I have so many books I’ve put on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads that I’ve just never gotten around to reviewing. I don’t know why I stuck them there and I should really make a new shelf for them. However I did read them and I feel they still deserve recognition and I can still remember liking them or not. So every Saturday until I’m caught up I’m going to post a book summary and then a brief thought from me on the novel. My first selection is The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry.
Goodreads Description
Could a witch hunt happen again in Salem?
For readers of Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace ReaderBrunonia Barry returns to Salem with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.
When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.
But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?
My Thoughts
I have read all of Brunonia Barry’s books. I first fell in love with The Lace Reader and it just continued from there. She hasn’t published in many years but her novels continue to hold a special place for me. This was another of hers that I enjoyed and besides I love to read anything to do with The Salem Witch trials!
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry sounds intriguing. I am not familiar with this author. She has a unique first name. 🙂