The Fifth Petal (Salem, #3) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 12, 2017 Barb rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-book-netgalley, mystery, series-book, paranormal-fantasy, zz-completed-in-2017

A young man dies after a strange confrontation with Rose, one of Salem's odd duck residents. Once again, Rose finds herself in the middle of a police investigation into a suspicious death. The first time, 25 years ago, was a more dramatic triple murder of young women who were dubbed "The Goddesses." The only witness to The Goddess murders was 5-year-old Callie, daughter of one of the victims. After the tragedy, Rose took Callie in and raised her, so now Callie returns to Salem to help police chi ...more

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Dec 21, 2016 Kimberly rated it really liked it

I received this book as part of the First to Read program with Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. It was enchanting, mysterious and absolutely intriguing every step of the way. I looked forward to and anticipated the moments I could sneak in reading just a few more chapters. It held my interest until the very end and kept me guessing on several aspects. This book includes it all: suspense, mystery, drama, witchcraft and long kept secre I received this book as part of the First to Read program with Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. It was enchanting, mysterious and absolutely intriguing every step of the way. I looked forward to and anticipated the moments I could sneak in reading just a few more chapters. It held my interest until the very end and kept me guessing on several aspects. This book includes it all: suspense, mystery, drama, witchcraft and long kept secrets. This story spans a couple years, but also interweaves a murder that occurred at the end of the 80''s that is also connected to those original Salem trials in 1692.

The story begins with a suspicious death of a teen who was bullying Rose Whelan, a local homeless woman who is dubbed mentally unstable. Rose is linked to an unsolved triple homicde that occurred years earlier involving three so called goddess' who practiced witchcraft. She also believes that the trees communicate with her and that she is in possession of a so called banshee. Callie then enters the story. She was the only known witness to the goddess murders and has always felt cursed after being linked to such a controversial case. She is connected to Rose and comes to her immediate aide when she realizes that she is being wrongly accused. Thus begins our investigation that opens up all sorts of mysterious activity.

This is the first book that I've read by this author and I understand that this is the second book in The Lace Reader series. There are a few characters who are mentioned repeatedly about having the ability to read lace so I would be very interested in going back and reading that first book to learn a bit more about them and their background!! With that said, I had no problem jumping right into this book and reading it as a standalone. The author did a great job of introducing all of the characters so I never felt like I missed out on understanding any of them. There are a lot of characters too!! I was a tad worried that I wouldn't be able to keep them all straight at first, but each of them developed as the story went on and each played an intigral part.

Callie was a wonderful main character. I enjoyed watching her grow and go through the many stages of grief and self discovery throughout the entire story. I was incredibly intrigued by her profession. She is a music therapist and the author did a wonderful job and lots of research on introducing me to the different methods practiced in this type of healing therapy. I was easily annoyed with Paul, who plays the love interest, at the beginning of the story. However, he definitely won me over when the two traveled to Italy and as you began to realize why he acts the way he does. Rafferty was a wonderful investigator. I love that he continued digging and never gave up on the case even when he came under a lot of scrutiny from the town and his peers. I appreciate that he was given his own storyline and wasn't portrayed as the perfect law enforcer. Each of the supporting cast: Rose, Towner, Ann, Mickey and Emily were all wonderful additions to the story!

This book definitely had a lot going on and touched on several genres: mystery, paranormal, historical fiction, romance and folklore/mythology/religion. I appreciate how the author smoothly interweaves the storyline with the Goddesses in with the present day mystery. As a fan of mystery books, I love how the author slowly gave us a glimpse into the past and allowed the reader time to gather their own clues and assumptions about the murders. I was equally pleased with the amount of paranormal references. I like that there were many forms of witchcraft and hedgewitchery portrayed throughout the years. I enjoyed reading about Salem and the history that surrounds the town. It is mentioned in the endnotes that the author calls Salem home and you can tell that she paid attention to detail and truly loves her area and respects their haunting reputation. The romance was a minor part of the story, but when it was mentioned there was definite chemistry. The author referenced the popular Salem witch trials, but also touched on Nordic mythology, various religious beliefs and/or scripture. She also included a wonderful trip to Matera and described the mysterious and beautiful dwellings made of tufo that included caves and secret dwellings. I honestly could have read an entire book about the characters in that area!!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the author's writing style. Unlike other mysteries, it took its time unfolding and greatly focused on character development and relationships. I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy and can appreciate paranormal subjects. I look forward to picking up the first book and keeping my eye out to see if the series continues. ...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Roxann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-magical, historical-fiction, goodreads-giveaway

From the cover: When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem's chief of police, John Rafferty, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem's most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed "The Goddess Murders," in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspec ...more

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Jun 30, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, series, fantasy

As I was beginning to write this review, I looked back at my reviews of the two previous books in the series and saw I'd given them both 5 stars. It's rare for me that all the books in a series seem equally outstanding, but that is certainly true in this case. And each book could really be a stand-alone, not dependent on the others. While some characters reappear, it's really Salem itself that is the thread tying all the stories together.

I think Barry gets the precise mix of fantasy and reality ...more

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Jun 20, 2019 Susan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-won-t-finish

This has never happened to me. I started listening to this audio book, and I can't stand it. Not the content, but the reading. It is s.o. ... s.l.o.w. ... that it seems the reader expects the listener not to be able to understand. Since I don't have the option of speeding it up, I'm giving up on this and getting the physical book out of the library. ...more

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