even books she has never heard of) and has a book called Folk Witch continually show up.
An arrest is made in the murder case but strange book titles pop up in Josie’s brain-and all appear to say that an innocent man was arrested. Others in the town appear to have motives as well. Josie feels the books are asking her to investigate and so she does-and brings the reader along.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this mystery. The townspeople are great characters and I love the setting of the library in the mansion. Looking forward to having Josie learn more about her magic and there even seems to a potential love interest.
I received an an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions expressed are my own.
I thought this was a solid start to a new cozy mystery series by author Angela M. Sanders. It is a paranormal mystery dealing with a young library and the discovery that she is a witch, all while on the run after overhearing some criminal activity while working as a librarian for the Library of Congress. I enjoyed the characters in the series. The author did a good job of making Josie likable and getting the reader interested in following her discovery of her powers as a witch and learning a bit more about them. She is surrounded by an interesting cast of secondary characters including some of the local citizens and a mysterious FBI agent, who could be a future love interest for Josie.
For me, I thought the pace was a bit slow at the beginning and I had trouble figuring out how the author was going to tie in the murder to what was happening with Josie. There were not a lot of clues, at least in my opinion, that made determining the killer’s identity easy. The sheriff had his sight set on a particular suspect and didn’t waver until near the end of the book. I thought the mystery could have been a little bit tighter and when the killer’s identity was revealed I was surprised because for me it didn’t really make much sense. The motive and the reveal felt rushed and like I hadn’t had enough woven into the story to completely buy into the identity of the killer.
The premise of this series is similar to another paranormal mystery series involving a magical bookshop and books that talk to the protagonist in a manner of speaking. That said, I think that I will check out the next in the series to see where the author takes the characters and what she has planned in terms of the mystery.
I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley. The thoughts and opinions are my own.