Review: The Witch Hunt Novels by Debbie Viguié - June 12, 2013

The Thirteenth Sacrifice
Author:  Debbie Viguié
Series:  A Witch Hunt Novel 1
Publisher:  April 3, 2012
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780451236364 (print)
Review Copy:  Mass Market Paperback provided by the Publisher

When young women start dying, Boston cop Samantha Ryan is the perfect person to investigate, for only she knows what the archaic symbol carved into their flesh means. The last in a long line of ruthless witches, she grew up in a coven seduced by power and greed. And now she's sure that bad witches have returned to Salem. Reluctantly, Samantha goes undercover-into a town obsessed with black magic, into her terrifying past, and into the dark, newly awakened heart of evil.

The Last Grave
Author:  Debbie Viguié
Series:  A Witch Hunt Novel 2
Publisher:  March 5, 2013
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780451239570 (print)
Review Copy: Mass Market Paperback provided by the Publisher

Samantha Ryan—homicide detective by choice, witch hunter by necessity—has left Salem for San Francisco, hoping a move will help her forget the horrors of her past. But she’s about to discover that witches tempted by the dark side are everywhere....

Samantha is doing whatever she can to forget her terrible childhood in a coven destroyed by its members’ greed and lust for power. Now she’s a San Francisco detective struggling to fight her own desire to turn to magic. But as she discovers, escaping who you are isn’t easy.

Her latest case seems straightforward enough—the murder of a local historian named Winona Lightfoot. But strange clues take Samantha to the Santa Cruz Mountains, a place teeming with witches and black magic. As she works to uncover the connection between Winona and this coven, an earthquake rocks the Bay Area. That’s when Samantha has a premonition: Something is coming. Something evil.

To survive—and save everyone around her—she will have to tackle her greatest fear, and hope she isn’t the next one put into a deep, dark grave.... 

trinitytwo's point of view:

       Samantha Ryan is not your ordinary Boston Detective. Her past of black magic and violence haunts her nightmares with screams. Samantha grew up in Salem, born into membership of a wicked coven; the daughter of a powerful witch. During a summoning, something went terribly wrong and her entire coven was killed, leaving 12 year old Samantha, the sole survivor. Adopted by a loving family, Samantha changed her name and vowed to never practice magic again.

       In The Thirteenth Sacrifice, Samantha’s “witch radar” is aroused at a murder scene. A symbol painted on the dead girl’s body and the slight tingling Samantha recognizes as another witch’s power signature confirm the use of black magic. The murdered girl was used in a ritual human sacrifice and Samantha realizes that more girls will die if she doesn’t go undercover and reenter the dark world of witchcraft to solve this crime. A crime that points back to Salem and a new coven whose diabolical plan picks up where her coven’s had left off. Her fear of her past is only matched by her fear of her abilities and Samantha must find a balance of witchcraft and normalcy to avoid the risk of being consumed by her powers.

       In The Last Grave, Samantha has been forced to relocate to San Francisco due to fallout over her last case, and is hoping to make a fresh start. Inexplicably, a woman is killed in a museum and the apparent cause of death is petrification. Realizing that the only explanation is black magic, the detective is once again reluctantly dragged back into the world of witchcraft that she so desperately wants to avoid. While trying to track down the witch responsible for the murder, she continues to struggle with violent nightmares of her past and begins to experience a frightening loss of control of her own powers. Is there a link to this murder, the recent wave of unnatural earthquakes, and a report of a dark coven practicing black magic in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Samantha must learn to contain her magical abilities, while tracking the coven to discover their purpose before it’s too late.

       The Thirteenth Sacrifice and The Last Grave are part police procedural, part paranormal mystery with a hint of romance thrown in for good measure. Samantha Ryan is a pretty predictable cop. Debbie Viguié’s mysteries are entertaining but ultimately predictable as well. At one point I audibly groaned as Samantha walked heedlessly into a trap. Viguié spent so much time on Samantha’s past that her character sometimes seems one-dimensional in the present. All of Samantha’s personal and professional relationships are tainted by her being a witch and by the second book it was already old. Samantha never wants to talk about it. With anyone. Period. That being said, there were lots of things I enjoyed about these stories. Historic Salem figured largely into the setting of the first book and I really enjoyed the fact that witches had returned to Salem in a big way. Both books reveal Samantha’s past via a journey through doors of her childhood and this portion is intriguing. Unfortunately, a major plot point in the second novel was a bit harder to swallow, and just about negated the story's value for me. The redeeming feature of the second book is that it gives me the sense that the mystery behind Samantha’s past will be revealed soon and in spectacular fashion. These well-written books are spiced with a healthy dose of magic and mayhem and are for the most part good reads. The Witch Hunt Novels remind me of a haunted mansion at night, just the right combination of screams and thrills to make it a fun ride.