The Fifth Petal Book #Review

Synopsis:
Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, investigates a 25-year-old triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed one Halloween night. Aided by Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims who has returned to town, Rafferty begins to uncover a dark chapter in Salem’s past. Callie, who has always been gifted with premonitions, begins to struggle with visions she doesn’t quite understand and an attraction to a man who has unknown connections to her mother’s murder. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian and sometime-aunt to Callie, 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?

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Review:

 I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The Fifth Petal is book two of The Lace Reader series.  In this portion, a few years has passed since book one.  Towner has decided to stay and although the relationship with her mother is strained at best, Towner has restored her aunt's tea room, and has it serve as a halfway house for the women living at Yellow Dog.  The mystery opens on Halloween night, teenage boys heckling an old mentally ill homeless woman.  They claim she's a witch, and when one of the boys die.  The outraged people of Salem want justice to finally be served.  Will Rafferty be able to find the killer before there is a witch hunt like olden days?

Brunonia Barry once again brings us a story rich in the history of the Salem Witch Trials.  There was so much suspense, this book held me at the edge of my seat.  I was engrossed until the very end and was taken by surprise by the end.  This was a great suspenseful novel with lots of unsuspecting twists.

About the Author:

Brunonia Barry is the New York Times and international best selling author of THE LACE READER, THE MAP OF TRUE PLACES, and THE FIFTH PETAL, which will be released in January 2017. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. She was the first American author to win the International Women’s Fiction Festival’s Baccante Award and was a past recipient of Ragdale Artists’ Colony’s Strnad Fellowship as well as the winner of New England Book Festival’s award for Best Fiction, a People Magazine Pick, and Amazon’s Best of the Month. Her reviews and articles on writing have appeared in The London Times, The Washington Post, and The Huffington Post. She is a regular contributor to Writer Unboxed. Brunonia chairs the Salem Athenaeum’s Writers’ Committee and serves on Grub Street’s Development Committee. She is the Executive Director of the Salem Lit Fest, an annual event that brings people to Salem, MA from all over the world. She lives in Salem with her husband, Gary, and their dog, Angel.

Connect with Brunonia:

Website | Twitter