Gone with the Witch

Gone with the Witch is the fifth book in the Witch Way Librarian Mysteries by Angela M. Sanders, and she just took the series into a fun, new direction that I am so excited to see how it continues to develop.

I read a lot of cozies, and paranormal cozies is my absolute favorite sub-genre. The Witch Way Librarian Mysteries is one series that I always keep an eye out for the next book, and one that I always recommend.

About 50% of the time I find myself enjoying the side characters (Scooby Gang) more than the main character, but in this series I love them all. There are so many varied and well written characters. I’m even enjoying the stretched out romance, because it’s not a main story line.

Besides all the fantastic characters, I love show more the premise of this series, a witch who recently came into her powers being helped by her deceased Grandmother through letters, and who gains power and wisdom from all the books in the library that talk to her. Oh, how I wish I was her!
And Sanders took it a step further in Gone with the Witch, by introducing a new way that characters can come to life and help out Josie in solving mysteries.
We also are introduced to a powerful nemesis, but are not sure who it could be yet, although I have an idea, and I’m excited to see if I’m correct when I read the next book in the series.

If you did not get it from reading this review, I highly recommend this series for anyone who enjoys cozies, mysteries, or the supernatural. show less

Old bones are discovered under an outhouse, and Helen wants them tested to see if they could possibly be her husband who disappeared decades ago. They are not, and drowning her sorrow at a local tavern, she happens to see a game show. Now she swears that one of the contestants is her long-lost husband. This is where Josie gets involved. As a librarian, she is excellent at research. And being a witch doesn’t hurt her sleuthing skills. Eventually, not one but two visitors come to the small town of Wilfred, and for one, it doesn’t turn out well. This cozy is cute in several ways, but mostly for Josie’s ability to communicate with books. In this story, she joins forces with a page size Sherlock Holmes, straight of his complete works. show more With his astute help, she, (but mostly he), is able to solve this mystery. The mystery of the old bones and missing husband may not be the most gripping of mysteries, but the addition of a pint-size Holmes makes it well worth the read. I wonder what novel the next detective will surface from. I’d like to see Josie join forces with Miss Marple and interrogate the people of Wilford. Josie is an intriguing character, as are her developing abilities as she grows into her heritage as a witch. show less

The library's books continue to talk to Josie. This time it is a Sherlock Holmes anthology. She is not sure why and keeps putting it back on the shelf. Helen, who teaches organ lessons at the library, thinks she saw her late husband as a contestant on a game show. She asks Josie to help track him down. When the game show contestant comes to town, he ends up dead. Who did it? Why? Was he really Helen's husband? Then Josie gets guests staying at the library. How will it end? What does Sherlock have to say about it?

I enjoyed this book. Josie is keeping secrets from Sam and butting her nose into his case. He keeps warning her to keep her nose out of it, but Josie has a lot of theories about what happened in the past. Knowing Sam's feelings show more about secrets, I have a hard time believing Josie is keeping the secrets. I also cannot believe she is allowing people to stay at the library. She also is helping Roz and Landon solve their housing situation. They are quite humorous on their upset on it.

I have to admit I did not solve the murder. I suspected the wrong person. I had an idea of how some of the past fit into the story currently but not all of it. I was surprised at how much I did not figure out.

I like Josie and Sam. They are good for each other. Now I think Josie needs to put on her big girl pants and let Sam know her secret. She knows much of his. I look forward to more in the series. show less