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Witch Hunt #1
The Thirteenth Sacrifice: A Witch Hunt Novel
When young women start dying, Boston cop Samantha Ryan is the perfect person to investigate, for only she knows what the archais 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 thedark, newly awakened heart of evil.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2012
18 people are currently reading
1282 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Viguié
91 books1,040 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 - 30 of 102 reviews
April 4, 2012
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is the first in the new Witch Hunt series by Debbie Viguié. In it, we are introduced to Samantha Ryan, a Boston cop who comes from a traumatic past. As a child, she was raised in a coven of evil witches and was the only survivor when they accidentally destroyed themselves. She was adopted by a kindly couple, became a Christian, and has put all that behind her, but a series of sacrificial murders draws her back into the dark underbelly of witchcraft.
Samantha struggles with her conscience but eventually agrees to go undercover in Salem, posing as a witch to infiltrate the coven that is committing the murders. Viguié does a good job of depicting Samantha’s moral crisis as she returns to practices she has shunned for many years, both to maintain her cover and to protect herself against magical attacks. Magic use is like a drug for her — the more she uses it, the more addictive it gets. While trying to keep from losing herself and her faith, Samantha must figure out what the coven is trying to do, and stop them. Meanwhile, other problems have arisen. Witch hysteria seems to have arisen in the area, to the point that people are attacking suspected witches and even Halloween decorations. And she meets a man and begins to fall for him, knowing that he’d want her dead if he knew her history.
I sympathized with Samantha in her battle with her inner demons and in her fight against the evil witches. I had more trouble, however, liking her on a more personal level. For example, she concludes that a young woman is insincere about being Wiccan based on some really shallow judgments, and later she throws a stranger to the metaphorical wolves to get herself out of a tight spot while thinking snarky thoughts about the woman’s clothes. I liked Samantha when she was facing the big problems such as elemental evil and her dark memories. I liked her less in the smaller moments that revealed more about her personality.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is a middle-of-the-road book. The prose is simple and moves the story along at a rapid pace, and the plot isn’t revolutionary — in fact, there’s something of a retro appeal to it. It probably won’t change your life or stick in your mind forever, but it will entertain you, give you some good scares, and throw you a nice twist at the climax. If you like evil-witches plots, give this one a try.
Originally written for FantasyLiterature.com
Samantha struggles with her conscience but eventually agrees to go undercover in Salem, posing as a witch to infiltrate the coven that is committing the murders. Viguié does a good job of depicting Samantha’s moral crisis as she returns to practices she has shunned for many years, both to maintain her cover and to protect herself against magical attacks. Magic use is like a drug for her — the more she uses it, the more addictive it gets. While trying to keep from losing herself and her faith, Samantha must figure out what the coven is trying to do, and stop them. Meanwhile, other problems have arisen. Witch hysteria seems to have arisen in the area, to the point that people are attacking suspected witches and even Halloween decorations. And she meets a man and begins to fall for him, knowing that he’d want her dead if he knew her history.
I sympathized with Samantha in her battle with her inner demons and in her fight against the evil witches. I had more trouble, however, liking her on a more personal level. For example, she concludes that a young woman is insincere about being Wiccan based on some really shallow judgments, and later she throws a stranger to the metaphorical wolves to get herself out of a tight spot while thinking snarky thoughts about the woman’s clothes. I liked Samantha when she was facing the big problems such as elemental evil and her dark memories. I liked her less in the smaller moments that revealed more about her personality.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is a middle-of-the-road book. The prose is simple and moves the story along at a rapid pace, and the plot isn’t revolutionary — in fact, there’s something of a retro appeal to it. It probably won’t change your life or stick in your mind forever, but it will entertain you, give you some good scares, and throw you a nice twist at the climax. If you like evil-witches plots, give this one a try.
Originally written for FantasyLiterature.com
March 30, 2012
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
I'm not quite sure how to rate this one. I've been on a bit of a paranormal/urban fantasy kick lately, and this book fit right in. It was a bit darker and gorier than what I usually read, but I enjoyed the overall story. It was fast-paced, interesting, and easy to follow -- I read it in about 2 days.
The aspect of the novel I'm struggling with is the dichotomy that was drawn between witchcraft and Christianity. The main character, after being raised in a coven of black witches, turns to Christianity to get away from her past. I didn't have a problem with that. However, the main character describes that she was born with her powers as a witch, and that witches are drawn to power and thus are tempted toward evil. I don't recall any descriptions of "good" witches, who did not use powers for evil, although there was some discussion of Wicca and how it was a religion used for good and different than witchcraft. So, are all witches inherently drawn toward evil through their power, and the only way to overcome that is to turn to Christianity? I'm not sure I like that perspective.
Anyway, a quick read and seems to be a good start to a paranormal detective series.
I'm not quite sure how to rate this one. I've been on a bit of a paranormal/urban fantasy kick lately, and this book fit right in. It was a bit darker and gorier than what I usually read, but I enjoyed the overall story. It was fast-paced, interesting, and easy to follow -- I read it in about 2 days.
The aspect of the novel I'm struggling with is the dichotomy that was drawn between witchcraft and Christianity. The main character, after being raised in a coven of black witches, turns to Christianity to get away from her past. I didn't have a problem with that. However, the main character describes that she was born with her powers as a witch, and that witches are drawn to power and thus are tempted toward evil. I don't recall any descriptions of "good" witches, who did not use powers for evil, although there was some discussion of Wicca and how it was a religion used for good and different than witchcraft. So, are all witches inherently drawn toward evil through their power, and the only way to overcome that is to turn to Christianity? I'm not sure I like that perspective.
Anyway, a quick read and seems to be a good start to a paranormal detective series.
April 19, 2012
As a pagan, I'm offended by this book, which can't make up its mind. "Wiccans are okay but witches are evil!" "There are no real witches in Salem, except when there are evil witches killing everyone!" "I'm not an evil witch anymore, I love God--see my cross? But I still do witch spells."
June 23, 2014
If you’re looking for something a little bit different, and you don’t mind your Urban Fantasy dark and bloody, you may want to give this book a try. In my opinion, it straddles the line between UF and horror, with a healthy dose of mystery/ suspense and just a dash of romance. The body count is high and our main character adds to it quite a bit, as she goes undercover in a powerful coven of witches, who are using human sacrifice –something bad– in order to ultimately do Something Worse.
Let me back up. Samantha was raised in a powerful coven that crossed the line into evil and destructive magic when she was a child. Their last big endeavor was to raise a demon, and at 12 years-old, Samantha was the only one to escape that night alive. She ended up in a good adoptive family, with a new name and a commitment to honor God and stay away from magic. She’s now a detective in Boston, doing her best to help people. And things seem to be ok, until a rash of bodies start showing up with a link to the occult.
Samantha’s captain knows her history and he pressures her into the undercover gig. Samantha wants no part of it. She’s afraid of her own power, her suppressed memories, and how this could blow up the new life she has created. But ultimately, she realizes that no one else is equipped to take on these killers and stop their endgame, so she returns to her hometown of Salem and resumes the identity she gave up as a child.
Folks die. It’s bloody and creepy. The magic is dark and this whole thing could make a heck of a scary movie. I thought the mystery was good. I liked following Samantha’s efforts to break into the coven and unravel their plans. I liked the addition of Anthony, the love interest, who lost a family member to witches and now is on the hunt for revenge. And I liked Samantha and her inner struggle with doing things she knows are wrong in order to defeat those things she knows are worse.
It wasn’t perfect. I thought the Good vs Evil of Christianity vs Other was a little heavy handed. I also thought that after a slow build, the big climax resolved a bit easier and faster than I would have imagined. But overall, I thought it was a good book. I am interested to see where the author takes the series from here, and what else Samantha uncovers as she continues opening the doors to her memories inside her mind.
Rating: B
Let me back up. Samantha was raised in a powerful coven that crossed the line into evil and destructive magic when she was a child. Their last big endeavor was to raise a demon, and at 12 years-old, Samantha was the only one to escape that night alive. She ended up in a good adoptive family, with a new name and a commitment to honor God and stay away from magic. She’s now a detective in Boston, doing her best to help people. And things seem to be ok, until a rash of bodies start showing up with a link to the occult.
Samantha’s captain knows her history and he pressures her into the undercover gig. Samantha wants no part of it. She’s afraid of her own power, her suppressed memories, and how this could blow up the new life she has created. But ultimately, she realizes that no one else is equipped to take on these killers and stop their endgame, so she returns to her hometown of Salem and resumes the identity she gave up as a child.
Folks die. It’s bloody and creepy. The magic is dark and this whole thing could make a heck of a scary movie. I thought the mystery was good. I liked following Samantha’s efforts to break into the coven and unravel their plans. I liked the addition of Anthony, the love interest, who lost a family member to witches and now is on the hunt for revenge. And I liked Samantha and her inner struggle with doing things she knows are wrong in order to defeat those things she knows are worse.
It wasn’t perfect. I thought the Good vs Evil of Christianity vs Other was a little heavy handed. I also thought that after a slow build, the big climax resolved a bit easier and faster than I would have imagined. But overall, I thought it was a good book. I am interested to see where the author takes the series from here, and what else Samantha uncovers as she continues opening the doors to her memories inside her mind.
Rating: B
April 1, 2012
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I was sent this book by the publisher to review. When it arrived in the mail unexpected I wasn’t sure what to think until I read the synopsis on the back cover and was immediately interested. I actually even bumped it up in my To Be Read queue (which is very unlike me) and settled in on a Saturday afternoon to see what it was all about. In one sitting I had devoured the 368 pages and wanted more. I was very glad I had taken a chance and went against my normal processes to read it. It was an incredible story, and for a reader like me who thoroughly enjoys and seeks out meshing of sub-genres, this was truly an incredible find!
Samantha is an amazing character. She’s a strong, sassy, reinvented woman with a past she’s trying hard to forget and a promising path to the future. When a serial killer goes on a rampage, as a Boston police officer, Samantha is naturally called in to investigate. When she discovers that there’s a definite pattern to the killings, and recognizes the symbol that’s been carved into the victims’ necks, she knows that she needs to stop the people responsible no matter the fall out. After struggling with the decision and deciding that she needs to ‘take one for the team’ so to speak and do what’s best for the greater good, she comes clean on a secret that she’s kept from almost everyone she currently associates with (and pays for it dearly in some cases) and embarks on a dangerous journey with the attitude – May the best witch win.
Returning to Salem, her city of birth and the city that houses so many terrible childhood memories for her – several of which were so awful her mind repressed them as a coping mechanism – she reinvents herself yet again to be the adult product of the girl she was back then and begins her lie to try and draw out the bad guys (the bad guys being a new evil coven of witches who are dabbling in the darkest of the black arts and using Samantha’s previous family and coven as their stepping stone).
While there, she meets Anthony. Anthony is a young man running an Occult Museum and driven by the need to get vengeance on those who murdered his mother and avenge her death. He and Samantha have instant chemistry, but seeing as she is exactly what he has sworn to hate and destroy, and he is a constant reminder of everything she wants to forget, it’s definitely not a match made in heaven. Regardless, and despite the conflicts the two of them encounter along the way, they find a way to work together to try and bring down this rogue coven of evil witches and stop the murders.
One of the things that appealed to me most about this book was that it wasn’t easy to classify. It’s a murder mystery with urban fantasy, horror-thriller, and even a few paranormal romance aspects and that’s precisely why I fell in love with it. It was dark and dangerous and incredibly thrilling with tons of action, more intrigue than I knew what to do with, surprises around every corner, and psychological and theological undertones that made me as a reader think, which just immersed me into the story even further.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice was exactly my type of book and I am so incredibly happy that the Publisher decided to mail me a copy. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the Witch Hunt series and I’m excited to check out more of Debbie’s work to see if the rest of her backlist is anything like this. If it is, I may have just found myself a new author to add to my list of favorites. As it stands, I definitely found a book to add to my “Best New Book Discoveries of the Year” list.
LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Thirteenth Sacrifice 5 Skulls and would recommend it to Dark Urban Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror-Thriller, and even Murder-Mystery lovers if you don’t mind a bit of paranormal thrown in to your whoedoneit story. This is definitely a book to check out!
I was sent this book by the publisher to review. When it arrived in the mail unexpected I wasn’t sure what to think until I read the synopsis on the back cover and was immediately interested. I actually even bumped it up in my To Be Read queue (which is very unlike me) and settled in on a Saturday afternoon to see what it was all about. In one sitting I had devoured the 368 pages and wanted more. I was very glad I had taken a chance and went against my normal processes to read it. It was an incredible story, and for a reader like me who thoroughly enjoys and seeks out meshing of sub-genres, this was truly an incredible find!
Samantha is an amazing character. She’s a strong, sassy, reinvented woman with a past she’s trying hard to forget and a promising path to the future. When a serial killer goes on a rampage, as a Boston police officer, Samantha is naturally called in to investigate. When she discovers that there’s a definite pattern to the killings, and recognizes the symbol that’s been carved into the victims’ necks, she knows that she needs to stop the people responsible no matter the fall out. After struggling with the decision and deciding that she needs to ‘take one for the team’ so to speak and do what’s best for the greater good, she comes clean on a secret that she’s kept from almost everyone she currently associates with (and pays for it dearly in some cases) and embarks on a dangerous journey with the attitude – May the best witch win.
Returning to Salem, her city of birth and the city that houses so many terrible childhood memories for her – several of which were so awful her mind repressed them as a coping mechanism – she reinvents herself yet again to be the adult product of the girl she was back then and begins her lie to try and draw out the bad guys (the bad guys being a new evil coven of witches who are dabbling in the darkest of the black arts and using Samantha’s previous family and coven as their stepping stone).
While there, she meets Anthony. Anthony is a young man running an Occult Museum and driven by the need to get vengeance on those who murdered his mother and avenge her death. He and Samantha have instant chemistry, but seeing as she is exactly what he has sworn to hate and destroy, and he is a constant reminder of everything she wants to forget, it’s definitely not a match made in heaven. Regardless, and despite the conflicts the two of them encounter along the way, they find a way to work together to try and bring down this rogue coven of evil witches and stop the murders.
One of the things that appealed to me most about this book was that it wasn’t easy to classify. It’s a murder mystery with urban fantasy, horror-thriller, and even a few paranormal romance aspects and that’s precisely why I fell in love with it. It was dark and dangerous and incredibly thrilling with tons of action, more intrigue than I knew what to do with, surprises around every corner, and psychological and theological undertones that made me as a reader think, which just immersed me into the story even further.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice was exactly my type of book and I am so incredibly happy that the Publisher decided to mail me a copy. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the Witch Hunt series and I’m excited to check out more of Debbie’s work to see if the rest of her backlist is anything like this. If it is, I may have just found myself a new author to add to my list of favorites. As it stands, I definitely found a book to add to my “Best New Book Discoveries of the Year” list.
LITERAL ADDICTION gives The Thirteenth Sacrifice 5 Skulls and would recommend it to Dark Urban Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror-Thriller, and even Murder-Mystery lovers if you don’t mind a bit of paranormal thrown in to your whoedoneit story. This is definitely a book to check out!
March 21, 2013
Samantha was a witch along with her mother, a dark witch in a powerful coven that practised the darkest of arts. Sacrifice and demons were not unknown in their pursuit of power – until she turned 12 and a horrific ritual went terribly wrong and the deeply traumatised Samantha was the only survivor.
She has a new life now. New parents, a new faith and a new job, as a cop no less. Her past is behind her. At least, she thought it was until a murdered young woman revealed a pattern of ritual murder victims. Dark witches were back in the area and, worse, they have ties to her old home, her old life and her old coven.
She is the only police officer who can possibly infiltrate and expose this new coven, the only person who can save countless possibly future lives – but doing so means facing the demons of her past and becoming everything she has fought so hard to avoid.
I liked this story a lot; it managed to draw me in very quickly and kept me hooked through the duration. We have some very compelling characters, a pretty original world and a plot that moves ideally.
I won’t say the plot is especially twisty; once we have an idea of what is going on after the first, say, third to half of the book, the rest is pretty guessable. I could see roughly what was happening and how the book would end once the reasons behind the murders had been unearthed – but that didn’t make the plot dull. I knew the end but getting there was still very interesting with its own revelations and explorations. I think if you’re going to write a book with an ending that is at least roughly known then it becomes important to keep the plot moving (otherwise you get the “get on with it!” sensation) and it’s important to put enough other elements in the book to keep it fascinating.
And this book succeeded on all counts. At no point did I feel the book was dragging things out; Samantha is very on target. Once the bodies are discovered she focuses on finding out how and why they died. Once that is discovered, she focuses on infiltrating and bringing down the coven. She doesn’t get sidetracked, she doesn’t twiddle her thumbs and she doesn’t curl up in a corner – she gets on with it and the book is always moving forwards
The book also had some really good twists along the way – the rage and hatred flaring up against witches turned out to be much more involved than I imagined. And we had Samantha herself confronting her buried demons of her past.
I think this book served as an excellent introduction book. The plot was good but also served as an excellent frame work on which the world could be built with it’s interesting, involved and well researched magic system and the complex protagonist could be introduced and show cased all without excessive info dumping
I did like the portrayal of Samantha’s trauma in this book. This is always shaky ground because Urban Fantasy is so full of dead or absent parents, horrific childhoods, abuse, torture etc etc etc – in fact, an Urban Fantasy protagonist with living parents and a happy childhood is really really rare; so I did look at another example with a lot of skepticism. But as far as this overused trope went, it was well done. The trauma fit the story and the character, it wasn’t an unnecessary addition just for the sake of it to provide quick and easy “development”. It was an integral part of what she was, the path she’d taken and the character she’d become.
Read More
She has a new life now. New parents, a new faith and a new job, as a cop no less. Her past is behind her. At least, she thought it was until a murdered young woman revealed a pattern of ritual murder victims. Dark witches were back in the area and, worse, they have ties to her old home, her old life and her old coven.
She is the only police officer who can possibly infiltrate and expose this new coven, the only person who can save countless possibly future lives – but doing so means facing the demons of her past and becoming everything she has fought so hard to avoid.
I liked this story a lot; it managed to draw me in very quickly and kept me hooked through the duration. We have some very compelling characters, a pretty original world and a plot that moves ideally.
I won’t say the plot is especially twisty; once we have an idea of what is going on after the first, say, third to half of the book, the rest is pretty guessable. I could see roughly what was happening and how the book would end once the reasons behind the murders had been unearthed – but that didn’t make the plot dull. I knew the end but getting there was still very interesting with its own revelations and explorations. I think if you’re going to write a book with an ending that is at least roughly known then it becomes important to keep the plot moving (otherwise you get the “get on with it!” sensation) and it’s important to put enough other elements in the book to keep it fascinating.
And this book succeeded on all counts. At no point did I feel the book was dragging things out; Samantha is very on target. Once the bodies are discovered she focuses on finding out how and why they died. Once that is discovered, she focuses on infiltrating and bringing down the coven. She doesn’t get sidetracked, she doesn’t twiddle her thumbs and she doesn’t curl up in a corner – she gets on with it and the book is always moving forwards
The book also had some really good twists along the way – the rage and hatred flaring up against witches turned out to be much more involved than I imagined. And we had Samantha herself confronting her buried demons of her past.
I think this book served as an excellent introduction book. The plot was good but also served as an excellent frame work on which the world could be built with it’s interesting, involved and well researched magic system and the complex protagonist could be introduced and show cased all without excessive info dumping
I did like the portrayal of Samantha’s trauma in this book. This is always shaky ground because Urban Fantasy is so full of dead or absent parents, horrific childhoods, abuse, torture etc etc etc – in fact, an Urban Fantasy protagonist with living parents and a happy childhood is really really rare; so I did look at another example with a lot of skepticism. But as far as this overused trope went, it was well done. The trauma fit the story and the character, it wasn’t an unnecessary addition just for the sake of it to provide quick and easy “development”. It was an integral part of what she was, the path she’d taken and the character she’d become.
Read More
April 29, 2012
Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: An exciting paranormal thrill ride.
Opening Sentence: Everywhere she looked there were shadows.
The Review:
In beautiful Boston there is something sinister in the works, and its trail leads to scenic Salem, Massachusetts, legendary home of the witch trials back in the times of the Puritans. When the bodies of young women turn up with strange markings, the determination is ritual killings with a root in black magic. And one of Boston’s finest is the only one equipped to deal with this particular brand of evil.
Detective Samantha Ryan was once involved in a ritual so deadly, it left her the only survivor, at age 12. Since being orphaned, she has turned her sight to the Christian religion, and has never wanted to look back. But, when several innocent woman are ritualistically murdered in her city, she is forced to go back to the place that was once her home, and back to that way of life, if only to stop things before they get even worse.
When she reaches her old town, she meets Anthony Charles, owner of a museum dedicated to the occult, specifically Sam’s old coven, responsible for the death of his mother and unborn baby brother. With a vow to take revenge upon the coven’s last living member, he has been researching everything having to do with witchcraft, patiently waiting for the witch he wants to return to her home.
When Anthony first realizes that Sam is that very witch, he bursts into her hotel room, poised to commit murder. But Sam convinces him otherwise, she was only 12 at the time after all. Armed with this knowledge, and the knowledge that Sam is actually here to stop all the violence, Anthony becomes Sam’s partner in crime, and also the man who wants to be so much more.
When Sam finally gets in with the coven bent on replacing her old one, she discovers their true path, the reanimation of Abigail Temple, the high priestess and one time leader of Sam’s coven, who wishes to make yet another attempt at the magic that once killed her and everyone else, the raising of a demon, bent on destruction.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the psycho murderer virus. It seems the new coven’s high priestess decided to create some added chaos by having this strange magical virus created, one that makes anyone who previously tended towards distrust of witches or anything paranormal to become downright murderous towards those who are accused of practicing anything weird. Most of them being innocent Goth types, or harmless Wiccans.
But alas, Abigail fails to raise her demon, as her magic is no better than the last time, and it again takes out her whole coven, leaving only Sam as survivor. And as an added bonus, when news of all this reaches back to her old comrades, no one, not even her partner wishes to work with Sam anymore. So in the end, she is once again forced to leave her home, and every one she knows and loves behind, and move, this time across the country, to a new place and try to regain her chance at living a normal life. Truly heartbreaking, if you ask me.
Kudos to Ms. Viguié for setting us up for an exciting ride. I really enjoyed it; read it all in one shot. Not that hard, really, when you are in the car for eight hours on your way to vacation. The setting is just right, no place better than Salem for witches, even if it is a bit cliché. The pace is just fast enough, the evil plenty scary, and the emotional turmoil heartfelt. Can’t wait to see what Sam goes through out on the west coast.
Curses to Angela and DFT for making me read things that have the potential to give me nightmares. Branding this book as merely paranormal would be a grave injustice. This, ladies and gents, is a true thriller, complete with mass hysteria, brutal murder, and one scary badass witch raised from the dead. So, for those of you who are into that kind of thing, right on…read this book, and come back and tell me what you thought. For those of you with weaker constitutions, and bad hearts…well, you just might want to plan on sleeping with the lights on.
Notable Scene:
She didn’t need to understand its language, or figure out how to send it back to where it came from. All she had to do was kill it.
She yanked her athame free from her waistband and brandished it in front of her. The creature snarled, eyeing the blade warily. As she struggled to her knees, it tracked her movements carefully. Hatred and cunning burned in its soulless eyes. She forced herself to try to stand. Her right foot slid out from under her, though, and she crashed to the floor again.
It leaped for her and she slashed with the athame. As the blade made contact with its hide, the creature howled and jumped back. She seized the moment to gain her feet. With a surge of strength she didn’t know she had, she jumped onto the bathroom counter.
She crouched there for a moment, dizzy, as blood continued to flow down her shirt and paint the water pink. The beast coiled all its muscles, readying itself to spring. Samantha brought her hands close together and a ball of energy formed between them, electricity sparking from her fingertips. If there were any chinks in the porcelain of the bathtub, if any part of the metal was touching the water, then she would have no hope of reviving Anthony. His body would fry too.
She shrieked a prayer heavenward even as she threw her hands down, hurling the crackling sphere of energy into the water.
There was an inhuman scream and the creature convulsed uncontrollably as the electric current running through the water entered its body. Finally it collapsed in a smoking heap, the smell of burned hair filling the room.
Samantha turned and looked at the bathtub. She judged the distance and then jumped, crashing down n the tub near Anthony’s body. Pain ripped through her and she struggled to remove the stopper. Finally it came free and the water began to drain.
Straddling his chest, she began CPR, praying that she wasn’t too late. She felt a couple of his ribs break under her hands, but she kept going. After thirty chest compressions she hauled Anthony’s head out of the water. Slipping and sliding, she managed to twist in such a way that she could give him rescue breaths.
Nothing.
“Don’t you die on me,” she pleaded in the midst of her sobs.
She did more chest compressions and more breaths. Still there was nothing. No pulse, no sign of life. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Anthony Charles was dead.
The Witch Hunt Series:
1. The Thirteenth Sacrifice
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet provided me with a copy of the The Thirteenth Sacrifice. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: An exciting paranormal thrill ride.
Opening Sentence: Everywhere she looked there were shadows.
The Review:
In beautiful Boston there is something sinister in the works, and its trail leads to scenic Salem, Massachusetts, legendary home of the witch trials back in the times of the Puritans. When the bodies of young women turn up with strange markings, the determination is ritual killings with a root in black magic. And one of Boston’s finest is the only one equipped to deal with this particular brand of evil.
Detective Samantha Ryan was once involved in a ritual so deadly, it left her the only survivor, at age 12. Since being orphaned, she has turned her sight to the Christian religion, and has never wanted to look back. But, when several innocent woman are ritualistically murdered in her city, she is forced to go back to the place that was once her home, and back to that way of life, if only to stop things before they get even worse.
When she reaches her old town, she meets Anthony Charles, owner of a museum dedicated to the occult, specifically Sam’s old coven, responsible for the death of his mother and unborn baby brother. With a vow to take revenge upon the coven’s last living member, he has been researching everything having to do with witchcraft, patiently waiting for the witch he wants to return to her home.
When Anthony first realizes that Sam is that very witch, he bursts into her hotel room, poised to commit murder. But Sam convinces him otherwise, she was only 12 at the time after all. Armed with this knowledge, and the knowledge that Sam is actually here to stop all the violence, Anthony becomes Sam’s partner in crime, and also the man who wants to be so much more.
When Sam finally gets in with the coven bent on replacing her old one, she discovers their true path, the reanimation of Abigail Temple, the high priestess and one time leader of Sam’s coven, who wishes to make yet another attempt at the magic that once killed her and everyone else, the raising of a demon, bent on destruction.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the psycho murderer virus. It seems the new coven’s high priestess decided to create some added chaos by having this strange magical virus created, one that makes anyone who previously tended towards distrust of witches or anything paranormal to become downright murderous towards those who are accused of practicing anything weird. Most of them being innocent Goth types, or harmless Wiccans.
But alas, Abigail fails to raise her demon, as her magic is no better than the last time, and it again takes out her whole coven, leaving only Sam as survivor. And as an added bonus, when news of all this reaches back to her old comrades, no one, not even her partner wishes to work with Sam anymore. So in the end, she is once again forced to leave her home, and every one she knows and loves behind, and move, this time across the country, to a new place and try to regain her chance at living a normal life. Truly heartbreaking, if you ask me.
Kudos to Ms. Viguié for setting us up for an exciting ride. I really enjoyed it; read it all in one shot. Not that hard, really, when you are in the car for eight hours on your way to vacation. The setting is just right, no place better than Salem for witches, even if it is a bit cliché. The pace is just fast enough, the evil plenty scary, and the emotional turmoil heartfelt. Can’t wait to see what Sam goes through out on the west coast.
Curses to Angela and DFT for making me read things that have the potential to give me nightmares. Branding this book as merely paranormal would be a grave injustice. This, ladies and gents, is a true thriller, complete with mass hysteria, brutal murder, and one scary badass witch raised from the dead. So, for those of you who are into that kind of thing, right on…read this book, and come back and tell me what you thought. For those of you with weaker constitutions, and bad hearts…well, you just might want to plan on sleeping with the lights on.
Notable Scene:
She didn’t need to understand its language, or figure out how to send it back to where it came from. All she had to do was kill it.
She yanked her athame free from her waistband and brandished it in front of her. The creature snarled, eyeing the blade warily. As she struggled to her knees, it tracked her movements carefully. Hatred and cunning burned in its soulless eyes. She forced herself to try to stand. Her right foot slid out from under her, though, and she crashed to the floor again.
It leaped for her and she slashed with the athame. As the blade made contact with its hide, the creature howled and jumped back. She seized the moment to gain her feet. With a surge of strength she didn’t know she had, she jumped onto the bathroom counter.
She crouched there for a moment, dizzy, as blood continued to flow down her shirt and paint the water pink. The beast coiled all its muscles, readying itself to spring. Samantha brought her hands close together and a ball of energy formed between them, electricity sparking from her fingertips. If there were any chinks in the porcelain of the bathtub, if any part of the metal was touching the water, then she would have no hope of reviving Anthony. His body would fry too.
She shrieked a prayer heavenward even as she threw her hands down, hurling the crackling sphere of energy into the water.
There was an inhuman scream and the creature convulsed uncontrollably as the electric current running through the water entered its body. Finally it collapsed in a smoking heap, the smell of burned hair filling the room.
Samantha turned and looked at the bathtub. She judged the distance and then jumped, crashing down n the tub near Anthony’s body. Pain ripped through her and she struggled to remove the stopper. Finally it came free and the water began to drain.
Straddling his chest, she began CPR, praying that she wasn’t too late. She felt a couple of his ribs break under her hands, but she kept going. After thirty chest compressions she hauled Anthony’s head out of the water. Slipping and sliding, she managed to twist in such a way that she could give him rescue breaths.
Nothing.
“Don’t you die on me,” she pleaded in the midst of her sobs.
She did more chest compressions and more breaths. Still there was nothing. No pulse, no sign of life. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Anthony Charles was dead.
The Witch Hunt Series:
1. The Thirteenth Sacrifice
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet provided me with a copy of the The Thirteenth Sacrifice. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
March 3, 2012
This book was won from Good Reads' First Reads contest.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is a thrill ride that you do not want to miss! This was the creepiest, most suspenseful book I've read in a long time.
The mystery is there, but it's pretty straight forward. We know, that a coven of witches that is practicing human sacrifice are the bad guys from the beginning. We just don't know why they're sacrificing humans, and then once we find that out, we don't know how bad it can really get. This is a book that I couldn't put down.
Viguie kept the action and reveals to a maximum in this book. Every time I thought I had something figured out, she'd add something else and throw me for a loop. I had what, exactly, the coven was trying to do figured out pretty early on, but I had no idea who the high priestess was. That was a huge shock, and so were her sidekicks. The Thirteenth Sacrifice is also heavy on the paranormal, and I loved that. It is light on the romance, which was also refreshing. The character developments were HUGE, especially for Samantha. She really grew and changed a lot throughout the novel.
Samantha is a strong, yet flawed character. She's broken down, but I don't believe she's fully broken. She's putting herself back together the best she can, and she faces her nightmares every day. She was raised in a coven of witches, and they were really bad witches. Her childhood entailed witnessing human sacrifices, being forced to sacrifice animals, extreme abuse from her mother and the coven leader, and coming into contact with demons (the real ones, not the figurative ones). She locked all of that, along with her magical powers, neatly away after the massacre of her coven in which she was the soul survivor. She went to the police station, and her current boss/captain was only an officer at the time (she was 12). He placed her in a foster home with a psychologist and his wife, and this family helped her heal. She is an excellent cop, and she has no problem not using her powers until murders start happening that are very obviously real human sacrifices. That is when the real character development begins. She is thrown back into the world of the coven, and she has to go back to her hometown of Salem. Samantha has to face her past and all of her greatest fears. Does she make it out alive and unscathed? Well you'll just have to read the book to find out.
Anthony grew quite a bit throughout the novel as well, and it's always nice to see a secondary character well-developed and taking part in character growth. He ended up being a better person, and I really hope to see more of him as the series progresses. The other characters in the novel, aside from the coven, weren't as well-developed, though they still had their own distinct personalities. Also, when the supporting characters changed over the course of the novel, which they did, I didn't like how they ended up. Maybe that was the point, though. It certainly didn't affect how I felt about or read the story, so maybe it didn't even matter how they changed.
The plot for this novel was extremely complicated. It was action and mystery driven. There was very little romance, and that was perfectly fine in my book. Sometimes I feel that I can't get to know a character's emotions very well if there's no romance at all. The books seem to fall flat emotionally. That wasn't the case with The Thirteenth Sacrifice. This book was still an emotional roller coaster, even without much romance. The pacing was spot on, and nothing dragged or felt rushed. It was literally one tragedy after another. Furthermore, the ending wrapped up all of the major questions of this novel nicely, but left room for a sequel. I didn't feel like I was left hanging in any means, but I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. That's how authors should end their novels. Cliffhangers are obnoxious. Also, you do find out why the book is called The Thirteenth Sacrifice. I was wondering that for awhile, but I finally found out toward the end. It's not as simple a concept as you'd think, so don't judge my inability to figure it out, haha.
The one thing I didn't like in this book is that it had a lot of religion in it. Not only Christianity, but also Wicca. The message seemed to be religious tolerance, but it was a bit too obvious. I felt like I was being lectured at some points. Religious tolerance is an extremely important thing, and more people need to embrace it. However, in the middle of a story it just gets on my nerves. It's never good to feel like the author has an agenda when crafting a work of fiction. It not only sidetracks you from the story, but it makes you feel like you're being preached at throughout the novel. I read fiction to escape reality. Therefore, I really don't want the world's problems thrown in my face while I'm reading. I'd have to recommend that Viguie either make her messages more subtle or just eliminate them all together in her next novel. It didn't offend me, but it did annoy me at certain parts.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a strong stomach and doesn't scare extremely easily. It's not as scary as Steven King by any means, but it is creepy and can freak you out if, say, you're reading it when massive storms are going through your area and it's the middle of the night. Yea, I did that. I still slept like a baby afterwards, but I was a bit jumpy every time it thundered for about an hour after I finished the book, haha. Anyway, this is a book you do not want to miss (as previously stated). Viguie has a wonderful voice. It's easy to sympathize with Samantha, even though the book is written from a 3rd person limited POV (following Samantha). It's suspenseful and well-written, and you won't be able to put it down until the very end. You definitely want to pre-order The Thirteenth Sacrifice today!
Check out this review and others, along with giveaways and author interviews at http://falln2books.blogspot.com!
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is a thrill ride that you do not want to miss! This was the creepiest, most suspenseful book I've read in a long time.
The mystery is there, but it's pretty straight forward. We know, that a coven of witches that is practicing human sacrifice are the bad guys from the beginning. We just don't know why they're sacrificing humans, and then once we find that out, we don't know how bad it can really get. This is a book that I couldn't put down.
Viguie kept the action and reveals to a maximum in this book. Every time I thought I had something figured out, she'd add something else and throw me for a loop. I had what, exactly, the coven was trying to do figured out pretty early on, but I had no idea who the high priestess was. That was a huge shock, and so were her sidekicks. The Thirteenth Sacrifice is also heavy on the paranormal, and I loved that. It is light on the romance, which was also refreshing. The character developments were HUGE, especially for Samantha. She really grew and changed a lot throughout the novel.
Samantha is a strong, yet flawed character. She's broken down, but I don't believe she's fully broken. She's putting herself back together the best she can, and she faces her nightmares every day. She was raised in a coven of witches, and they were really bad witches. Her childhood entailed witnessing human sacrifices, being forced to sacrifice animals, extreme abuse from her mother and the coven leader, and coming into contact with demons (the real ones, not the figurative ones). She locked all of that, along with her magical powers, neatly away after the massacre of her coven in which she was the soul survivor. She went to the police station, and her current boss/captain was only an officer at the time (she was 12). He placed her in a foster home with a psychologist and his wife, and this family helped her heal. She is an excellent cop, and she has no problem not using her powers until murders start happening that are very obviously real human sacrifices. That is when the real character development begins. She is thrown back into the world of the coven, and she has to go back to her hometown of Salem. Samantha has to face her past and all of her greatest fears. Does she make it out alive and unscathed? Well you'll just have to read the book to find out.
Anthony grew quite a bit throughout the novel as well, and it's always nice to see a secondary character well-developed and taking part in character growth. He ended up being a better person, and I really hope to see more of him as the series progresses. The other characters in the novel, aside from the coven, weren't as well-developed, though they still had their own distinct personalities. Also, when the supporting characters changed over the course of the novel, which they did, I didn't like how they ended up. Maybe that was the point, though. It certainly didn't affect how I felt about or read the story, so maybe it didn't even matter how they changed.
The plot for this novel was extremely complicated. It was action and mystery driven. There was very little romance, and that was perfectly fine in my book. Sometimes I feel that I can't get to know a character's emotions very well if there's no romance at all. The books seem to fall flat emotionally. That wasn't the case with The Thirteenth Sacrifice. This book was still an emotional roller coaster, even without much romance. The pacing was spot on, and nothing dragged or felt rushed. It was literally one tragedy after another. Furthermore, the ending wrapped up all of the major questions of this novel nicely, but left room for a sequel. I didn't feel like I was left hanging in any means, but I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. That's how authors should end their novels. Cliffhangers are obnoxious. Also, you do find out why the book is called The Thirteenth Sacrifice. I was wondering that for awhile, but I finally found out toward the end. It's not as simple a concept as you'd think, so don't judge my inability to figure it out, haha.
The one thing I didn't like in this book is that it had a lot of religion in it. Not only Christianity, but also Wicca. The message seemed to be religious tolerance, but it was a bit too obvious. I felt like I was being lectured at some points. Religious tolerance is an extremely important thing, and more people need to embrace it. However, in the middle of a story it just gets on my nerves. It's never good to feel like the author has an agenda when crafting a work of fiction. It not only sidetracks you from the story, but it makes you feel like you're being preached at throughout the novel. I read fiction to escape reality. Therefore, I really don't want the world's problems thrown in my face while I'm reading. I'd have to recommend that Viguie either make her messages more subtle or just eliminate them all together in her next novel. It didn't offend me, but it did annoy me at certain parts.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a strong stomach and doesn't scare extremely easily. It's not as scary as Steven King by any means, but it is creepy and can freak you out if, say, you're reading it when massive storms are going through your area and it's the middle of the night. Yea, I did that. I still slept like a baby afterwards, but I was a bit jumpy every time it thundered for about an hour after I finished the book, haha. Anyway, this is a book you do not want to miss (as previously stated). Viguie has a wonderful voice. It's easy to sympathize with Samantha, even though the book is written from a 3rd person limited POV (following Samantha). It's suspenseful and well-written, and you won't be able to put it down until the very end. You definitely want to pre-order The Thirteenth Sacrifice today!
Check out this review and others, along with giveaways and author interviews at http://falln2books.blogspot.com!
November 3, 2023
3.75 stars. Interesting take on the witch genre. Appropriate read for Halloween week. May consider reading the sequel. Listened to the audiobook and a different narrator may have improved my rating to 4 stars.
July 28, 2017
This was a good book if you're into this genre. It leaves a ton of stuff out there for the sequels. I plan to keep going with the series.
March 21, 2013
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It tries very hard to stand out from the paranormal mysteries and urban fantasy genre and succeeds pretty well at it. This would very technically be considered a PNM or a UF novel, but it's not really a good fit in either of them. I loved this about Thirteenth Sacrifice, although I know that this book will probably be one of those that you'll either rave about or be somewhat disappointed with.
The good is that this book is relatively free of romance or sexual intrigue. It's there, but it's such a background element that it almost could have been removed entirely without it really hurting the overall read. This is one of the things that I enjoyed about the book because given the subject matter, I think that having Samantha go bonkers over a guy would've detracted from the main storyline of evil witches and facing your past. Speaking of evil witches, that's part of what I enjoyed most about this. Witches are normally given a fairly romanticized treatment in books nowadays. They're usually misunderstood and for every evil witch there's one that's nothing but goodness and light. You don't get that here. Viguie's witches are evil and treated as entirely separate from the modern idea of witchcraft such as Wicca and Harry Potter. We're given a hint that this could potentially change in the future, but so far there's no "magic isn't evil, it's just magic". No, the magic here is entirely evil. Again, this could possibly change but that it's seen so negatively in this book was pretty intriguing. It makes sense that Samantha, someone whose childhood was filled with nothing but evil magics, would see magic as an entirely evil force.
Now the downfall of this book is that it's very obviously a setup for the series as a whole. We're given details on everything, but no one character is really given that deep of a look. This is pretty much par for the course with most series, although it might bug some of the people who want to have a deeper read. What I think might really be divisive with readers is that this doesn't fit cleanly into any one genre. People looking for a PNR/PNM/UF read will yearn slightly for this to fall into some of the more familiar patterns of those genres while people looking for something that is supernatural but entirely removed from those genres will wish for it to stray further from those patterns. If you can resist the temptation to long for the more familiar and well worn paths, you'll find one heck of a treat in this book. I think I liked this more because it straddles so many genres, giving us something new to look at.
I'd actively recommend purchasing this book. If you're unsure then you could flip through it a little in the bookstore, but this is one that I'd recommend as a purchase. I guess the best endorsement of this is that I checked this out from the library since I had trouble locating a copy in my local bookstores and before I'd finished this book, I purchased the next volume.
The good is that this book is relatively free of romance or sexual intrigue. It's there, but it's such a background element that it almost could have been removed entirely without it really hurting the overall read. This is one of the things that I enjoyed about the book because given the subject matter, I think that having Samantha go bonkers over a guy would've detracted from the main storyline of evil witches and facing your past. Speaking of evil witches, that's part of what I enjoyed most about this. Witches are normally given a fairly romanticized treatment in books nowadays. They're usually misunderstood and for every evil witch there's one that's nothing but goodness and light. You don't get that here. Viguie's witches are evil and treated as entirely separate from the modern idea of witchcraft such as Wicca and Harry Potter. We're given a hint that this could potentially change in the future, but so far there's no "magic isn't evil, it's just magic". No, the magic here is entirely evil. Again, this could possibly change but that it's seen so negatively in this book was pretty intriguing. It makes sense that Samantha, someone whose childhood was filled with nothing but evil magics, would see magic as an entirely evil force.
Now the downfall of this book is that it's very obviously a setup for the series as a whole. We're given details on everything, but no one character is really given that deep of a look. This is pretty much par for the course with most series, although it might bug some of the people who want to have a deeper read. What I think might really be divisive with readers is that this doesn't fit cleanly into any one genre. People looking for a PNR/PNM/UF read will yearn slightly for this to fall into some of the more familiar patterns of those genres while people looking for something that is supernatural but entirely removed from those genres will wish for it to stray further from those patterns. If you can resist the temptation to long for the more familiar and well worn paths, you'll find one heck of a treat in this book. I think I liked this more because it straddles so many genres, giving us something new to look at.
I'd actively recommend purchasing this book. If you're unsure then you could flip through it a little in the bookstore, but this is one that I'd recommend as a purchase. I guess the best endorsement of this is that I checked this out from the library since I had trouble locating a copy in my local bookstores and before I'd finished this book, I purchased the next volume.
April 23, 2012
Samantha Ryan is a cop who investigates the murder of a young college student. She discovers that the victim was sacrificed using a symbol that comes from her past. She was born into an evil coven of witches, and now it looks like someone has resurrected her old coven. It is up to her to go under cover and find out what is going on, and put a stop to it before the witches raise a greater evil.
The story is easy to slide into, and went by pretty fast. Samantha spends the first part of the novel with her partner Ed. They find clues linking the murder to the coven, and along the way Samantha struggles with her dark past. Like most mystery/thriller stories—the heroine is a cop and/or detective. When it is clear that Samantha has to go undercover she struggles with the decision at first, but gives in. She vowed never to use magic again when she was adopted as a young woman, and turned Christian. Going undercover means she will have to use her powers again. Her internal struggle with what she was, and is forced to do is emotionally taxing. When she goes undercover, magic becomes a huge part of the story. Magic powers fly around with ease. She also meets a guy, Anthony, who she feels an instant bond with. There is a side romantic plot going on, but it isn’t the focus of the story, and felt a little off base.
Samantha is easy to like. She wants to take down the killers. While she can be judgmental at times she is morally sound when it comes to the big picture. Her nearly instant connection with Anthony I let slide since she was a witch, and he has a connection with her past. Anthony, I had serious doubts about. Some of his actions don’t seem organic, and the way he was there constantly to catch Samantha when she fell was a little annoying. At the end I had a ‘Samantha against the world,’ vibe. I didn’t dig it as much as I should.
The mystery/thriller story line was nice. There is a twist ending that I didn’t see coming. The pacing is also done very well. There is always a reason to flip the page, and I found the use of magic pretty neat. I wondered more than once why some humans were born with the ability to manipulate energy, and others are not. The witches reminded me of the Jedi and Sith (Star Wars reference). Where the story fell for me was in the characters. Samantha feels like the most organic character, but the story is also told from her perspective. The other characters around her didn’t feel organic. They were place holders that motivated, or demotivated Samantha to get her to point A to point B.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice as a first installment left just enough unanswered questions for me to want the next book. It isn’t an earth shattering story, but felt more like a run-of-the-mill mystery. The action is well done, and the plot as a whole is exciting. I would recommend it to someone who was into thriller/mysteries with a paranormal twist.
- Beth
The story is easy to slide into, and went by pretty fast. Samantha spends the first part of the novel with her partner Ed. They find clues linking the murder to the coven, and along the way Samantha struggles with her dark past. Like most mystery/thriller stories—the heroine is a cop and/or detective. When it is clear that Samantha has to go undercover she struggles with the decision at first, but gives in. She vowed never to use magic again when she was adopted as a young woman, and turned Christian. Going undercover means she will have to use her powers again. Her internal struggle with what she was, and is forced to do is emotionally taxing. When she goes undercover, magic becomes a huge part of the story. Magic powers fly around with ease. She also meets a guy, Anthony, who she feels an instant bond with. There is a side romantic plot going on, but it isn’t the focus of the story, and felt a little off base.
Samantha is easy to like. She wants to take down the killers. While she can be judgmental at times she is morally sound when it comes to the big picture. Her nearly instant connection with Anthony I let slide since she was a witch, and he has a connection with her past. Anthony, I had serious doubts about. Some of his actions don’t seem organic, and the way he was there constantly to catch Samantha when she fell was a little annoying. At the end I had a ‘Samantha against the world,’ vibe. I didn’t dig it as much as I should.
The mystery/thriller story line was nice. There is a twist ending that I didn’t see coming. The pacing is also done very well. There is always a reason to flip the page, and I found the use of magic pretty neat. I wondered more than once why some humans were born with the ability to manipulate energy, and others are not. The witches reminded me of the Jedi and Sith (Star Wars reference). Where the story fell for me was in the characters. Samantha feels like the most organic character, but the story is also told from her perspective. The other characters around her didn’t feel organic. They were place holders that motivated, or demotivated Samantha to get her to point A to point B.
The Thirteenth Sacrifice as a first installment left just enough unanswered questions for me to want the next book. It isn’t an earth shattering story, but felt more like a run-of-the-mill mystery. The action is well done, and the plot as a whole is exciting. I would recommend it to someone who was into thriller/mysteries with a paranormal twist.
- Beth
October 4, 2012
Debbie Viguie's new Witch Hunt series introduces readers to Samantha Ryan, a Boston police detective with a unique and quite dangerous past. Raised within the confines of an evil coven in Salem, Samantha is imbued with the dark powers of witchcraft passed down through generations of her family but having escaped the torment of her childhood physically, the deep mental scars remain with her. So, when a number of bodies appear marked with the points of a pentagram Samantha is called upon to go undercover back in Salem to root out the perpetrators of these evil deeds and to rekindle her powers of witchcraft to foil a dastardly plot of raising a dead witch. There's also a slightly ludricous plotline involving a virus which makes members of the public see witches everywhere causing them to randomly attack other people and an obligatory romantic subplot where Samantha is drawn to the debonair owner of a witchcraft museum whose mother was murdered by the coven that Samantha grew up in. Yes...I know...
I don't know if it's just me, but I found the whole book quite unbalanced with the witchcraft storyline holding the majority of my interest throughout and being quite well written but I felt the whole thing was a little out of kilter. It was if Viguie had to keep reminding herself to juggle the demands of the horror, police procedural, and romance genres with the latter two elements feeling slightly crow-barred in at times to disrupt the fairly strong central plot. Samantha was a likeable enough character but seemed too participate in far too much naval gazing about her predicament instead of steeling herself to the task in hand and concentrate on thwarting the raising of the scaberous witch Abigail and at some points I just wanted to give her a bit of shake. However, I did enjoy the portrayal of the rites and rituals within the coven and how readily people could be manipulated into behaving in a certain way. A goodly amount of bloodshed too which is always a bonus...
So to sum up I would say that this was quite a nippy little read for me and good for getting in the mood for Halloween but the cross genre balance was a little off which marred my overall enjoyment of the book. Shame...
I don't know if it's just me, but I found the whole book quite unbalanced with the witchcraft storyline holding the majority of my interest throughout and being quite well written but I felt the whole thing was a little out of kilter. It was if Viguie had to keep reminding herself to juggle the demands of the horror, police procedural, and romance genres with the latter two elements feeling slightly crow-barred in at times to disrupt the fairly strong central plot. Samantha was a likeable enough character but seemed too participate in far too much naval gazing about her predicament instead of steeling herself to the task in hand and concentrate on thwarting the raising of the scaberous witch Abigail and at some points I just wanted to give her a bit of shake. However, I did enjoy the portrayal of the rites and rituals within the coven and how readily people could be manipulated into behaving in a certain way. A goodly amount of bloodshed too which is always a bonus...
So to sum up I would say that this was quite a nippy little read for me and good for getting in the mood for Halloween but the cross genre balance was a little off which marred my overall enjoyment of the book. Shame...
June 26, 2013
A novel in the Witch Hunt series. Samantha (yes, like Samantha Stevens a la Bewitched) is a witch who has forsaken her powers to become a cop, so she can help people, although one would think if she really wanted to help people, witch power would be a definite plus. Her fellow cops know she is a witch, but just don’t talk about it.
When a Salem coven seeks to resurrect Sam’s late, evil witch mother and the vaguely-defined evil beast her mother tried to summon when Sam was a child, Sam has to go undercover, as a witch, to infiltrate and thwart the coven. Along the way, we see Viguie try mightily to forge relationships between Sam and her cop partner, Ed, and with an occult specialist, Anthony, neither of which are too emotionally engaging or ultimately go anywhere.
Sam and the coven’s witch power alternates between godlike and non-existent, as the plot dictates, which was the biggest flaw for me. In one scene, witches know everything that is going on everywhere. In the next, you can sneak up on them with a knife. In fiction the rules can be whatever you want, but there have to be some consistency or the plot’s a crapshoot.
Thirteenth had a couple of good elements. The parts where adult Sam engages with herself as a child were moving and creepy. Viguie also did a nice reveal on the unexpected mastermind behind the coven. But the lack of meaningful character realtionships and a clear sense of how witch power works deflated any suspense that might have been.
When a Salem coven seeks to resurrect Sam’s late, evil witch mother and the vaguely-defined evil beast her mother tried to summon when Sam was a child, Sam has to go undercover, as a witch, to infiltrate and thwart the coven. Along the way, we see Viguie try mightily to forge relationships between Sam and her cop partner, Ed, and with an occult specialist, Anthony, neither of which are too emotionally engaging or ultimately go anywhere.
Sam and the coven’s witch power alternates between godlike and non-existent, as the plot dictates, which was the biggest flaw for me. In one scene, witches know everything that is going on everywhere. In the next, you can sneak up on them with a knife. In fiction the rules can be whatever you want, but there have to be some consistency or the plot’s a crapshoot.
Thirteenth had a couple of good elements. The parts where adult Sam engages with herself as a child were moving and creepy. Viguie also did a nice reveal on the unexpected mastermind behind the coven. But the lack of meaningful character realtionships and a clear sense of how witch power works deflated any suspense that might have been.
March 4, 2012
“The Thirteenth Sacrifice,” written by Debbie Viguie, is about a dectective, Samantha, who grew up in a coven. After her coven was slaughtered when she was 12, Samantha was able to turn her back on witchcraft and try to live a normal life. Her biggest fear is going back to her former life, but as people start showing up dead, Samantha has to go undercover back into the world of witches to stop the murders.
Debbie Viguie keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from the get-go. The book begins with a vivid description:
“Everywhere she looked there were shadows. Somewhere far away a man was chanting in a deep voice, and with each word a new cut appeared on her arms, until she was bleeding from a dozen wounds.” This is the tone for the rest of the story. It is intense and dark.
I enjoyed this story a lot. I appreciated that Ms. Viguie made sure throughout the book to distinguish wiccans and pagans from witches instead of throwing them all in together. She definitely had me rooting for Samantha and turning the pages to see how it all turns out. This is the first in a new series and it will be interesting to follow Samantha on further journeys.
**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**
Debbie Viguie keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from the get-go. The book begins with a vivid description:
“Everywhere she looked there were shadows. Somewhere far away a man was chanting in a deep voice, and with each word a new cut appeared on her arms, until she was bleeding from a dozen wounds.” This is the tone for the rest of the story. It is intense and dark.
I enjoyed this story a lot. I appreciated that Ms. Viguie made sure throughout the book to distinguish wiccans and pagans from witches instead of throwing them all in together. She definitely had me rooting for Samantha and turning the pages to see how it all turns out. This is the first in a new series and it will be interesting to follow Samantha on further journeys.
**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**
March 16, 2012
I am conflicted. I enjoyed this book but I did not like it. The premise is quite exciting. As a child, Samantha lived with her mother and a coven of witches. She was the only survivor of a summoning gone wrong. She was adopted by a loving couple and grew up to become a police officer. She has a normal life or at least as normal a life as someone who has lived through something like this can have. When dead bodies begin popping up with pentagrams on their heads, she realizes that witches are about and that they have big plans. She goes undercover to find the coven responsible and stop them before they can launch unspeakable horrors into the world.
The concept was good. The writing, not so much. There is a certain style of writing I dislike and unfortunately, Viguie used that style in this book. I find it difficult to explain it with any precision, so suffice it to say that the writing has an amateurish feel. I find sentence structure to be awkward at times. Perhaps it's just that the editing needed to be crisper.
All in all, I did enjoy this story and I would like to see where it goes. This could be one kick ass police detective series. I will be cautiously optimistic.
The concept was good. The writing, not so much. There is a certain style of writing I dislike and unfortunately, Viguie used that style in this book. I find it difficult to explain it with any precision, so suffice it to say that the writing has an amateurish feel. I find sentence structure to be awkward at times. Perhaps it's just that the editing needed to be crisper.
All in all, I did enjoy this story and I would like to see where it goes. This could be one kick ass police detective series. I will be cautiously optimistic.
May 15, 2012
O MY GOSH!!!!
That was amazing. Everything about it was just amazing. Parts were freakin hilarious and parts were some of the creepiest things i've read! I COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY LOVE AND RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! My only disappointment is that i have to wait until NEXT YEAR to read the sequel. Ughhh! How will we survive! I love how she slips in to her disguise so easily. She puts everyones' lives before hers and doesn't complain about it. All of the characters were extremely developed. They had their own personalities and were complex, but so so complex that you couldn't understand them. There was no dull moment in this book, but it wasn't one of those books that have so much action that it gets boring and you lose sight of what all of the action is about. The only thing that bothered be a tiney tiney bit (that i can easily look past because she kind of needed it to set the stage for the next amazing book) is how one of the characters felt for her at the end. I think it was very mean! But, despite that this book is tied with Graceling for #1 on my list of books, and anyone who knows me knows that this is a high honor.
That was amazing. Everything about it was just amazing. Parts were freakin hilarious and parts were some of the creepiest things i've read! I COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY LOVE AND RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! My only disappointment is that i have to wait until NEXT YEAR to read the sequel. Ughhh! How will we survive! I love how she slips in to her disguise so easily. She puts everyones' lives before hers and doesn't complain about it. All of the characters were extremely developed. They had their own personalities and were complex, but so so complex that you couldn't understand them. There was no dull moment in this book, but it wasn't one of those books that have so much action that it gets boring and you lose sight of what all of the action is about. The only thing that bothered be a tiney tiney bit (that i can easily look past because she kind of needed it to set the stage for the next amazing book) is how one of the characters felt for her at the end. I think it was very mean! But, despite that this book is tied with Graceling for #1 on my list of books, and anyone who knows me knows that this is a high honor.
July 30, 2013
The Thirteenth Sacrifice: If you like evil-witches plots, give this one a try
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is the first in the new WITCH HUNT series by Debbie Viguié. In it, we are introduced to Samantha Ryan, a Boston cop who comes from a traumatic past. As a child, she was raised in a coven of evil witches and was the only survivor when they accidentally destroyed themselves. She was adopted by a kindly couple, became a Christian, and has put all that behind her, but a series of sacrificial murders draws her back into the dark underbelly of witchcraft.
Samantha struggles with her conscience but eventually agrees to go undercover in Salem, posing as a witch to infiltrate the coven that is committing the murders. Viguié does a good job of depicting Samantha’s moral crisis as she returns to practices she has shunned for many years, both to maintain her cover and to protect herself against ... Read More
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The Thirteenth Sacrifice is the first in the new WITCH HUNT series by Debbie Viguié. In it, we are introduced to Samantha Ryan, a Boston cop who comes from a traumatic past. As a child, she was raised in a coven of evil witches and was the only survivor when they accidentally destroyed themselves. She was adopted by a kindly couple, became a Christian, and has put all that behind her, but a series of sacrificial murders draws her back into the dark underbelly of witchcraft.
Samantha struggles with her conscience but eventually agrees to go undercover in Salem, posing as a witch to infiltrate the coven that is committing the murders. Viguié does a good job of depicting Samantha’s moral crisis as she returns to practices she has shunned for many years, both to maintain her cover and to protect herself against ... Read More
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
March 16, 2012
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
3.5 stars for a rating.
A cop like mystery with a mix of witches, can't go wrong there. I found this book to be very entertaining and not over the top with the paranormal aspect of it. The characters were easy to relate to and the book had some good scares and twists. I noticed on the cover that it says the first in a new series and I'm thinking that if Samantha Ryan is put on another case I just might want to be involved in that!
Thank you for the opportunity to get a sneak peak at this delightful book.
3.5 stars for a rating.
A cop like mystery with a mix of witches, can't go wrong there. I found this book to be very entertaining and not over the top with the paranormal aspect of it. The characters were easy to relate to and the book had some good scares and twists. I noticed on the cover that it says the first in a new series and I'm thinking that if Samantha Ryan is put on another case I just might want to be involved in that!
Thank you for the opportunity to get a sneak peak at this delightful book.
May 28, 2012
WOW! Great book. Loved every minute of it. Debbie Viguie is my new favorite author. Can't wait for book #2 in this series. I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads.
April 13, 2012
What a great read!!! I loved the main character and once you start reading you won't be able to put it down. Will be adding to my TBR list.
April 13, 2012
This book is awesome!
January 15, 2020
3.5. Hmm, what can I say? I liked this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very amazing. It had a lot of small and big twists that had me SH00K. I'm a little sad at the ending though, all her efforts and yet she gets ostracised? She was literally the hero there. But that's reality for you. Not all things are accepted. Didn't think it was a bad ending tho, it was bittersweet and all. But this book felt like... it lacked a lil something. I don't know what it is. Her romantic scenes with Anthony didn't make me go "hNGhHHhh" but it's just plain ol' "aw". I couldn't feel it within me. It felt a little hurried, so I was like, "oh so they choose to do this". This book doesn't stand out much, sorry to say. It just wasn't... remarkable. And I myself don't know the exact thing it lacks. Nonetheless, it was good. And that's that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2021
This book was amazing suspenseful and sometimes scary but always moving forward, kept you turning the pages.
Samantha has finally put her past, belonging to a witch's coven, behind her and has built a good life and a good career. After that last fateful night in the coven, when all the witches died, Samantha left her past, her name and her powers behind.
When witches return to Salem, Samantha is recruited to go undercover on a seriously dangerous mission, because of her knowledge of the coven and the powers she has suppressed. Samantha puts her life on the line and barely comes out alive, leaving her to deal with her issues about her past, her new issues with her powers, her career path and her future.
Samantha has finally put her past, belonging to a witch's coven, behind her and has built a good life and a good career. After that last fateful night in the coven, when all the witches died, Samantha left her past, her name and her powers behind.
When witches return to Salem, Samantha is recruited to go undercover on a seriously dangerous mission, because of her knowledge of the coven and the powers she has suppressed. Samantha puts her life on the line and barely comes out alive, leaving her to deal with her issues about her past, her new issues with her powers, her career path and her future.
July 2, 2019
I kept hoping that someone would jump out and cackle..."It's just a bunch of hocus pocus!" But instead, a typical police procedural ran amok with a vague witchy coven casting in the background and a pretty un-wicked villian!
Nothing happened to damn this book to donation bag purgatory, but nothing remarkable happened either...I probably won't remember it in three days when I finish the next book on my to-read list.
Nothing happened to damn this book to donation bag purgatory, but nothing remarkable happened either...I probably won't remember it in three days when I finish the next book on my to-read list.
October 25, 2017
I guess my lack of second X chromosome is to blame for the lack of appreciation, not from my basket of books apparently. Half decent book all in all, but not for me.
January 17, 2019
The premise of the story was good, but the writing was horrible.
March 30, 2019
A good story let down a bit by over excited and schlocky writing.
May 24, 2019
Enjoyed the twists and not knowing how it would end a few chapters in. It kept my interest.
September 8, 2019
I really liked this one. Great weekend read.
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