The Witch's Ladder

Tony Marcella Mystery #1

by Dana E. Donovan

A group of individuals proficient in the psychic academia of clairvoyance, mental telepathy and bilocation, working to understand life’s most unusual secrets soon realize that even their abilities of mind over matter can't save them from the blade of the surgeon stalker.

Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Witches, Ebooks, Paranormal Mystery

354 pages, Nook

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dana Donovan grew up in New England where folklore and superstitions can mold a town’s history as much as its people. He exploits that phenomenon in all his books, perpetuating the enigma of small town life and the belief in all that dies is not dead.

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're not already "into" Paranormal Lit....you might want to take a pass on this one..

Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys do Paranormal??? This clueless bunch of psychics could barely organize lunch...never mind the murder of one of their own...who embodies the "soul of all evil" (my quotes..not the author's)

The narrative bounces between snippets of "lectures" on all things paranormal....and trendy, Hip dialogue...a bit disconcerting. All of the stereotypes are here....as well as the funky fogs and spontaneous tornadoes/earthquakes/water spouts. There is grisly murder, complete with evisceration....."tribal" jealousy....a gambling jones....and a stalwart Policeman/convert.

I don't mean to make a complete hash of this book. It is not my genre-of-choice...but I was in the mood for "fluff" and I don't do romance...The plot was strong enough that it held my interest...but, I am a born skeptic. Things that "go bump in the night" probably do so for a very good reason...I like my Mysteries without the "hocus pocus". I will say, reading this book gave my Laugh muscles a workout!

Recommended to the already-converted...others, beware

(2 Stars)

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my gods is this a terrible book! I thoroughly enjoy Paranormal Fiction and am disappointed by The Witch's Ladder. The story line is a good idea, but the writing is terrible. There is little development of the characters, so it makes no sense when the psychics all agree (SPOILER!) to kill their mentor with few concerns or hesitation. They cut off his head with a saw (aagghhh!) and no one starts freaking out or goes to the police. Oh, and they're all psychics, but are suspicious of witches, pagans, and divination. Some things are utterly unrealistic and it's not the paranormal events. SPOILER AGAIN! Officer Marcella is almost killed, winds up adrift at sea, and is picked up by a fishing trawler. When he gets to shore no one takes him to a hospital, instead he goes to work in his wet clothes. And don't even get me started on the typos! Ugh!

The only reason I'm still reading it is I cannot leave a book unfinished.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise is interesting enough - murders take place amongst a group of paranormal experts and practitioners, and a grisly pre-retirement cop has to solve them. The execution didn't make it worthwhile, though. The characters aren't well-defined, and their behaviours and reactions aren't believable. They were disdainful of paganism and reacted like frightened, ignorant people when divination was mentioned (and most of them hadn't heard of it). The narration is confusing too, as it's from the point of view of the detective, but he narrates events he isn't present at, and reports people's thoughts and moods. There were multiple word usage errors as well (wrapped/rapped, your/you're, bare/bear).

I got 14% into this book before I had to abandon it.

[Roddy Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bit of a paradox this. Highly entertaining and engrossing, and at the same time quite ridiculous. It could have done with some editing to eliminate some minor problems. For instance, it is established very early on that members of a group of paranormal adepts that have regular meetings are being killed off one by one. One has to ask, if you were a member of that group, why would you attend the next meeting? One might also ask, given that they are gifted psychics, why they didn't see all this coming?... but hey ho! It's fun. It's not Agatha Christie, but it's a page turner, and I'm going to have to read the next one. You can't say fairer than that.

[Elizabeth du Fresne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Donovan writes fast paced paranormal thrillers with a snarky, quirky tone that makes these 1-2 day wads. This one was particularly delightful because her lead detective has conversion from non-believer in the ESP, thought-energy, bilocationst, telepathy, witchcraft practitioners that the various practitioners at the Institute studies to a sceptical agnostic
To a believing practitioner. The witches ladder - a thread of 40 specific knots in a linear form - which the witch Lilith gives to the detective in their first encounter when only - oh make that maybe two folk from the Institute are dead - and tells him it will exercise the ladder’s power when the knots are unknoted. Quick painless escapism!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, quick, read. Crime mysteries are not my usual genre, but enjoyed the supernatural twist that gave it a little more interest for me. Donovan doesn't take the time to give huge background and detail about the characters, but that's okay as it keeps the story moving along. I will definitely read the second book in the series after a couple different reads.

[Charley Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me. I found the characters to be one dimensional and the story to be that of a grade-school book. I was hoping for some paranormal fun but I think that if I were in my early teens I probably would have loved it. Unfortunately, I am not.

[Lou Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good scary book not for the faint of heart.

Detective Marcella narrates this story from his perspective as a policeman. Carlos his partner doesn’t believe in the witch’s ladder or bilocation or that some one can send you a headache. Carlos becomes a true believer in the end.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Witch's Ladder: Book 1 (Detective Marcella Witch's Series)

This was an ok book how ever I do wish that the author had done more to make it more interesting. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

[Judy More]

Been waiting to read again

This series is so intriguing and interesting . I read years ago then did not have device to use. Just had to start the series over. Lilith is quite the witch, funny,calm and coy . There is no blah blah boring unneeded info. The ending is so unexpected.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this one and regretted having purchased the first three ebooks of this series. I didn't find the characters compelling, and the plot was lacking. Despite the purchase, I removed this from my library.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing, truly supernatural!

At first i was sceptical, but as I continuing to read I was drawn into the story. I have long believed that much of what was studied in the story is possible, though I stop at powers being transferred in drinking of blood.

[Melanie Izzo picciotti · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was great, the writing was terrible.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book! Didnt see the ending coming!

[Rachel Reyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read

It stays interesting… easy to read. Especially if you need to pick it up and put it down a lot. I couldn’t wait to get back to it again.

[Kylie Panetta]

DNF

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Cate's Book Nut Hut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t realise when I read this book, and found out only when I started writing my review that this is the first of, what is currently a series of eleven books. However, don’t let that put you off from reading it, even if you’re not looking for another long series to take up your time, this book works very well as a standalone.

Not the usual run of the mill paranormal murder mystery, this one reads more like a novel from an earlier time, with character back story being kept to a minimum and the main focus concentrating on the murder mystery at hand. This really doesn’t spoil the book in anyway though and, in my opinion added to making it a fast paced summer read, just right for these hot July days. The Author manages to tease the reader with just enough information about the main protagonist, Tony Marcella as mentioned in the title, to make the reader perhaps want to read more the books to discover what makes this man tick. Far from being the jaded, coming up to retirement detective readers so often come across in this type of book, I felt that there was an underlying mystery to the man himself and this in itself has made me want to read more in this series to see if my suspicions may be right.

The book is very descriptive when it comes to the actual murders themselves, so if you have a squeamish disposition or don’t like overly graphic murders in your reading material, this may not be the book for you. In regards to the plot line though, it is full of twists and turns and definitely keeps the reader guessing. There were several points where I thought I had it all figured out, only for the Author to take my deductions and dash them to pieces with the turn of a page.

My reasoning for this book only getting a 4 thumb review; there were several typos and grammatical errors that I felt should have been corrected by a good proof-reader and, if missed by them any editor worth their salt should have picked them up they were so obvious. This spoilt the book in some parts for me, as I found myself having to re-read a paragraph to really understand what the Author was trying to get across.

Despite the errors it was a good read, not my usual genre as I tend to find paranormal books a bit sparkly for me, and I would recommend this book to anyone, even those like myself who are not into this genre.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/07/06...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

[Scott Callaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Witch's Ladder is not only the first paranormal murder mystery novel I've read, but the first straight up mystery I've read also. There were things that really worked for me in this book and others that didn't. But in the end I thought it was pretty good.

I'm a guy who likes to read a lot of dialogue and this book had lots of it. For the most part it all flowed really well and was believable, except for Detective Marcella. I don't know if detective's actually talk the way he does, especially the way he talked with his partner, but I found it sort of cliché or stereotypical. Besides that I thought the rest of the dialogue pretty great.

As far as the mystery of who committed the crimes themselves, there were lots of twists and turns that kept the ball rolling. It was definitely entertaining and fast paced. At one point near the middle of the book I sort of guessed who the killer was but I wasn't completely certain. I was just slightly disappointed with the ending. For some reason, when everything was said and done, it wasn't as satisfying as I hoped it would be. But don't get me wrong, the entire story even with the ending was still enough to make me like it pretty good.

The paranormal/supernatural stuff is what really hooked me! I love that stuff and the author put it to great use in the story. There were tons of different instances and examples of such things and I ate every bit of it up! I personally don't believe in those things, even though I really wish I could, but the topic still intrigues me.

Overall The Witch's Ladder was a good read. It's fast paced, has great dialogue, tons of paranormal goodness, and a solid mystery behind it. I rate it 3.5 stars.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

First thing I need to say is if I am ever murdered I don't want Tony Marcella investigating the crime please please ask DCI Banks instead! Marcella's process is that of elimination of suspects till it's the last man/woman standing! Marcella does not give the impression of being a veteran cop except for the fact he likes doughnuts, he is leading the investigation yet when at one point there is a fire in an unexpected place instead of doing a thorough investigation of the scene it is only later that he realises something other than arson had taken place. What were the forensic analysts/fire scene investigators doing! His partner another supposed veteran's whizz bang idea "What do we do now, wait for the next slip – up?" Even Marcella comments that would mean waiting for the next death.

The overall feel of the book is a combination of a really bad overacted sci fi channel / silent movie as the characters are just overly dramatic everything exaggerated to get the point across. The dialogue made me laugh in places where I wasn't supposed to laugh. The characters acted childishly fooling around even though their lives were at great risk, they jump to conclusions and take drastic decisions incredibly quickly which have enormous far reaching consequences not only for the victims but for themselves as well. The plot is absurd I don’t want to give anything away for those who still feel inclined to read the book but it descends into a sadistic farce. I like books of fantasy, supernatural and magic but the story does not feel believable within its own rules.

By the end I didn't really care who had done it.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of individuals proficient in the psychic academia of clairvoyance, mental telepathy and bilocation work together to understand life’s most unusual secrets. But in a world where secrets among psychics are hard to keep, they soon realize that even their abilities of mind over matter cannot save them from the blade of the surgeon stalker. Book one in a series of Detective Marcella mysteries

This was a gripping, fast-paced and action-packed murder mystery that had many twists and turns and enough false accusations and mis-leading evidence to keep you guessing, changing your mind and guessing again right until the final climatic scene. Although the story itself was well written and imaginative and the inclusion of the paranormal angle was nicely done and on the whole fairly realistic, there were a few sterotypical characters and situation, which I felt spoilt the story a little for me. The biggest one was the fact that as soon as suspicion feel on members of the group, they all turned one the only witch present, admittedly this was incorporated into the story, it felt a bit of an easy option. On the whole though the characters were interesting and well developed and Donovan has obivously researched the different aspects of the paranormal used in the story and has generally balanced all sides of this subject well. On thw whole it was a pretty good first story and one series that I can see developing well.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the honor of reading The Witch’s Ladder, the first novel in the Detective Marcella Mysteries series by Dana Donovan, a brilliant upcoming author. This book is a rollercoaster ride of paranormal suspense. The characters are each unique and wonderfully entertaining and the plot will keep you guessing until the end. If you like your mystery laced with witchcraft and psychic phenomena, then you’ll love The Witch’s Ladder.

Dana has made Eye of the Witch, the second book in this series, a free download available on his website – www.DanaDonovan.com. Other books in the Detective Marcella Mysteries series include: The Witch's Key, and Bones of a Witch. Never the Witch, the latest in the series, is due out in this fall.

Other books by Dana Donovan that are not part of the Detective Marcella Mysteries series, include: A Talisman's Tale, Skinny, Abandoned, Resurrection, and Death & Other Little Inconveniences, a book of short stories. Free PDF downloads of some of Dana’s short stories are available at www.DanaDonovan.com.

For more information, visit Dana at his website or check out his books on Amazon!

[Brick ONeil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book was the one that I first read in this series, "The Eye of the Witch", as a free giveaway on Amazon.com's kindle store. Dana so impressed me with the characters, plot, sub-plot, setting, that I bought books one and three straight after reading book two.

When reading, you do have to suspend belief in rational, hard scientific reasoning in order to enjoy the book, thus, the series. There could be some editing that would be beneficial, but as a first book (I'm assuming), it is a stellar effort. In reading, I do believe there are some phenomena that rational science cannot explain, such as psychic reading, psychokenesis, which is the basis for this book (and series) along with spells, witchcraft and so forth.

The actual detective and police work in the novel comes across as a bit blase and carefree for true noir detective novels, but for this light hearted series about witches, paranormal activity, bi-location (which is an underlying psychic theme and a major/minor character), it is fantastic. I love losing myself in this series and will be purchasing the rest in the future.

I would give "The Witch's Ladder" 3 1/2 stars.

[Brenda Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most interesting book I have ever read.

The Witch's Ladder, a Detective Marcella Witch's Series, was the most riveting book I have read in a long time. I have only read stories that mention witch's but none were this spellbinding. I could not put the book down. I fell in love with Detective Tony Marcella and his investigation in this murder. I learned so many things about witches and other supernatural phenomena. Dana Donovan did a great job of letting the reader know what each person was able to do with their "gift" and wove all into a great supernatural mystery. Somewhat gruesome in detailing each murder but allowed the reader to see and feel the story as the story progressed. At one time while reading I thought the killer was who it turned out to be but then decided to wait until further along in the book to make my decision. Well I was right but did not know for sure until almost at the end. I will be reading more of Dana's series and am sure they will each have a tale of their own. Comment | Permalink

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book One in the Detective Marcella Witch's series: A group of talented individuals proficient in the psychic academia of clairvoyance, mental telepathy and bilocation, work together to understand life’s most unusual secrets. But secrets among psychics are hard to keep, and the members of this group soon realize that even their abilities of mind over matter can’t protect them from the blade of the Surgeon Stalker.

I really enjoyed this book as the plot twisted and turned at every page. It is a good whodunnit with a paranormal twist to it. Unfortunately I read the second book before this one which did take the edge off of the finale, but still a great book.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting twist on the typical light murder mystery/detective story. I liked the paranormal elements, but the mix of paranormal & occult wasn't quite right for some reason.

On one hand, it would have been nice to have a little more background on the characters, but it also made figuring It out a little more challenging.

The narrator did a nice job with the accents and voicing for characters. The main character's accent was particularly good,

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.com

[Booklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Witch's Ladder by Dana Donovan is the first in the Detective Marcella series, with a strong paranormal bent. It was OK - the characters and plot interesting enough to keep me reading, and maybe enough to get me to read the next in the series (likely, given that I already have it - also as a freebie), but not gripping. Some elements felt a bit cliched, and lots of TSTL and "oh, come on?! Really???" moments. Plus I had a fair sense of the general direction of "whodunit" pretty early on.

[Tyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting enough subject matter, but poor execution. There is no distinction between the narrators voice and that of other characters. And the book makes a big deal out of the protagonist being the narrator (as opposed to some un identified 3rd person view)---yet the same voice/person also narrates parts of the story it is impossible for the protagonist to know or have seen. Finally, the book is guilty of "telling" more then "showing".

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Quite the adventure. Delved into things I never knew about before, all quite interesting but many required me to suspend my belief in "I'll believe it when I see it." Since this was a story I just rolled with all the mind transference, mental telepathy, bilocation and clairvoyance although the information about all these things was really informative. All in all, a really good, suspensful read that I enjoyed and I will be reading the 2nd one.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the best book, but I liked it. The characters were quite strange and lost. The detective has to either become a believer in these abilities or lose his case. The detective is quite a character in himself with the fact that he plans on retiring with, hopefully, going out with a big case solved. And convince his partner of the things he has seen.