Review: Murder at Witch's Bluff

 

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 1st edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567187277
• ISBN-13: 978-1567187274
• 
  

True to its title, Murder at Witch's Bluff has it all, murder, mystery, magick, and even a little romance. As someone who once enjoyed Silver Ravenwolf's non-fictional material as well as her previous book Beneath a Mountain Moon, I was very interested in reading more of her fiction that wasn't geared specifically towards the teenage market. In this book, Silver has defiantly captured the feel of small town America with all its vices and virtues. The characters, for the most part, are well thought out with a few exceptions. The central character, Siren McKay, is portrayed as a very strong willed woman even in the face of the terrible violence that she was exposed to, and the victim of, in a relatively short amount of time. I absolutely loved the character of Nana Loretta, and the descriptions of her magickal practices were an added bonus. I also felt that Tanner's struggle with attempting to find if magick and witchcraft had a place in his life is also one that many of us have also struggled with ourselves. I also liked that fact that this book portrayed a gay character (Lexi) who wasn't too stereotypical. Although her part was relatively small, Gemma was completely psychotic as any murderous villain. Though he starts out as a very unsympathetic character, Uncle Jess become more endearing as the author peels back the layers to reveal the man behind all the gruff. Other than Siren herself, I felt as though Serato, was one of the most interesting of characters in the book. At times it almost felt as if he was a narrator, as his observations of the other characters in the book were so accurate and greatly helped to move the story along.

I failed to comprehend the exact purpose for the character of Rachael in the story. It seems that the author either had planned to do more with her and decided not to do so, or that she was always intended to be a throw-away character for the purpose of adding to the list of suspects. I also would have liked at least one scene depicting Siren applying her trade as a hypnotherapist.

Overall the plot was well conceived if not original, although I have to admit that the story did not unfold in the direction that I had previously thought it would. Although there were a few continuity errors and more than a few typos, it did not detract from the over all story itself in my opinion. The mysterious in this novel are numerous, although some will not be as mysterious as others to the observant reader. The pacing is fast throughout the book with virtually no slow spots. Fellow crafters will enjoy the inclusion of descriptions of actual spells and ritual, as well as the inclusion of actual Wiccan poetry that has been found in non-fiction works.

I was a bit disappointed with the fact that the author chose not to include a scene in which the characters who were either absent or unconscious at the book's climax were told the truth about the novel's central mystery and how they dealt with this information; instead the reader is left to infer for himself how they reacted. Although the final scene wraps up all but a few loose ends, they seemed to be inconsequential in the face of what actually transpired.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt that the bad far outweighed the good and would recommend Murder at Witch's Bluff to anyone interested in magickal fiction, or just anyone who loves a good story!

- Carolina Dean 

Review: The Widows of Eastwick

 

• Title: The Widows of Eastwick 
• Author: John Updike
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307269604
• ISBN-13: 978-0307269607

It’s been 30 years since the comely coven of Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie left Eastwick behind for separate lives with newly conjured husbands, Alexandra to an artist in New Mexico; Jane to a well-to-do financial consultant in New England; and Sukie to a nouveau-riche entrepreneur in Connecticut. Who’s to say if they left Eastwick for a second chance at love and happiness or was it to escape the shame and guilt of having killed one of their own? Perhaps they left to avoid the ire of their numerous enemies, who coveted their beauty, power, and sexual freedom?

Suffice it to say, gone are the days of meeting together to raise the cone of power. No more maleficia. No more orgiastic sabbats with their shared lover Daryl Van Horne. No more feasting upon fine delicacies in the grand rooms of Lenox Manor. Alexandra fills her days devoted to her husband and his craft, somehow finding the time to nurture her own. Whereas Jane somewhat enjoys the leisurely pace of the idle rich, and Sukie expresses her creativity by writing romance novels just this side of pornography.

Having settled into the routine of their lives, the women suddenly find themselves widowed with the death of their respective husbands. The witches now face the grim reality of their own death and seek to renew the friendships of the past. After having had little contact in the past thirty years, the women initially reconnect through letters and phone calls. These calls first lead to Alexandra and Jane taking a trip to Egypt together, and the following year, Sukie joins them for a trip to China.

After having to persuade Alexandra a bit, the women decide to return to the “scene of their primes” as one of the witches describes Eastwick. Interestingly, they end up renting Lenox Manor (now divided into several condos and renamed to reflect the fact) for the months of August and September. Though many years have passed, they begrudgingly look forward to their return trip to Eastwick, which they attribute to both a sense of curiosity as well as a sense of guilt for their part in the demise of Jenny Gabriel, the wife of Daryl Van Horne.

The return of the witches to Eastwick shocks its citizens, and Jane in particular gets a peculiar shock in return, or rather a series of shocks. Alexandra un-expectantly meets the wife of one of her past lovers who attributes her daughter’s inability to conceive to the coven’s black magic. Sukie meets with a former lover, eleven years her junior, only to find that fantasy has given away to reality and her former boy-toy is now an old man. Not only has his six-pack grown into a keg, but his hand has become deformed due to an accident which occurred aboard the ship on which he used to work.

About the same time Jane suffers a health scare, she realizes that Christopher Gabriel, the brother of the girl they murdered, is also in town. The women come to believe that Darryl has shared some of his power with the man they describe as his ‘disciple’ and that he is the cause of Jane’s problems. The witches decide to flex their magical muscles once again and raise the cone of power. However, this time they decide to attempt to right the wrongs of the past. Jane seeks a healing, while Alexandra prays to the Goddess to allow her old enemy’s daughter to conceive, and Sukie makes her wish for her former lover to be made whole again.

They barely raised the cone of power before the unthinkable happens. Their enemy claims his first victim from among their number and the two witches left behind must counteract his spell or be taken next.

It would be a mistake to say that I read this book, but rather I devoured it; as once I started reading it, I could not put Widows down until I had digested the whole story. I very much enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the many places the witches visited during their travels as well as their philosophical banter which was quite interesting. I found the women’s attempts to understand and actually utilize today’s technology (cell phones, hybrid cars, etc…) both amusing and realistic.

I especially liked the description of the witches’ ritual to raise the cone of power and was delighted that the author actually attempted to somewhat update their practices. The fact that the witches used terms such as chakras, athame, and Wicca hinted that at least one of them had continued her studies on some level. I would have loved to have gotten the elderly witches observations on how the craft has come to the forefront of society’s consciousness. How the practice of magic and witchcraft isn’t as hidden as it was in their day. What might these witches have thought of Buffy or The Charmed Ones?

There were a few instances where I was slightly offended such as Alexandra’s reaction when it dawned upon her that one of the men in her tour group was gay; or not so much disgusted but disturbed as when Sukie (a sixty-something year old woman, mind you) got a facial after orally pleasuring one of her lovers. However, I chalked up Alexandra’s reaction to her personal prejudice due to her age as well as having been betrayed by Daryl, who had left the women so long ago for the bed of another man.

Finally, I found the author’s attempt to explain magic in scientific terms somewhat boring as well as Chris explanation as to how he attempted to duplicate the witch’s maleficia by manipulating electrons too clinical albeit not impossible. I felt that any attempt to dissect the process of magic detracts from the mystery of the power and removes any sense of the enjoyment of reading.

I found Widows to be a fast, interesting, and delightful read, save for a few inconsistencies and aforementioned detractions. The author did an excellent job of maintaining the characterizations he created with the first novel, with just enough change to show that the women had matured, or rather had grown. I had hoped for an appearance of Daryl Van Horne, but perhaps his time has passed. At the young age of seventy-something, lets hope that this chapter in the witches lives isn’t their epilogue and that they have just enough life in them for one more story—if only we didn’t have to wait another 28 years.

- Carolina Dean 

Book Review: Practical Magic

• Title: Practical Magic 
• Author: Alice Hoffman 
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425190374
• ISBN-13: 978-0425190371

If you saw the film that this book inspired in 1998 and think you know all about the Owens women who “for more than two hundred years…have been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town,” then think again. Like most books that make the jump to the silver screen certain changes were made that affected the story as a whole. Some subplots were abandoned while others were expanded.

After the untimely death of their parents in a fire, two sisters Sally and Gillian are taken in by their eccentric Aunts. Due to their family’s reputation for being witches, Sally and Gillian are harassed and ostracized by their peers and so have no one to turn to but each other. The two sisters couldn’t be more unlike one another. Sally, the eldest sibling, copes by being the perfect child. She cooks nutritional dinners, washes and hangs the laundry and always goes to bed on time. Gillian, however, dreams of being free from the house, the Aunts, the taunting and teasing of the boys who fear her.

However, the sisters have one thing in common. They spend many nights in the shadows of the landing above the stairs in their house listening to their Aunts ply their trade as witches who specialize in affairs of the heart. They listen to the women who come to their Aunts desperate to gain love. The sisters see the toll that unrequited love takes on a woman and are disgusted at the lengths these desperate women will go to in order to obtain the one they desire. Consequently, both of the girls are afraid to love.

In an expanded subplot from the movie, as the story unfolds we actually get to see the long-term results of the love spell performed on behalf of one of the Aunts clients and the consequences of the magic invoked one night with little forethought and much desperation.

Gillian escapes the house on Magnolia Street by running off with a boy in the middle of the night after having spiked their Aunts soup so she wouldn’t be caught. She finds herself unable to settle on any one guy, not for very long. However that doesn’t stop her from getting married three times. Sally, on the other hand, stays with the Aunts and fills her days working in the garden, doing household chores, and shopping at the hardware store for cleaning supplies.

Sally finally meets a man named Michael at the hardware store. They fall in love, get married and have two daughters Antonia and Kylie. For a time, she is happy. Nonetheless, the death-watch beetle begins to mark off Michael’s time on earth and he is doomed to die. At first Sally doesn’t believe her Aunts when they tell her, until she slowly begins to believe their warnings and Sally goes to the Aunts for help. Having already secretly done everything they were able, the Aunts could offer no advice but to accept the inevitable.

After Michael’s death, Sally goes into a deep depression which last for exactly one year. During that time the Aunts become Antonia and Kyle’s main caregivers. When Sally comes out of her depression, she witnesses that her daughters are now being subjected to the same harassment that she and her sisters suffered through so many years ago. She then decides to do just as her sister had done years before. She uses Michael’s insurance money and some of her own savings to move away from the Aunts and start a new life in New York. There she attempts to give her daughters something that she herself felt that she never had…a normal life.

Rather than opening her own business as in the movie, Sally takes a job as a school secretary so that she can be home when her daughters come home from school and the job has the added bonus of allowing her to have summers off. Just when it seems that Sally has achieved her goal of a normal life, Gillian shows up on her doorstep one hot summer night with Jimmy Hawkins, her dead boyfriend, in her car.

Gillian fears that she has murdered Jimmy because she had been slipping him nightshade every night to prevent him from getting drunk and consequently hurting her. It seems that though Jimmy has a long history of hurting, even murdering, the ones around him Gillian is compelled to love him and like many abused women, can’t seem to leave her abuser. Not even her magic seems strong enough to take away her love for him. This is in direct contrast with all her previous experiences with men, in that since the time she was a teenager men and boys fell in love with her at first sight. She often had them wrapped around her little finger and just when they thought their love was secure---she left the relationship. The sisters ultimately decide to bury Jimmy in the backyard and forget about the entire incident.

The book then begins to focus on the relationship between Sally’s daughters Antonia and Kylie. Being teenagers, the girls have a strained relationship. Like Sally and Gillian, they appear to be more unlike that alike in their outlook and attitudes. Antonia is more like her Aunt Gillian—beautiful, spoiled, wild, and carefree; whereas Kylie is more like her mother—responsible, introverted, and sensitive. It is only when Kylie’s beauty threatens to outshine her own that Antonia begins to contemplate her future and what she has to offer the world, rather than what the world has to offer her. As Kylie develops physically, she becomes surer of herself and more aware of her own beauty. It is only after she is almost sexually assaulted that Antonia and Kylie renew their sisterly bond.

Throughout these events, Gillian has formed a relationship with Kylie who looks to her Aunt as a role model for what she believes a woman should be. Thus further strains the relationship between Sally and Gillian as Sally feels that her daughters are still babies, and is not eager to see them grow up just yet. Jimmy’s ghostly influence uses their resentment for one another to further destroy Sally and Gillian’s sisterly bond and drive them apart forever. Jimmy’s spirit seems to take over the back yard where he is buried. The lilacs grow great lengths overnight and their scent draws the attention of the neighborhood women who come to the garden gate to look at them. It seems that the scent of the lilacs stir painful memories in these women, who uncontrollably weep when these memories resurface. Jimmy’s influence reaches into the house as well, as food begins to spoil overnight and dead creatures are found in the toilet and sink.

On Kylie’s 13th birthday, she develops the ability to see auras and other mystical phenomena. It is her that eventually causes Sally and Gillian to realize that Jimmy’s spirit is attacking not only the house, but Sally and Gillian themselves. After Sally cuts down the lilacs, things seem to improve. Antonia’s biology teacher, Ben Frye, falls in love with Gillian and begins to peruse a relationship with her, although she is adamant that she will be “single forever.” Sally too is challenged by love when Gary Hallet, an investigator from Arizona looking into Jimmy’s disappearance, arrives at her doorstep drawn by a letter Sally sent to Gillian some months prior. With no where else to turn, Sally and Gillian call the Aunts for help in ridding themselves of Jimmy’s ghostly influence.

On the whole, the beginning and ending of the book is somewhat similar to the movie. Although Jimmy’s spiritual death is not as dramatic as it was in the movie and no one becomes possessed, however, this is in keeping with the magical realism genre. The middle part of the book focuses more on Sally’s daughters as they grow from teenagers to young adults and draws a parallel between them and the generations of Owens women who have come before.

Thankfully the absolutely absurd scene from the movie where the witches jump off their roof with umbrellas is absent from the book. I loved the inclusion of actual spells that are so descriptive of the Aunt’s old-world flavor of witchcraft. Although we do get some background information on the Aunts, I think it would be wonderful for Hoffman to write a prequel featuring these wonderful characters.

Practical Magic is a book that I will return to again and again. The author’s descriptive prose and attention to detail brings a greater depth to the story. It is rich in imagination, ripe with characterization, and possessed of a wisdom that will not be lost on the attentive reader.

The book spawned three sequels:

• The Rules of Magic - This books is a prequel that focuses on the Aunts early life as well as introduces their Brother Vincent. 
• Magic Lessons - This book is another prequel which focuses on the Owens' ancestress Maria Owens and what happened to her before and after she was hung for witchcraft. 
• The Book of Magic - This book was released on Oct 5th and seems to bring the whole family together. You can click on the link to order and read a description of the story.

Review: Enter a Wizard, Stage Left

 

• Title: Enter a Wizard, Stage Left 
• Author: Connie di Marco 
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09JGV526H
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Suspense Publishing (October 26, 2021)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 26, 2021
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2613 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Description

Julia Bonatti wasn’t always a crime-solving San Francisco astrologer. She was a young woman, engaged to the love of her life, preparing for a teaching career when tragedy struck. Her fiancé was killed in a hit and run accident. As Julia struggles with her loss and attempts to find meaning in her life again, she takes refuge with her grandmother Gloria. But there’s little time for grief or rest because Gloria, a retired seamstress, needs Julia’s help. Gloria’s been hired to create costumes for a production of Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death at the newly opened Theatre Mars in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.

Theatre Mars is a stunning jewel, the cast is supremely talented and the script is brilliant. What could go wrong? Julia gets the first hint of trouble when her new friend, the owner of The Mystic Eye bookshop, warns that all might not go well. Opening night will take place during the dark of the moon, the last three days before the new moon, a time that bodes disaster for any new project. The dire prediction comes true when the lead actress is murdered before the final curtain, echoing the play itself. Julia discovers a vital clue to the murder, but a clue that puts Gloria’s life in grave danger. Can Julia rescue her grandmother before it’s too late? And will a black cat play a leading role?

Commentary

Let me start by stating that I won this e-book by being one of the first 20 people to reply to the author's free giveaway. I have loved this series since I read the other entries in the Zodiac Mysteries. The other books being

• The Madness of Mercury (Book 1)
• All Signs Point to Murder (Book 2)
• Tail of the Dragon (Book 3)

Enter a Wizard combines two of my favorite authors Connie di Marco and Agatha Christie. This story centers around a production of Christie's Appointment with Death where Julia's grandmother has been employed as the costume designer.  This prequel couldn't have come at a better time since I had recently watched the 1998 film Appointment with Death last week so it was fresh in my mind.

However, you don't have to be a fan of Christie or know about the events of Appointment with Death to enjoy Enter a Wizard.

This story takes place approximately three months after the death of Julia's fiancé, Michael, and takes us through part of her grieving process as she is trying to figure out her life path now that she has completed her education and also needs to find a job.  We also learn how she met her best friend Gale and how she began her study of Astrology that would prove so pivotal later in the Zodiac Mystery series of books.

At just over 100 pages Enter a Wizard is a quick read with a tight plot so you can read this in one sitting. The central mystery is quite clever and the astute reader will pick up on the clues that are hidden throughout the mystery. If you like to solve the mystery alongside the sleuth this is the story for you.

However, I wish that we learned a little more about Michael and the circumstances surrounding his death as the other books seems to suggest that there is more to those events that we have been told. Lastly, I don't understand the title. Its obviously a stage direction but I am note sure if it is common jargon in the theater industry or a line from Christie's book as I have not read Appointment with Death (yet).

That being said I give Enter a Wizard, Stage Left  4 out of 5 blunt instruments on Carolina Dean's murder-scale (patent pending). Ok ok, I am still working on my rating system.

Crime-Scene Dean

Book Review: Coffin Point

 

• Title: Coffin Point: The Strange Cases of Ed McTeer Witchdoctor Sherriff  
• Author: Baynard  Woods
• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: River City Publishing; First edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579660886
• ISBN-13: 978-1579660888

Ed McTeer was arguably one of the most colorful and influential men to ever hold the office of High Sheriff of Beaufort County, South Carolina. Appointed by the governor in 1926 to finish out his late father’s term, McTeer became the youngest sheriff in the country at the age of 22 earning himself the nickname of “Boy Sheriff”. With the brief exception of commanding the United States Coast Guard Beach Patrol during World War 2, McTeer remained the sheriff of Beaufort County until he was voted out in 1962 after 36 years of service.

During his long career in law-enforcement, McTeer faced off with bootleggers, rum-runners, murderers, assorted criminals, and even a nudist-colony! In addition, he became an influential figure in both local and state politics, was credited with keeping the Klan out of Beaufort County and creating a place where black people were treated fairly.

However it was his dealings with local root doctors, most notably Dr. Buzzard, which made Ed McTeer more than the average lawman. McTeer understood the power of belief and took it upon himself to learn the power of “the root,” becoming a white-witchdoctor in the process. After the death of Dr. Buzzard, South Carolina’s most infamous root doctor, McTeer claimed that he was the “"last remaining tie to the true African Witchcraft."

As an almost legendary figure, there are a number of stories concerning McTeer, his exploits and adventures. As evidenced by his own writings, McTeer himself often contradicted his own stories giving different accounts of the same events. In Coffin Point, Woods has combined these accounts along with first-person interviews from people who personally knew McTeer to paint us a cohesive portrait of the man and the legend.

With brief, episodic chapters, Coffin Point is a quick read spanning McTeer’s life, career, death and legacy. Woods treats his subject(s) with the respect it deserves but pulls no punches with regard to the region, its history, its characters, and many contradictions. Those interested in the beliefs and practices of Lowcountry-Witchcraft will be disappointed to find very little practical information on the subject with regard to spells and recipes. However, the discerning reader will learn the importance of power and belief. In addition, history-lovers may question why the author chose not to include any photographs of McTeer, his collection of scrapbooks, or the natural beauty of the Lowcountry that McTeer called home.

Anyone who has lived or grown up in an area known for its influential figures and rich history knows the importance of ensuring that such knowledge and history is not forgotten or otherwise lost to us. In Coffin Point, Baynard Woods has done the state of South Carolina a great service by reminding us of the life and times of one of the most colorful and influential men to come out of the Palmetto State.

- Carolina Dean

Review: The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

In Review:

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

Joanna Martine Woolfolk

For me, this was the book that first sparked my interest in and love for astrology. I remember seeing it on the shelves of the Waldenbooks in Rock Hill, SC (the closest mall to my hometown). I had to drive 45 minutes one way to get there and I would spend hours in the stacks looking to satiate my interest in all things occult, including astrology, Wicca, and the tarot.

As soon as I got home, I asked my grandmother to pull out my birth certificate so that I can have my birth time and build an accurate natal, or birth chart for myself. I sat at the kitchen table with a pencil and paper on which I had drawn a blank astrological chart and plotting all my planets on the grid. I spent hours with my little hand-drawn chart pouring over this tome studying all of my placements and their aspects.

At some point I lost this book and astrology became a little too complicated for my level of understanding at the time and so discontinued my studies in favor of the mysteries of the tarot--- a system of divination for which I was much more gifted. Then, a few years later I would make a friend, Julie, who shared so me of my interest. To my surprise, she had a aged copy of The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need (pictured above) that she kept in an old trunk and which she gifted to me. Over the years I would study astrology up to a point, get frustrated and move on, only to come back around to it again. Today, with computers making astrology more accessible and the construction of astrological charts easier I have delved back into the study of astrology but The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need forms the foundation of much of my own knowledge and experience of Astrology on which I endeavor to build.


My Review

In print for nearly two decades, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need truly stands up to its title. However, should you plan to make a career as an astrologer you will, of course, need further study. Beginning with the Sun signs and moving on through the remaining planets, as well as more obscure influences such as the Ascendant, Moon signs, Decanates and Cusps of each sign, the book is well thought out and the information presented in a logical and orderly manner In addition the author explains the steps necessary to erect a chart in simple terms.

Without including any un-necessary information Woolfolk includes everything that you need to get a decent idea of what each element in your chart means and provides an accurate method of putting all this information together in an easy to understand format. In addition, she describes a method of comparing one's chart to that of another, called Synastry, in order to determine their level of compatibility with one another.

Had the author stopped at this point, the book would still be an invaluable tool in and of its self; however Woolfolk has also included a plethora of miscellaneous information not found in other books on astrology including a detailed analysis of the amorous nature of each sign by gender, as well as advice on seducing an individual based on his or her Sun Sign. There's an entire chapter devoted to maintaining good health, with advice regarding a proper diet and a few words about each sign's erogenous zones.

For those who enjoy a little science to balance their magic, the book contains detailed astronomical information regarding each of the planets, as well as their mythological history and correspondences. In addition, the author has included the legend behind each of the signs of the zodiac, as well as a brief history of astrology and a comprehensive dictionary of terms. The charts in the back of the book which indicate in which sign each of the planets are in the zodiac through to the year 2025 also doubles as an almanac, an invaluable tool for Wiccans and Pagans who observe astrological hours in the timing of the spells and rituals.

Over all, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need is a very good introduction to the topic of Astrology and contains all the basics needed to familiarize yourself with the principles of Astrology and get you started on erecting your own chart and understanding exactly what it means. That being said, should you decide to advance in your studies the book does not address the principles behind The Nodes of the Moon, The Part of Fortune, The Asteroids, or Retrogrades. However, it is an excellent reference for the casual reader and the serious student alike.


Carolina Dean


The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need (Amazon)
Joanna Martine Woolfolk (obituary)
Good Reads Author Page