Search - A Charmed Death (Bewitching, Bk 2)

A Charmed Death (Bewitching, Bk 2)
Larger
A Charmed Death (Bewitching, Bk 2)
Author: Madelyn Alt

Book Information
Publisher: Berkley
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 2
Rating:

ISBN-13: 9780425213179 - ISBN-10: 042521317X
Publication Date: 12/5/2006
Pages: 304

Book Description:
Maggie O'Neill was just a small-town girl, stuck in a dead-end job - until she started working at Enchantments, Stony Mill's finest mystical antique shop.

Now Maggie is Indiana's newest witch. Learning to cope with her newfound powers is tough enough, but add to that keeping the stock at Enchantments organized and remembering to tape reruns of her favorite show, Magnum, P.I., and Maggie's got a full plate.

But when she witnesses an altercation between a local teenage princess and another customer in Enchantments - and later the girl turns up dead - she feels compelled to investigate. Though the police are at a loss, Maggie has some tricks up her sleeve, or to be more specific, some spells, charms, and mystical intuitions. And with the help of her boss (and favorite witch) Felicity Dow, Maggie is spellbound and determined to get to the bottom of this murder.

Members who requested this book also requested:


Genres:

Top Member Book Reviews

Sheila A. (mysterylady) wrote on 6/7/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

This is the 2nd in the Bewitching Mystery series. This is a great series! The characters and storyline are really good! I can't wait for the 3rd one to come out in December.

From the back of book:

Maggie O'Neill was just a small-town girl, stuck in a dead-end job--until she started working at Enchantments, Stony Mills finest mystical antique shop.

Now Maggie is Indiana's newest witch. Learning to cope with her newfound powers is tough enough, but add to that keeping the stock at Enchantments organized and remembering to tape reruns of her favorite show, Magnum, P.I., and Maggie's got a full plate.

But when she witnesses an altercation between a local teen princess and another customer in Enchantments--and later the girl turns up dead--she feels compelled to investigate. Though the police are at a loss, Maggie has some tricks up her sleeve, or to be more specific, some spells, charms, and mystical intuitions. And with the help of her boss (and favorite witch) Felicity Dow, Maggie is spellbound and determined to get to the bottom of this murder.

Melisa M. (hedgewitch) wrote on 2/4/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

The narrator has a pleasant voice. The paganism described is rather silly, that American eclectic white-light variety whose goddess has no name (apparently all gods are one); but hey, it's fiction. The protagonist is a little too blind to things obvious to the reader, and a little too ready to walk into the villain's clutches, but those are common problems in mysteries and don't, in this case, ruin the story, which is an enjoyable one.

Deborah H. (littlepine) wrote on 5/10/2009...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

A nice bewitching mystery. I would recommend this book and I will be looking for more books to read from this series.I would like to see how the main character "Maggie" develops and grows in the coming books.

Amy W. (amylynnikins) wrote on 1/25/2009...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

This is the second in a series that seemed like a good read. I really wasn't sure about it, but someone I know who likes mysteries recommended it to "break up" all the romance novels I had been reading of late. I immediately went and read book four, and have now begun book one. Okay, so it's completely out of order, but THESE ARE GREAT BOOKS!!! The mysteries have been well written, the characters are well rounded, the stories are fun! There are times that I have found paranormal books can be as harsh on Christianity as Christianity can be on the paranormal, but that judgement is not to be found in these books. Oh, you may run across a character who has that opinion, but the tone of the books does not show disrespect to any belief system. Instead, I think they have a very nice balance to them. Thought provoking without being heavy. Maggie deals with her love life, belief systems, small town life, and family dynamics all as she approaches her 30th birthday. This is definitely my newest addiction. I'm a true and steadfast fan of this series. May the books keep coming!!

Leeankh wrote on 9/13/2008...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Honestly, I felt that the description on the back was a bit misleading. I don't view the main character as a witch at all. If I had to label her, I'd say she's an empath testing the waters of paranormal investigations. Felicity identifies as a witch and I think that's fine, but saying Maggie is a new witch just didn't feel quite accurate to me. But, that's mostly just me nitpicking over word choice. :)

Anyway, I love this book and the series so far. The whole paranormal cozy genre is fantastic. What a concept! This book is a great example of the genre. I thought the mystery was engaging and quite a bit seedier than I anticipated. In fact, the plot was actually quite dark by the end. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for the next one. :)

Holly M. (nursiegirl42) wrote on 9/28/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Another great book in the Bewitching Series! This is the 2nd book in the series! Both books have been good but this one I think was a tad bit better! Can't wait for the next one to come out!

Linda H. (ldh652) wrote on 6/25/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

This series gets better and better. On the surface, it's a nice cozy that makes for a good weekend read. But, it also offers a complexity and thoughtfulness that you don't always get from this genre. A smart cozy, I guess you'd call it! I hate to part with this one, but it's also nice to share!

Joana R. (Joanana) wrote on 3/6/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

One of the better mystery books I've read recently, made especially so by the interesting blend of magic and intrigue. My main criticism is that the author seems to depend on her supporting characters too much to carry the main character and the story. Other than that a definate must read.


Please Rate these Book Reviews

Amika A. (Amika) wrote on 10/30/2009...


As soon as I finished book 1 I ran out & bought book 2.
I really enjoyed it. It's a great quick read. Fun story.

Sandy B. (Dandielyonwine) wrote on 10/22/2009...


Cute, quick easy read.

Anne D. (mousee23) wrote on 10/21/2009...


If you enjoyed the first one you will definately enjoy this one.

Kelly O. (astucity) - OH wrote on 7/25/2009...


I liked this book, but not as much as the first one. It has second child syndrome but not as bad as it could have been. It's still a good read.

Maggie finds herself once again thrown into the town's current murder drama when a rambunctious and prominent high school girl, Amanda Roberson, goes missing soon after her visit at the antique store Maggie works at.

At this part it's sort of made unclear why Maggie feels the need as an antique store worker, that's not particularly close to the girl, to dive in on trying to find out where she is but I guess that's me nitpicking. The story has to start off somewhere right?

A few hours later Amanda's car is found under an old abandon covered wooden bridge and the murder investigation starts. Maggie really starts getting into the investigation when Amanda's mother wanted to return the clock Amanda had bought that day for her Christmas present. Hidden inside the clock was some incriminating photos with Amanda entertaining an older gentleman, along with evidence she was running an underground sex blog that the high school population was frequenting.

Tom, her love interest to be, (for reasons I don't entirely understand, he seems like your typical small town narrow minded bigoted cop), doesn't make much of a return in this one but her sidekick in all these little mysteries so far, Marcus Quinn, does. Maggie seems to think he and her boss and friend Felicity have this torrid May-September romance going on but it's painfully obvious they don't. It's just kind of ridiculous, in my opinion, she is supposed to be this crime solving wiz and the reader (us) is sitting there going, "Oh give me a break. Could it be anymore clear that there is nothing going on?".

A few chapters before it ended I knew who it was. It being the dastardly murderer of said high school tramp Amanda Roberson. The mysteries are a little better than standard but the series is more than that. It has genuine pagan witchcraft as it is today and not any of that Charmed crap. (Sorry if you liked Charmed, I personally hated it) You get an understanding of who modern witches are. Both the flighty and powder puff types to the vastly intelligent personality set. The rituals and tools explained in the book are genuine information that witches use in practice today, so if this series succeeds and becomes mainstream at least it is contributing to easing some of the horrid stereotypes inflicted upon this religion.

Barbara S. (barbsis) - Netcong, NJ wrote on 7/17/2009...


Maggie O'Neill is a witch-in-training, an empath to be exact. While working at Enchantments, Maggie encounters Amanda Roberson a privileged high school student with attitude who later that same day disappears. Of course, Maggie can't keep her nose out of trouble and when evidence falls into her lap, instead of going to the police, she investigates herself. We've all seen the horror movies, so you know what happened next....

I really enjoy Maggie's fumbling attempts at solving mysteries. She just stumbles along from one clue to another with no idea and then with a little magic it all comes together. She always seems to get herself caught with the killer as she's searching for the final proof before handing it off to the police. Madelyn Alt puts the mystery together in pieces so solving it can't be done until the final piece is laid out. Great writing!

Barbara H. (barbaralois) wrote on 12/17/2008...


A cozy. A quick lite romp through the enchanted world of witchcraft.

Cynthia (escapist) - Irving, TX wrote on 10/10/2008...


This book bored me. I was well over 30 pages into the story when I just gave up on it. I later read a review saying the pace picked up a third of the way into it. Ah well, they had more patience than I.

Donna C. (MrsJimbo) wrote on 8/16/2008...


Good series

Chris B. (mannythepoolshark) wrote on 7/27/2008...


The second in a series about a woman discovering somewhat psychic abilities. Its a little slow moving at first but by a quarter of the way through it picks up and becomes a page turner. I was a little disappointed in the characters how predictable they were but all together it was a decent read. 3 out of 5.

Pamela C. (mattsmom) wrote on 7/20/2007...


I love this series! This is the 2nd book. This book follows "The Trouble With Magic". If you like the paranormal, you will love this series!


Book Wiki
Series
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Real Places
Fictional Places
Important Events
Awards and Honors