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Charmed #27
Pied Piper
They come to you for guidance, protection—
Innocents, facing nameless evil.
It is up to you to save their laughter—
Watch over them, protect them from danger and peril.
At first Piper thinks it's just a coincidence that she's seeing kids everywhere; since she and Leo have been talking about starting a family, she thinks she's just noticing them more. But then the kids start showing up on the Charmed Ones' front porch and coming into the house uninvited. No matter where Piper dispatches them, they're right back at Halliwell Manor minutes later. And they seem to be forming an orchestra. No one will listen to Piper, or obey her, or even give her a moment alone. Piper starts to wonder if she and Leo can handle starting a family.
While Piper's contemplating diaper rash, Phoebe finds out about a rash of disappearances in San Francisco. Musicians have vanished all over the city, and they were all candidates to conduct a youth symphony. So how has Paige's new love managed to stick around long enough to be the symphony leader? And how does band practice at the Manor fit in with all of this? The Charmed Ones smell a rat, but can they lead all of their Innocents out of danger before the final note is played?
Innocents, facing nameless evil.
It is up to you to save their laughter—
Watch over them, protect them from danger and peril.
At first Piper thinks it's just a coincidence that she's seeing kids everywhere; since she and Leo have been talking about starting a family, she thinks she's just noticing them more. But then the kids start showing up on the Charmed Ones' front porch and coming into the house uninvited. No matter where Piper dispatches them, they're right back at Halliwell Manor minutes later. And they seem to be forming an orchestra. No one will listen to Piper, or obey her, or even give her a moment alone. Piper starts to wonder if she and Leo can handle starting a family.
While Piper's contemplating diaper rash, Phoebe finds out about a rash of disappearances in San Francisco. Musicians have vanished all over the city, and they were all candidates to conduct a youth symphony. So how has Paige's new love managed to stick around long enough to be the symphony leader? And how does band practice at the Manor fit in with all of this? The Charmed Ones smell a rat, but can they lead all of their Innocents out of danger before the final note is played?
177 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 2, 2004
7 people are currently reading
909 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Viguié
91 books1,041 followersDebbie Viguié is the New York Times Bestselling author of more than three dozen novels including the Wicked series co-authored with Nancy Holder. In addition to her epic dark fantasy work Debbie also writes thrillers including The Psalm 23 Mysteries, the Kiss trilogy, and the Witch Hunt trilogy. Debbie also plays a recurring character on the audio drama, Doctor Geek’s Laboratory. When Debbie isn’t busy writing or acting she enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, visiting theme parks.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 30, 2019
I felt as though the sisters, especially Piper, weren't written true to character. I never got the impression when watching the show that Piper was afraid of kids, she just was nervous about raising a child in the environment in which she lives. In this book she was petrified of kids and it was so strange, not funny at all.
I knew what was going on right away, but I don't know if that was because of the title or the story itself.
All in all, not the best Charmed novel.
2.5 stars
I knew what was going on right away, but I don't know if that was because of the title or the story itself.
All in all, not the best Charmed novel.
2.5 stars
December 20, 2016
I was so disappointed with this book. The story was bad and the voices of the characters were so not the characters. Phoebe came off sounding like an after school special, when her character on the TV show was obviously not. I know this isn't a TV script, but it is based on the series and, to me, should pick up the character characteristics.
August 7, 2025
Another not week-long read.
Still in late season four/early season five territory because Paige is still a social worker, Phoebe has her column and Piper and Leo are still talking about kids. No Cole (maybe vanquished by now?) but prominent Darryl action.
The last act of the book takes a very serious turn from the beginning of it. This is evident by the very pun-based title of Pied Piper.
Leo is really wanting to have children, but Piper is hesitant of the loud screaming, the drooling and that she doesn't feel she has very maternal instincts. Children and animals seem to love Leo, but his very optimistic attitude has Piper a little bit surly. When his Whitelighter duties call him away from doing a simple errand of helping his wife shop, Piper goes the task alone and arrives home to find a child stowed away in her backseat and another child on the steps of the Manor.
Frustrated and flabbergasted, Piper has to actually interact with a neighbor named Bonnie to borrow her car seat to get the children back to the store. One is returned to a worried mother while Piper has to take the smallest boy to the police station. The next day, more kids show up at the door with Phoebe as a witness this time then Paige but both sisters skedaddle leaving Piper alone with tons of kids.
Hilarity continues when Darryl shows up trying to have the Charmed Ones look into missing children all over San Francisco and finds them at Halliwell Manor. A boy named Mark seems to actually make a connection with Piper, being around ten, when she actually finds where he lives but discovers his parents work late and they just moved to a new house.
Even with Darryl getting the kids home safely, the same kids and more new children keep coming back to the house.
Where do Phoebe and Paige fit in with children flocking to Piper like a mother hen?
Paige ends up getting tickets from a friend to go to the symphony and the performances of the flautist, Dale Allen, seem to be very magical. It opens up a sadness in Paige's soul since her adopted parents use to take her to see the San Francisco orchestra play as a young child but a connection to the handsome man.
Phoebe receives a call from a man wishing to talk to her. When he ends up being three hours late for their rendezvous, Phoebe leaves work to find the man stabbed and dying near her car. Darryl looks into the case for a stricken Phoebe who feels she failed an innocent and finds out he was a cellist for the symphony and a brother-in-law to a man the Charmed Ones helped before.
Another member of the orchestra, a violinist, seeks Phoebe's help the following day and she watches in horror as he steps into traffic and is hit by a car, fatally wounded. Looking into the connection besides the orchestra, it seems that both men were up for a conducting position to lead a children's orchestra for those under twelve years old.
Paige's new love interest is another candidate so of course, he is either an innocent or the one behind it but that would be telling too much...
Up until then, Pied Piper was a hilarious read to make me chuckle and then turn into complete chaos but with a rather bittersweet ending.
Four out of five stars.
Still in late season four/early season five territory because Paige is still a social worker, Phoebe has her column and Piper and Leo are still talking about kids. No Cole (maybe vanquished by now?) but prominent Darryl action.
The last act of the book takes a very serious turn from the beginning of it. This is evident by the very pun-based title of Pied Piper.
Leo is really wanting to have children, but Piper is hesitant of the loud screaming, the drooling and that she doesn't feel she has very maternal instincts. Children and animals seem to love Leo, but his very optimistic attitude has Piper a little bit surly. When his Whitelighter duties call him away from doing a simple errand of helping his wife shop, Piper goes the task alone and arrives home to find a child stowed away in her backseat and another child on the steps of the Manor.
Frustrated and flabbergasted, Piper has to actually interact with a neighbor named Bonnie to borrow her car seat to get the children back to the store. One is returned to a worried mother while Piper has to take the smallest boy to the police station. The next day, more kids show up at the door with Phoebe as a witness this time then Paige but both sisters skedaddle leaving Piper alone with tons of kids.
Hilarity continues when Darryl shows up trying to have the Charmed Ones look into missing children all over San Francisco and finds them at Halliwell Manor. A boy named Mark seems to actually make a connection with Piper, being around ten, when she actually finds where he lives but discovers his parents work late and they just moved to a new house.
Even with Darryl getting the kids home safely, the same kids and more new children keep coming back to the house.
Where do Phoebe and Paige fit in with children flocking to Piper like a mother hen?
Paige ends up getting tickets from a friend to go to the symphony and the performances of the flautist, Dale Allen, seem to be very magical. It opens up a sadness in Paige's soul since her adopted parents use to take her to see the San Francisco orchestra play as a young child but a connection to the handsome man.
Phoebe receives a call from a man wishing to talk to her. When he ends up being three hours late for their rendezvous, Phoebe leaves work to find the man stabbed and dying near her car. Darryl looks into the case for a stricken Phoebe who feels she failed an innocent and finds out he was a cellist for the symphony and a brother-in-law to a man the Charmed Ones helped before.
Another member of the orchestra, a violinist, seeks Phoebe's help the following day and she watches in horror as he steps into traffic and is hit by a car, fatally wounded. Looking into the connection besides the orchestra, it seems that both men were up for a conducting position to lead a children's orchestra for those under twelve years old.
Paige's new love interest is another candidate so of course, he is either an innocent or the one behind it but that would be telling too much...
Up until then, Pied Piper was a hilarious read to make me chuckle and then turn into complete chaos but with a rather bittersweet ending.
Four out of five stars.
August 14, 2022
This one was ok, just felt very out of character and contradictory to the series. The sisters felt out of character, Paige and especially Piper, she never didn’t want children or even disliked them as she did in this book. And Phoebe just leaving Piper alone when there was clearly something going on was just unrealistic. A bit of a shame because this was a really interesting storyline, felt a bit wasted.
October 8, 2023
Pretty standard Charmed book fare. Romance with a demon, changed in characterization, doesn’t quite fit anywhere in the series timeline wise, but still enjoyable and a nice escape. Nothing great and nothing too unforgivingly bad, it just sort of exists.
May 22, 2020
Eins meiner Lieblingsbücher aus der Charmed Reihe, Piper wird von Kindern verfolgt, während Paige wie verzaubert der Musik in der Philharmonie lauscht.
May 10, 2022
Chaotic, but in a good way. Some slight canon discrepancies in this one.
January 14, 2023
Thoroughly enjoy these charmed reads
October 4, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed Pied Piper.
Another one , where I think it would've made a good TV adaptation!
Another one , where I think it would've made a good TV adaptation!
July 23, 2013
This was more of a 'light reading' for me, and it didn't disappoint. It kinda reminded me of the times when I read the Mary-Kate & Ashley Mystery books. This book will be a little hard to review without spoilers though; but I'll try my best, because I want it to sound suspenseful without giving too much of it away. ;)
The first half of the book was fairly normal. It made me miss the TV series, though. It was one of my favourite shows. =/ (That and I have been interested in witchcraft since middle school.)
What I really mean by 'light reading' was that the book had no bombastic or difficult-to-read words; nothing a regular reader wouldn't understand, and even non-fans of the shows would understand what the story was about without loopholes in it.
From the off, I already had my suspicions on who the 'demon' was. And at the end, I was proved right. But I DID have a moment of pleasant surprise and shock at a little revelation at the end after the demon was vanquished. I never saw that coming. ;p Maybe it was because I was never one to spot connections straightaway, but yeah. =p
Also, I found that this demon was vanquished too easily. I wouldn't say that the pieces fell together too fast, because I wouldn't like it if they dragged the drama either.
I tried searching for this episode on YouTube, but couldn't find it. If anyone knows where I can find it, that would be great! ^^
The first half of the book was fairly normal. It made me miss the TV series, though. It was one of my favourite shows. =/ (That and I have been interested in witchcraft since middle school.)
What I really mean by 'light reading' was that the book had no bombastic or difficult-to-read words; nothing a regular reader wouldn't understand, and even non-fans of the shows would understand what the story was about without loopholes in it.
From the off, I already had my suspicions on who the 'demon' was. And at the end, I was proved right. But I DID have a moment of pleasant surprise and shock at a little revelation at the end after the demon was vanquished. I never saw that coming. ;p Maybe it was because I was never one to spot connections straightaway, but yeah. =p
Also, I found that this demon was vanquished too easily. I wouldn't say that the pieces fell together too fast, because I wouldn't like it if they dragged the drama either.
I tried searching for this episode on YouTube, but couldn't find it. If anyone knows where I can find it, that would be great! ^^
October 3, 2023
This is a refreshing reading experience and was way above my expectation. The book was especially good at blending various genres, introducing a delightful mix of comedy and thriller elements that kept me engaged from start to finish.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is Piper's random encounters with mischievous children which infuses the story with comedic relief. these scenes came in contrast with the gripping scenes of the men seeking Pheobe's help to stop a killer. Piper's character development was well done, but the same cannot be said for Leo. The novel starts to explore Leo's struggles and inability to protect the children towards the end of the book. This sparked an internal conflict about fatherhood, but apparently Leo forgot about it three pages later, so I guess the writing was cut short and the story was left slightly incomplete.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is Piper's random encounters with mischievous children which infuses the story with comedic relief. these scenes came in contrast with the gripping scenes of the men seeking Pheobe's help to stop a killer. Piper's character development was well done, but the same cannot be said for Leo. The novel starts to explore Leo's struggles and inability to protect the children towards the end of the book. This sparked an internal conflict about fatherhood, but apparently Leo forgot about it three pages later, so I guess the writing was cut short and the story was left slightly incomplete.
July 14, 2016
Piper and Leo are discussing having children, and suddenly the house is overrun by them. As a tv plot device it works, but in the book edition it didn't flow as well. The connection between the wish for children and the confusion they would bring did not seem to be there.
Although I thought the evil guy was obvious, both in who he was and who he had been in the past, it was still well done. I enjoyed reading this "between the episodes" story of one of my favorite series.
Although I thought the evil guy was obvious, both in who he was and who he had been in the past, it was still well done. I enjoyed reading this "between the episodes" story of one of my favorite series.
Read
July 27, 2011Good update it was funny reading about piper flipping out and not wanting kids but leo being so good with them and wanting one.interesting how the guy Paige loved turned out to be the bad guy poor charmed girls have the worst luck with guys it seems Until they meet the one.
January 2, 2015
Like all the other Charmed novels, a great book, and just as good as the actual show.
Read
March 22, 2010F CHA
Fantasy
Fantasy
March 1, 2011
great plot
July 5, 2017
The time line of these books make no sense at all. But this one was doing fine.
September 7, 2014
Today I met a great pre-teenager, who gave me this book tho read. Despite its super-cliché-ending I found the book very entertaining.
June 16, 2011
LOVED IT!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews