At first, it seems obvious that someone wants Stephen dead, and a distraught Ophelia is determined to solve the mystery of who might be trying to kill him and why. But when a second shooting occurs, she’s forced to consider the possibility that she was the intended target. Now Ophelia, aided by her grandmother, Abby (also a witch), must pull out all the stops—reading runes, deciphering dreams, casting spells, even attempting to enchant the password from a computer disk—in order to discover who and what is behind all the "accidents" before anyone else dies.

I was charmed by this melding of cozy mystery and paranormal suspense. Ophelia is the perfect amateur sleuth. She’s reckless enough to take the risky chances most of us would avoid as she tries to ferret out clues, realistic enough to panic when the realizes she might have gotten herself in over her head, and resourceful enough to get herself out of the dangerous situations she continuously stumbles into.

Shirley Damsgaard’s Ophelia and Abby series is sure to delight both mystery fans and fans of the paranormal. I know I’ll be on the lookout for more of their adventures.