Review - The Seventh Witch

Continuing with the Halloween theme we have a great Amateur Sleuth novel for everyone today.  I have been waiting to read and review this book for just this time of year.  I have read all the books in this series and have always enjoyed them.  So let's travel to hills of North Carolina.

Author:  Shirley Damsgaard

Copyright:  Jan 2010 (Avon) 288 pgs

Series:  7th in Ophelia and Abby Mysteries


Sensuality:  Mild romance

Mystery Sub-genre:  Paranormal Amateur Sleuth


Main Character:  Ophelia Jensen, Summerset Iowa librarian with psychic powers and her grandmother Abby who is descended from a long line of witches


Setting:  Modern day, hills of North Carolina


Obtained Through:  Purchased my own copy

This book leaves small Summerset Iowa behind for the hill country of North Carolina as Ophelia, her adopted medium daughter Tatiana (Tink), and Abby travel to the family roost for Great Aunt Mary's one hundredth birthday celebration.  Great Aunt Mary is the iron-fisted matriarch of the family who scared Ophelia in her youth with her sternness.  But shortly after arriving a snake is discovered in Abby's bedroom that zones in on Abby.  It becomes clear that a fifty-some-year-old feud with the neighboring Doran family has been stoked by Abby's return.  Apparently the Doran family has gained a reputation in the hills as being dangerous witches you don't want to cross if you value your or your family's health.

Ophelia, never one to back down from a bully starts asking questions about what started the feud and why one parcel of family land was given to the Dorans.  That particular piece of land has a stone circle, called the Seven Sisters, similar to Stonehenge, that probably dates back to early Native Americans.  But nobody in the family wants to dig up the past or rock the strained "truce" with the Dorans.  Then a man who Ophelia witnessed argue with Sharon Doran is found dead and Ophelia is on the case.  Ophelia keeps digging and the stakes keep getting raised. This book has your classic feud only between powerful witch families.

"Hush, Granny."  The younger woman stroked her grandmother's gnarled hand.  "I won't fail...I promise."  The dim light reflected in her eyes, turning them black, and the shadow of her kneeling body seemed to grow as if the spirit fleeing the old woman's invaded hers.  "They'll pay..."  Her voice trailed away while the ticking of the clock filled the room.  "They'll pay with blood."

At his niece's words, his mother's eyes drifted shut.  One last breath and her chest stilled forever.

His niece stood, placed a soft kiss on his mother's wrinkled cheek, and quietly crossed the room to the dresser.  Taking a shawl, she draped it across the old wavy mirror hanging on the wall.  Then she opened the glass door of the clock and stopped the swinging pendulum.  A heavy silence suddenly fell upon the room.  she turned, and with one last look at the quiet form lying in the double bed, she marched out the door.

Most of the series regulars are in this book, except Ophelia's best friend Darci who only gets a cameo appearance in a phone call.  Even the potential romantic interest, Ethan is back.  This book explores Abby's Appalachian roots and grounds Ophelia (and the reader) in her rich legacy.  I was delighted to have Ophelia's mom and dad throughout the book who are the only non-magical characters.  Their interactions with Tink were a nice counterweight for the otherwise serious tone.  I enjoyed their characters as well as the colorful cast of country relations that populate the landscape.  Each character was well drawn and the setting was  richly cast so I felt like I was in the isolated backwoods of North Carolina.

The plot took a standard idea of a family feud and built a captivating story.  There were a few areas that could have been further developed but weren't, some missed opportunities.  Which is easy for a "Monday Morning Quarterback" who isn't writing it, but I would have truly enjoyed some of the smaller story ideas utilized further.  I am always pleased when Ophelia uses her powers, but it didn't happen in this story.  She digs information up and confronts accepted thinking.  But in the climax where I was hoping for her to tap into her magical self, she doesn't.  The Seven Sisters stone circle was a great element that I would have enjoyed a parting progress report on in the wrap up, but no luck there.  These are all "nice to have" comments that don't necessarily detract from the story - they just would have been icing.

The plot was solid enough to carry the reader through to the end, and even though the reader sees what is happening before Ophelia, that is how I think it was meant to be for suspense.  Like watching a thriller movie and knowing the character just should not open that door!  The witch-magic element is low key compared to the Hollywood influenced books, which gives it a bit more realistic touch and keeps the "horror movie" factor down.  Bottom line, this is an enjoyable read that has well defined characters and setting as its strongest points.

I enjoyed this book as I have the rest of the series and I suspect that some of you may enjoy it as well.


Now for a classic Southern recipe RED EYE GRAVY that was mentioned in the story.

Ingredients:

• Country ham
• Boiling black coffee
• Brown sugar to taste (optional)

Preparation:

Red-eye gravy, requires first a good, well-cured country ham.

Take a slice of uncooked ham with most or much of the fat left on. Fry the ham in its own fat until nicely browned on both sides. When it is cooked, transfer the ham to a warm platter and add boiling black coffee  to the skillet, scraping to dissolve the particles that cling to the bottom and sides.

That is red-eye gravy, which you pour over the ham and serve.

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Book Review: Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey

     For the month of October I will be reviewing paranormal mysteries to celebrate what goes bump in the night for upcoming Halloween.  For the first of such paranormal mysteries I am reviewing an oldie but a goodie.

     Burning Water is a paranormal mystery. It is a solid paranormal story with a police angle, which makes it a great venue to showcase the dynamic main character Diana Tregarde.  There were only three total in the series ever written, which is a tremendous shame.


     The main character Diana, is not just a strong woman who can handle herself; she is a knowledgeable and powerful witch. An old friend of Diana’s on the Dallas police, Mark Valdez, brings Diana to Dallas to assist the police. Detective Valdez suspects a series of cattle mutilations and torture murders are not caused by something or someone of mere mortal status. Diana senses that powerful magic is behind this and teams with the Dallas PD to stop the murders – that are accelerating in violence.

     Police procedurals can get gritty and more explicit with details of murders and this is no exception. This presents Diana the witch in a very realistic manner and demonstrates how she and the metaphysical community were repulsed by such violence. Considering the date this was written, pre-Buffy-the-Vampire-slayer or Charmed, it seems critical to have shown the reader she is compassionate and fights to prevent suffering.

     The main character’s strong points as I see them are 1) she is confident but knows her limitations well 2) she was realistic with research and interviewing locals 3) she has depth – she is taking care of a friend suffering from AIDS back home and finds a healer whom she sends back to care take him and 4) she was not superwoman. All these points were highlighted due to the police procedural approach.

     The plot was handled deftly. The reader has the advantage of knowing more than Diana and Mark as they investigate - such as this all started in Mexico city and involves Aztec mysticism.  The investigation takes them across Dallas and the reader finds out more tidbits that add to the tension.  The writing is not flowing prose or high literature, it is efficient and streamlined which some like and some don't.

     The viewpoint occasionally would shift to a victim leading up to their murder, but no worries, the actual torture and murder and described only after the fact. Descriptions are not deliberately graphic for horror sake, but just enough to drive home the fact that they are chilling slayings.

     The dialog, I felt was believable.  Diana’s first meeting with the Dallas Chief of Police:

“Any relation of Mark Twain?” she asked as he released her hand.

“Somethin’ distant on m’mother’s side; she slapped it on me t’annoy some uppity aunty of hers back East,” the Chief replied with perverse pride. “Well, missy – you bein’ the imported expert, what y’all think?”

     And now Diana at Mark’s door early morning:

“Pardon me, sir,” came a high-pitched, squeaky voice, only partially muffled by having to pass through an inch of wood, “but I’m working my way through Gramarye School, and I wondered if I could interest you in a complete set of translations of the Necronomicon? Bound in genuine simulated humahide with fourteen-karat goldlike tooling? A priceless heirloom designed to be passed down to future generations, should you live so long?”

Less than ten hours ago the owner of that voice had been kneeling at the side of a very mangled corpse, doing a valiant job of not throwing up. Now she was making jokes…

“Not interested.” He opened the door.

Di was leaning up against the doorframe, an impish grin transforming her face to pure gamin. “Well how about some Gargoyle Scout Cookies, then?”

“Only if they have caffeine. Get in here, before my neighbors start to talk.”

She skipped inside and he closed the door behind her. “You mean they don’t talk now?”

“Of course they do – but if wholesome types like you start showing up making me get up early, they just might think I’ve gone respectable.”

“Good God, we can’t have that.”

     Pacing of the story was good as the investigation takes a couple of months, the story would have been rushed otherwise I felt. Tension is built progressively like Hitchcock was known for doing, and in many ways reminds me of the famous director’s signature suspense. The last third of the book I hated to put it down for any reason.

Di wrenched the door open and closed it quickly behind her, double locking it and throwing the security bolt. She was panting like a greyhound at the end of a race, and with good reason – she’d run the last six blocks to the boardinghouse.

 From the moment she’d stepped off the bus she’d known she was in danger. At first she had simply acted normally – except for putting up full and battle-hardened shields. But nothing attacked –

Only the feeling of peril had grown, nearer and stronger with every minute, until she had found herself running as fast as she could for the relative safety of the boardinghouse and her tools. She’d hit the door and unlocked it so fast she hardly believed it, and had squirted inside as if she’d been oiled.

She heard a movement behind her and started to spin – then her empathic senses identified Aunt Nita, and she relaxed just a trifle; completing her turn, but without the urgency of self-defense.

Her eyes had already adjusted to the limited light in the hall. It did not surprise her to see Aunt Nita had armed herself with a cleaver.

She cleared her throat. “So you feel it too – “ she said; more of a statement than a question.

     What fight scenes or action sequences involve magical battles and are believably handled. Not over done and super witch special effects, but savvy.

     There is a scene regarding a past life regression that was quite nicely done in my opinion. That entire sequence could easily have been botched but was in fact one of the richest scenes in the novel for emotion and impact.

     The ending was not the standard, and even there contained a touch of reality. The ending is perhaps the only area that, if I had my wish, would have been more the total justice-served ending. I am in no way saying that the ending wasn’t well done.  It was a good solid ending.

     It was a book that I hated to be done with because I wanted to continue and follow Diana back to Connecticut. The premise of having her assist with a police investigation demonstrated beautifully her awareness of forensic science and respect for the police and their boundaries. It also showed us her true self, for when she is in a strange and unfamiliar city she quickly figures out the bus system and the major players in town.

     Overall a great second novel, a refreshing main character and a storyline that still has me mulling over all the scenes. Thank you Mercedes Lackey, is there anyway possible to get you to pick up this series again and write more???

Obtained book through: Library


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