Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders

Title: Bait and Witch

Author: Angela M. Sanders

Narrator: Rebecca Mitchell

Series: #1 in the Witch Way Librarian Mysteries series

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Tantor Audio (December 29, 2020)

Source: Library Find

Rating: ☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: 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 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 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 . . . 

My Thoughts:  I thought this was an Ok introduction to a new to me series

The Good,  The Bad, and Everything Else: I really love a library setting and I enjoyed Josie's ability for pulling the right title up in her head for each person who comes to the library seeking a book. I also thought her not knowing she was a witch was interesting, but it does come with issues. She has no control. She has no idea what she can do. She completely does whatever her mom says blindly even though she is a full-on adult. The mystery of who was after Josie (or if anyone really was) was a bit of a stretch as the person died before Josie even got to town. Also, I think if the FBI was involved shouldn't they have put her in protective custody or something?

Anyway, I liked the Oregon setting and liked Sam (even if he was a little sketchy) but didn't warm up to many other people in town and why no one figured out who the murderer was is beyond me because it felt glaringly obvious.

Rebecca Mitchell's narration was decent. She doesn't do different voices but she's pleasant enough to spend several hours listening to. I was able to listen to the book at my typical 2X speed and her voice was ok for this. I wouldn't purposely seek out an audio book because she was narrating though.

In a Nutshell: I will continue with the series though and see where it takes me.

The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks

Title: The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost
Author: Lucy Banks (narrated by Joe Jameson)
Series: #1 in the Dr. Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural series
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC (September 5, 2015)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: Kester Lanner didn't know what to expect when he followed his mother s dying request to contact the mysterious Dr. Ribero, but he wasn't expecting to find his long lost father. Nor was he expecting to join the family business: catching supernatural spirits.

Kester is intrigued despite his fear, and finds himself drawn into an ancient ghost story that will test the entire agency.He soon becomes enmeshed in a struggle with the spirit, who is so malevolent and haunting that his first real case might just be his last.

My Thoughts: A good start to an interesting paranormal mystery with some unfortunate characters.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: While I really love paranormal mysteries this one was a bit bogged down with some unlikable characters. Serena is a secondary character within the series who has an important skill in collecting wayward spirits for their agency. Her personality is so negative. I'm not even sure how she has been working with the group (made of 5 people before Kester joined) for as long as she has (something like 5 years). She is rude to her co-workers and exhibits a hatred towards Kester upon meeting him for the first time. She ridicules everything he says and does. She also turns this attitude towards another male teammate, Mike.

Unfortunately, Kester, who is the main character isn't a whole lot better. He has a self depreciating attitude and puts himself down time after time. I don't like to read over and over how much he isn't someone to look at and how he is an overweight pasty looking man who looks older than he really is. He also had unfortunate reactions to his first encounter with a spirit. Granted, he didn't even know or believe in the paranormal so I'm sure it was a bit traumatic but his reaction was similar the second and third time....what a wuss.

Despite those two terrible characters the researching involved in the Green-Dressed Ghost was interesting although it took more than half the book to get to this point. Each team member also contributes something special to the investigation and spirit removal. With the addition of Kester to the team Serena's place within the team might be compromised with Serena even commented on towards the end of the book. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen with that and some interpersonal relationships that look like they may develop during the series.

The audio version was Ok and Joe Jameson had a decent voice for Kester. His accent for Dr. Rubio's Argentinian voice grew on me but at first I wasn't sure what accent it was. I almost thought it was Russian 😖I was able to listen to the book at my normal speed which is almost 2Xs. Although the audio was decent enough it didn't enhance the book as much as some other productions do.

In a Nutshell: Since I'm so character driven the negative characters almost turned me off the series but I think the investigation of the spirit mystery compensated for this. I'm looking forward to listening to the next book in the series or reading it myself, whichever version I can get from the library but I probably won't purchase it.