Murder Under Redwood Moon
Sherri L. Dodd
Occult Mystery
At the age of eight, Arista Kelly was frantically swept up by her parents and whisked off to an isolated town in the California redwoods. Two days later, her parents were gone.
Now at the age of twenty-three, she has settled quite nicely into an eclectic lifestyle, much like her great aunt, and guardian since childhood, Bethie. She enjoys the use of herbs and crystals to help her commune with the energy and nature around her and finds pleasure in the company of her beloved pet, Royal. Usually quite satisfied with her mundane life high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, life becomes unsettling when a new recurring vision of an ominous tattoo as well as increased activity from the ghostly presence within her own cottage invade her once-harmonious existence.
But life in this mountain sanctuary takes an even darker turn when the body of Arista’s former classmate is found in the nearby river. As other young women fall prey to a suspected serial killer, Arista realizes that the terror is coming to her.
Uncaged Review: This is good cozy mystery dealing with witches, both the witches that practice “no harm to others” and the ones that are practicing dark magic. Arista is living a quiet life working with her herbs and crystals, happy with being close to nature. As she starts having a recurring vision, things start to go a bit dangerous. When young women are turning up dead, Arista feels the danger may be coming after her.
This is a good suspense, and you will see Arista coming into her own in this book and she will learn the secrets about herself and her life as we go. The suspense is very twisted and hard to pin down if you’re like me and try to guess, and the blending of the mystery with the supernatural is well done. There is a nice glossary in the back to help with any of the witch lingo you may not get right away. A bit slow to start, but it does get moving when you get halfway in.
Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
