Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders

A librarian, who is also a whistleblower, on the run and hiding out in a small town, what could go wrong? Josie intent on doing the right thing is a whistleblower and tells the FBI about a bribe she overhears in the Library of Congress. Instead of staying in town, she take a vacation and a new job in a small town across the country that should make it hard to find her. However, the town has problems and mysteries of its own. In traveling to the small town, Josie experiences something she cannot describe and comes to realize that she is a witch whose power comes from books. Of course when she gets to her small town she finds a dead body, and the library is in trouble. Josie decides that even if she isn’t staying she will help as much as she can, and in the process maybe she realizes that this small town is good for her and her reclaimed abilities. Eagerly looking forward to the next books in the series.

Character List/Book Summary:
Josie Wayfield – has a star birthmark that started burning when she crossed the Continental Divide. Overheard a bribe for a defense contract and fled after giving evidence to the FBI. Gets magical sense from books. Discovers a dead body on her first day in Wilfred. Solves the murder and a few other mysteries along the way.

Lyndon Forster – caretaker of the Wilfred library and one of the board of trustees. Picks Josie up from the airport after attending a secret meeting. Vegan and has a way of working with flowers.

Darla Starling – hired Josie after an interview over the phone, did not tell her the trouble the library was in. Is basically the de facto mayor (owns the trailer park, tavern & dinner). A library trustee and has a secret that Josie figures out.

Toni – Josie’s sister and a physician

Roslyn “Roz” Glover – assistant librarian, and works on a secret project in the library by a window that overlooks the grounds. Tells Josie about the library possibly being demolished and turned into a retreat.

Marilyn Wilfred – left the library to the town in her will, townspeople call her Aunt Lyn

Ilona Blackwalter – real estate agent handling the sale of the library. A library trustee. Her secrets are uncovered as Josie is hunting down the killer.

Dylan – high school intern

Jean – Josie’s younger sister

Sheriff Bert Dolby – sheriff of Wilfred. Knows about Josie’s issue with the FBI and claims to be working with them. His secrets are part of the plot twist.

Duke McConway – library trustee, member of knitting club, convinced Craig is guilty

Thurston “Sam” Wilfred – the 5th, lives next to the library in the “big house” that the Wilfreds own. Lives in LA, the sheriff knows his real job and why he is in town. Josie finds out his secret after the explosion in the library.

Craig Burdock – arrested for murder, small time criminal, and uses his vulnerability to get his way with women.

Lalena Dolby – Bert’s sister, does tarot/palm reading/and communicates with the dead. Dated Craig and knows he couldn’t have killed the woman Josie found.

January Stephens – a “fixer” who was found murdered on the library grounds.

Sita and Ruff Waters – buyers of the library. Sign a letter of intent to purchase the library at a meeting. Plan to turn the library into a retreat.

Judge Valade – the judge ruling on the suit to stop the purchase of the library. Josie gets a report to him on how valuable the library is to the community.