Slow Poison by Helen Slavin

Slow Poison is the second book in The Witch Ways series by Helen Slavin. The three Way sisters; Anna, Charlie and Emz have inherited their grandmother's role as Game keepers of Havoc Wood but they know nothing of what this role means or their duties. They are still coming to terms with their grandmother's death and the tragic events of the previous year which saw the deaths of Anna's husband and baby son. However the arrival of mysterious stranger Ailith with a man's severed head wrapped up in rags means they have to figure out their responsibilities and get a handle on their strengths sooner then they might have expected. They girls are still tentative about any magical power they have, so much so that they don't even like using the word magic. Their magic however is very much needed because another stranger; the dark and sinister Mrs Fyfe has cast a strange spell over the town of Havoc causing disorder and nastiness with everything she touches and the girls will have to find a way to defeat her. This book full of sisterly love and witchy magic was a pure joy to read. The atmosphere is wonderfully evoked  and the various different characters of the small town they call home are all brilliantly drawn. This is a perfect book for fans of Paula Brackston, Anna McKerrow, Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and Sarah Painter's Pendleford Witch books. The publishers were kind enough to send me the first in the series Crooked Daylight and I can't wait to dive in and learn more about the Way family.