Could a witch hunt happen again in Salem?New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader Brunonia 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 … 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?
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Although I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher via netgalley, all opinions are my own.
This book took me awhile to get through, but it was totally worth it. Overall I thought this was amazing. I didn’t realize until two minutes after reading this book that it is the second in a series. As you may have noticed in my other reviews, one of my pet peeves is when a book in a series cannot stand alone. This one did an amazing job standing alone. I might have to read the first book, just to see what this one’s foundation looks like.
The story-line moved at a fair pace at first but gets faster as you go. The last third of the book went by SO quickly for me. I literally couldn’t put it down.
The character development in this book was great for me. I could see them grow and evolve as their circumstances changed.
I loved the mystery in this book. Needing to know what happened to the goddesses was something that kept me reading. There are other smaller stories within that were an added bonus. This book left me satisfied with the way it ended. It wasn’t so far left that you didn’t believe it, but it wasn’t so easy to guess that I knew who the killer was. Just a great mystery with so much more added in.
I enjoyed this one. The mystery at its heart – what exactly happened to The Goddesses on the night of their murder, and who exactly was responsible – is wild and complicated and intense. The plot is engaging and the secrets are thick on the ground. But, once again, Berry’s true magic is in her characters… She has an uncanny ability to write complicated, flawed, all too human characters that are likeable and believable even when they are at their most outlandish (or most badly behaved). The plot of this one occasionally felt a little distended – a few times I had to set it down, because it felt draggy. But I always came back, and it always picked back up again. And the ending – wow. It really grabbed and held me.
I was very pleased to see Brunonia Berry return to the world of The Lace Reader – it had been a while, so I re-read it before this one. I’m glad I did – I’ve seen a few reviews/comments indicate say you don’t have to read the earlier book to enjoy this one. That may technically be true, but you’d lose a lot I think – the mystery in this new book is not dependent on backstory or information from the earlier book, but the depth of the supporting characters would be lost if you had not read it…
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.
Full review http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2017/02/02/book-review-the-fifth-petal-by-brunonia-berry/
There are many writers who write wonderful books… then there are those rare writers who make magic. Brunonia Barry proves once again she is a sorcerer. Transported to Salem, I was lost in a Gothic tale that only the author of The Lace Reader could have conjured.
Brunonia Barry’s Salem is alive with rich history, and with a unique and colorful cast of characters: witches and healers, lace readers, the well-to-do and the down-and-out. And everyone’s got secrets. The Fifth Petal is a mesmerizing take on the ways the past affects and influences the present. “Time isn’t linear,” says one of the characters, and the way Barry artfully weaves together a modern-day crime, a twenty-five-year-old murder case, and the Salem witch trials, you’ll close the book believing that she’s absolutely right.
Brunonia Barry has done it again. If you liked The Lace Reader, you’re going to love her new novel, The Fifth Petal. A real page-turner about murder and prejudice and love and what’s possible and what isn’t. Enjoy.
The Fifth Petal is a brilliant and suspenseful tale that prods at embers still live in a buried past. By weaving together the lost evidence of two Salem tragedies, Brunonia Barry’s novel prompts profound consideration of the respect for history, the importance of resolution, and the power of voice. Highly recommended.
This book was written by the author of The Lace Reader. This time she has written about the modern repercussions of the Salem Witch Trials. The strange story of the men and women who were murdered for supposing to be witches is a tangled story whose true roots are not usually told. This version tells of the people of part of Salem, MA and how the execution of their ancestors in 1692 have left a scar on their families. The lead character is a young woman who, as a five year old,
was found hidden in the bushes after her mother and her mother’s friends had been killed, in 1989, for being modern day witches. The story is very informative and filled with facts about modern day witches, covens, etc. This book is as excellent as “The Lace Reader” and I recommend it highly.
This is the sequel to the first book The Lace Reader. I really enjoyed it! I recommend it as an action packed mystery.
Long walk to travel a short distance. Bit of a chore to read.
Really hard to put this one down. I found myself jumping from one character to another while trying to figure who was responsible for the horrific murders. It was interesting to see how Callie’s life was gradually revealed even to Callie herself. Her traumatic experience as a child caused her to have a warped sense of what had happened to her.
Rose was a tragic figure. She went from a respected, intelligent, learned member of the town to a Pariah that seemed to incite hatred toward herself. The true villain sits right under our noses the whole time.
Rafferty suffers angst over things he wished he hadn’t done and a fear that he will be found out; most especially because his wife is a person with a 6th sense about people. The history of the Salem witch trials is discussed and is actually quite informative. It’s done in bits and pieces so you don’t get the feeling that you’re suddenly in the middle of a textbook instead of a mystery that includes the metaphysical. Kudos to Brunonia Barry for coming up with a fascinating story with characters who have enough good and bad within them that they are believable and real.
Everyone in Salem knows about the infamous and horrific ‘Goddess Murders’ of 1989. When Rose, one of the survivors of that horrible night, becomes the suspect in the murder of a teenage boy, Billy Barnes, Callie decides that she must return to Salem. Callie must see if she can help Rose. After all, if it hadn’t been for Rose, Callie could have been a victim that night, also. Rose saved her that night. Callie, a professional sound healer, feels she may be able to help Rose, so, as soon as she finds out that Rose is in a catatonic state, she rushes to her side. She returns to Salem…and to her memories.
I love Brunonia Barry’s books about the mystical, magical city of Salem, Massachusetts. This book is even better than the ones I have read previously. Her ultra-realistic characters carry her mystifying plot, dragging the reader along a path of suspense. I could not put this down. Our author also introduces her readers to something new. In this case, she tells us about the subject of healing with sound. In addition, she introduces the reader to a lovely and unusual part of the world, Sassi of Matera. I enjoyed every minute of this book!
I would like to thank netgalley for the free copy of this book.
Anyone who enjoys some early American, specifically Boston-Salem, history will enjoy this tale. I appreciated the follow-up from the characters in The Lace Reader though I recall the Lace Reader feeling more literary and I want to re-read it now!
Barry is remarkable at her imagery of nature. It’s really lovely and that carries through all her work.
SAlem witch hangings back in 1692–a blessing to consecrate the deaths of other witches who died recently in the same place. The story weaves past and present through the eyes of several characters as mystical elements collide with reality. The past is slowly revealed.
This is another book I would term unusual, and as such my favorite kind of read. Well envisioned, well written, with a lot of details to enlighten the reader. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in something different and something that blurs the lines between what we can pick up with our senses and what lies beyond.
Salem, witches, goddesses, secrets… grabbed my attention. This book was a bit long, some parts held my interest more than others, but the characters were colorful and I did want to find out what the murders were all about and who the fifth petal was.
I loved the history mixed with great characters. I highly recommend this if you love anything about Salem witches!
I really enjoyed this book, I was a bit sorry to finish it because reading it was such a pleasure. It is so well written, and the core ideas of the suffering of nature at the deeds of humankind and our tendency to persecute the “other” were very poingnant.
Different. For the most part, well-wrtten. A little too long with a somewhat pat ending.
Lost interest. Didn’t finish.
Written with pens dipped in magic and chills, The Fifth Petal uncovers hidden corners where myth, malevolence, and fervor converge in Salem, Massachusetts. Tendrils from the past and present wrap the complicated characters — and the reader’s attention — until the stunning final sentence. Brunonia Barry weaves miracles.
A seductive combination of suspense, history, myth — with a sprinkling of the supernatural — The Fifth Petal is an enormously satisfying mystery novel. Brunonia Barry has created a world that is at once inviting and menacing, populated by characters both warmly familiar and surprising.