For Whom the Spell Tolls

Ordinary Oregon Mystery #2

by Devon Monk

A laugh-out-loud, cozy, magic-packed whodunit by National Bestseller Devon Monk

Come for the readings...stay for the revenge…

Jules Larkwood, a witch looking for a little adventure, doesn’t expect her friendly bet with the town’s oldest vampire to change her life. Then a powerful enemy from her past rises from the dead, and Jules’ life becomes a little too interesting.

Now she must juggle tracking down ancient spells, thwarting secret rituals, and facing old foes, while attending her book club and keeping her crystal shop open for Ordinary’s full moon festival.

But when a woman is found dead, all bets are off. Jules and her best friends Medusa (yes, that Medusa) and a seer named Piper, are on the hunt, and running out of time to catch the murderer before the next victim falls…

Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Fantasy, Magic, Vampires

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2026

About the author

Devon Monk is a national best selling writer of urban fantasy. Her series include Ordinary Magic, House Immortal, Allie Beckstrom, Broken Magic and Shame and Terric. She also writes the Age of Steam steampunk series, and the occasional short story which can be found in her collection: A Cup of Normal, and in various anthologies. She has one husband, two sons, and lives in Oregon. When not writing, Devon is either drinking too much coffee or knitting silly things.

Reviews

[Reina Lectura]

This was actually a cozy fun paranormal mystery investigative filled book. Not sure how the title relates to the plot, however, instances of 2nd chance love have been found here, not to mention the fact that I was shipping Jules with that vampire.......but ehhh, author had other plans, seeing that the plot was focused on the mysteries surrounding the murders in the town.

[Ami]

2.5 stars

Too me long time to finish this - kept being distracted with other things, like World Cup Games, mobile phone games - I think maybe I never really care with the main characters.

I mean, yes, I love the Ordinary residents, but I felt like Dusi, Jules, and Piper (who will have her story in the third book) weren't as interesting as the original Reed sisters or even Than. And the mystery was weak. I mean, Jules, seriously, I suspected Clara since the very first time she started to ask about your tokens!.

I love Devon Monk's books but I felt like this series isn't her best.

I will still read Piper's book though because this one is meant to be a trilogy anyway.

[Steph]

For Whom the Spell Tolls picks up after Gorgon with the Wind. Jules enjoyed working with her friends to solve a murder and is looking for another adventure -- maybe another murder will happen in Ordinary? Rossi the local master vampire, pops in to her shop and once again tries buying a magical compact mirror. Jules enjoys refusing to sell the item to him, but this time he proposes a bet - if she's the first to discover the identity of the murderer, should another murder occur, he'll open his vault of extremely rare stones to her. If she loses, she must sell him the mirror. As a witch, she can't resist, plus she had a blast last time and what are the chances someone else will be murderered in town?

While bored, she sends a message out into the world, "Call out your need. Call out for assistance. I will find you. I will help you. For if you hear this spell, it tolls for thee." Feeling a tug she begins wandering and ends up in a graveyard. There, her years dead professor is undead and announces someone has raised him from the dead and (surprise) he was murdered. Jules sets out, with Dusi and Piper, to try to solve his murder before anyone else.

This installment was a bit more enjoyable for me than the first, but I still like Monk's Ordinary Magic series better than this mystery spin-off. Still, it's always fun seeing OM characters interact with those in this series.

[Kat Klein]

So once again, I enjoyed the book. I love Ordinary, and the characters there. Than and Rossi are favorites, and they're both in these books. However, once again I have a problem with the mystery. Same as last time, I figured it out well before the FMC did. In fact, in both books I could not figure out the reasoning behind why they thought the person they chose as the 'bad guy' was who they chose. In the case of this one, Jules completely disregarded the killer because she couldn't see a motive. The motive was rather obvious right up front. She was given the motive early on and disregarded it. Almost the same situation as was in the first book.

In both books, it's easy to disregard the mystery portion in favor of catching up with the Ordinary characters, but I really don't feel like I would call it a cozy mystery. More like an Urban Fantasy, with a mystery element.

[Theresa]

4 Stars:)

[Sandra]

This is the 2nd book in this spinoff series. Set in Ordinary, a magical town with all the supes & also Gods on vacation. Delaney Reed is the Sheriff, tasked with keeping everything and everyone in order.

Jules Larkwood, a witch, is our murder solving heroine, with her friends Dusi (Medusa) & Piper, a seer.

I found this story to be slow to start, the FMC more wishywashy than the previous story and whilst the setting is terrific the spinoff just doesn't grab like the original series.

Towards the end it picks up, but we're left with the supposed MMC as less than ideal. I did pick the villain and found myself incredulous that Jules kept trying to paint the villain as white as snow, despite her knowing them all her life.

No idea if I'll continue the series.

[Darcy]

For some reason this one felt very chaotic to me, not sure why. Maybe it was due to the people from Jules past that showed up, all of them throwing her off her normal game. Maybe it was what was going on with the dead people and why, it was a bit weird. The one thing that I did like is how the people of town had Jules's back time and time again through out the book. Her real friends showing up to help as needed and plan big things for the future. That is what Jules really needed through out this one.

[Karen]

Book 2 in the series focuses on Jules, the witch proprietor of the Fool Moon magic shop. She’s happy to have her friends Dusi (Medusa) and Piper in town and she loves living in Ordinary- the vacation town of the gods- but she’s also a bit bored. She would love to have something to do, some way to be useful, so she sends out a little spell offering to help anyone who “hears” the spell and gets pitchforked into a mystery from her own past.

Ordinary Oregon is a sequel series to the Ordinary Magic series. There’s a really fun cast of characters and a quirky small town setting.

[Eileen Schneegas]

Extraordinary

The town of Ordinary, Oregon can only be viewed through Monk's words. The stories of the town, its purpose, the people and situations in which they find themselves , is always entertaining. Monk is masterful in weaving many diverse characters into a beautiful tapestry across the novels and shorter stories making up a world inside a sm.all town. I love my visits to Ordinary! Thank you Devon Monk for the magic, always and ever. Each book is a vacation.

[Linda]

I love this series

I stayed up to finish this book. It is midnight and I read it in 2 days. Love the writing style and the characters.

You have Gods and Goddesses, Medusa, witches, shapeshifters, and vampires. You can add old loves to the mix and bets. All of that comes out as a fun mystery and a great deal of laughter and joy.

A definite must read for me!

[Debbie]

Enjoyable

Once again, so nice to return to Ordinary. I particularly commend the pacing. I guess I have become impatient, but I do enjoy a story that doesn’t seem to dawdle on the way to a conclusion (seemingly) just to bloat the word count.

[Kelly]

Great read

A good mystery, great friendships and brilliant descriptions of Ordinary and how the magic lies in the environment.
I’m really enjoying this series as the characters discover themselves, explore relationships and solve mysteries without any authority.

[Reader]

really enjoyed this book

I really enjoyed this book. Great story, great characters. I like how this different series fits nicely into the ordinary world. Can wait for book 3.

[Mai]

I love Devon Monk's books so much and this one is no exception. And Ordinary is one of my favorite places. Wish I could live there!

[Debrac2014]

Very good! Murder mystery with likeable characters!

[Tammy Dennison]

Love Ordinary books and have bought and read all I found. Looking forward to additional stories of the gods and paranormal characters in this magical place!

[Mary]

I really like this series!

[Heidi]

Enjoyable cozy fantasy mystery.