moirwyn's review against another edition
5.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2017/01/23/blog-tour-giveaway-the-fifth-petal-by-brunonia-barry/
Last summer I took an epic road trip up the coast with a few friends on our way to a wedding in New Hampshire. On the way back, we stopped in Salem, Massachusetts, and I fell in love with the city–and not just the kitschy witchy bits. Between the overall atmosphere, the herb shops (I bought so much tea), fortune tellers, comic shops, random pirates, and tasty food, we ended up spending many more hours in Salem than originally planned. So when I saw that TLC Book Tours was doing a tour of a murder mystery with witches set in contemporary Salem, I was intrigued.
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry opens with a murder that takes place in the late 1980s. Three women known across the town as the Goddesses are brutally murdered. There were two survivors/witnesses–Callie Cahill, the young daughter of one of the victims, and Rose Whelan, a local historian/auntie figure whose sanity is broken by the event, and who claims that the girls were killed by a banshee. The case goes cold, and is relegated to becoming one of Salem’s legends.
Flash to the present day (2014ish), and Rose Whelan is present for another death, this time a young troublemaker who has threatened her with violence. Even though there’s no physical evidence linking her to the crime, public superstition blames her for the death. Meanwhile, Callie doesn’t even know that Rose is still alive, and races back to Salem to be reunited with her.
The other main character, of course, is Rafferty, a local police officer who is friends with Rose. And when Callie shows up, he feels compelled to reopen the case of the Goddess murders and to find out what really happened.
The Fifth Petal is actually technically the second book in a series. The first book is The Lace Reader, which I haven’t read. But you can definitely understand The Fifth Petal without having read The Lace Reader first. The two books share some of the same characters, but have their own unique story arcs.
One of the things that I loved about The Fifth Petal was that it truly embraced the uniqueness of Salem. There’s a sense that anything is possible, and there’s a constant back-and-forth between stark reality and folklore, new age healing and modern medicine, evidence and visions… and that back and forth is something that is uniquely possible because it’s Salem. Rafferty represents logic. Rose represents the spiritual/ethereal. And Callie emerges as a character who is capable of balancing both natures.
There are a lot of characters in the story, which makes it hard to guess immediately who the murderer is. In fact, I didn’t figure it out until I’d nearly reached the end of the book, and had been swept into suspecting a fair number of red herrings. I’m not sure if I would have suspected as many people had I read The Lace Reader first, mostly because I’m not sure which characters show up in both books.
The only one thing that threw me was figuring out exactly where Rafferty pulled the five-petal symbolism for the connection between the ritual the Goddesses were trying to perform and the original Salem witches. But I’m not sure if that’s something that wasn’t explained well enough, or if the effects of stress and sleep deprivation led me to miss something important.
Overall though, The Fifth Petal was an excellent read, and I relished the opportunity to immerse myself in Salem once again. It makes me feel like it’s time for another visit.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2017/01/23/blog-tour-giveaway-the-fifth-petal-by-brunonia-barry/
Last summer I took an epic road trip up the coast with a few friends on our way to a wedding in New Hampshire. On the way back, we stopped in Salem, Massachusetts, and I fell in love with the city–and not just the kitschy witchy bits. Between the overall atmosphere, the herb shops (I bought so much tea), fortune tellers, comic shops, random pirates, and tasty food, we ended up spending many more hours in Salem than originally planned. So when I saw that TLC Book Tours was doing a tour of a murder mystery with witches set in contemporary Salem, I was intrigued.
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry opens with a murder that takes place in the late 1980s. Three women known across the town as the Goddesses are brutally murdered. There were two survivors/witnesses–Callie Cahill, the young daughter of one of the victims, and Rose Whelan, a local historian/auntie figure whose sanity is broken by the event, and who claims that the girls were killed by a banshee. The case goes cold, and is relegated to becoming one of Salem’s legends.
Flash to the present day (2014ish), and Rose Whelan is present for another death, this time a young troublemaker who has threatened her with violence. Even though there’s no physical evidence linking her to the crime, public superstition blames her for the death. Meanwhile, Callie doesn’t even know that Rose is still alive, and races back to Salem to be reunited with her.
The other main character, of course, is Rafferty, a local police officer who is friends with Rose. And when Callie shows up, he feels compelled to reopen the case of the Goddess murders and to find out what really happened.
The Fifth Petal is actually technically the second book in a series. The first book is The Lace Reader, which I haven’t read. But you can definitely understand The Fifth Petal without having read The Lace Reader first. The two books share some of the same characters, but have their own unique story arcs.
One of the things that I loved about The Fifth Petal was that it truly embraced the uniqueness of Salem. There’s a sense that anything is possible, and there’s a constant back-and-forth between stark reality and folklore, new age healing and modern medicine, evidence and visions… and that back and forth is something that is uniquely possible because it’s Salem. Rafferty represents logic. Rose represents the spiritual/ethereal. And Callie emerges as a character who is capable of balancing both natures.
There are a lot of characters in the story, which makes it hard to guess immediately who the murderer is. In fact, I didn’t figure it out until I’d nearly reached the end of the book, and had been swept into suspecting a fair number of red herrings. I’m not sure if I would have suspected as many people had I read The Lace Reader first, mostly because I’m not sure which characters show up in both books.
The only one thing that threw me was figuring out exactly where Rafferty pulled the five-petal symbolism for the connection between the ritual the Goddesses were trying to perform and the original Salem witches. But I’m not sure if that’s something that wasn’t explained well enough, or if the effects of stress and sleep deprivation led me to miss something important.
Overall though, The Fifth Petal was an excellent read, and I relished the opportunity to immerse myself in Salem once again. It makes me feel like it’s time for another visit.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry is an intriguing mystery set in modern day Salem. However, the city's dark past features heavily in a story that is rife with references to the Salem witch trials, mordern day witchcraft and psychic phenomena. Although this newest release is the second installment in the The Lace Reader series, it can be read as a standalone.
In 1989, three young women (dubbed the Goddesses) were brutally murdered and although everyone in Salem is convinced Rose Whelan is the killer, the case still remains open. Twenty-five years later, there is renewed interest in the case when a confrontation between Rose and three teens ends with the death of their ringleader, Billy Barnes. Local police chief John Rafferty has doubts about Rose's guilt and due to her fragile mental state, he arranges for her to go to the state mental hospital until she is coherent enough to answer his questions. When Rose's honorary niece, Callie Cahill, who was present at the attack twenty-five years earlier, learns that Rose is alive and in trouble, she returns to Salem to help exonerate her aunt of the crimes she is suspected of committing. Trying to keep her identity under wraps for as long as possible, Callie stays with Rafferty and his wife, Towner Whitney, while she tries to figure out who is responsible for murdering her mom, Olivia Cahill and her friends Cheryl Cassella and Susan Symms twenty-five years ago. At the same time, Rafferty has unofficially reopened the case and begins searching for the fourth Goddess, Leah, who has not been seen since the night the other three women were killed. Is Leah the murderer? Or is there a far more sinister reason behind her disappearance?
Before the Goddess murders, Rose is a well-respected historian and scholar of Salem's rather colorful history. Rose's fascination with uncovering the truth about the exact location the deaths of those persecuted during the Salem witch trials figures prominently in the events of the night the three women were murdered. In the aftermath of the horrible crime, Rose is convinced a banshee killed the women and her long battle with mental illness began. Now homeless and obsessed with oak trees, Rose is feared by the townspeople so it easy for everyone to accuse her of murdering Billy. She is once again committed to the mental hospital while Rafferty begins his investigation into both cases.
After her mother's murder, Callie became a ward of the state and bounced between foster homes and a Catholic orphanage. While she has a successful career as a musical therapist, she is plagued with nightmares from the night her mother and her friends were killed and she really has no close ties with anyone. Shocked to discover the sisters lied to her about Rose, Callie drops everything to rush back to Salem to help her honorary aunt. The secrets from the night the Goddesses died slowly return to her the longer she remains in town. Her involvement with the Whiting family, whose history in Salem in also closely intertwined with Marta Hathorne and her ancestors, helps unlock many of her long forgotten memories of the events of the night of the Goddess murders. Callie tries to ignore her startling attraction to Paul Whiting and when their friendship deepens into love, their romance has very unexpected consequences.
Although a little slow-paced, The Fifth Petal is an engrossing mystery that has supernatural elements including modern day witchcraft and psychic abilities. The investigation into the Goddess murders moves at a snail's pace as Rafferty painstakingly reviews old case files and re-interviews witnesses. Brunonia Barry expertly weaves all of the novel's various threads into a credible tale of suspense, murder and revenge. It is an absolutely fascinating addition to The Lace Reader series that old and new fans are sure to enjoy.
In 1989, three young women (dubbed the Goddesses) were brutally murdered and although everyone in Salem is convinced Rose Whelan is the killer, the case still remains open. Twenty-five years later, there is renewed interest in the case when a confrontation between Rose and three teens ends with the death of their ringleader, Billy Barnes. Local police chief John Rafferty has doubts about Rose's guilt and due to her fragile mental state, he arranges for her to go to the state mental hospital until she is coherent enough to answer his questions. When Rose's honorary niece, Callie Cahill, who was present at the attack twenty-five years earlier, learns that Rose is alive and in trouble, she returns to Salem to help exonerate her aunt of the crimes she is suspected of committing. Trying to keep her identity under wraps for as long as possible, Callie stays with Rafferty and his wife, Towner Whitney, while she tries to figure out who is responsible for murdering her mom, Olivia Cahill and her friends Cheryl Cassella and Susan Symms twenty-five years ago. At the same time, Rafferty has unofficially reopened the case and begins searching for the fourth Goddess, Leah, who has not been seen since the night the other three women were killed. Is Leah the murderer? Or is there a far more sinister reason behind her disappearance?
Before the Goddess murders, Rose is a well-respected historian and scholar of Salem's rather colorful history. Rose's fascination with uncovering the truth about the exact location the deaths of those persecuted during the Salem witch trials figures prominently in the events of the night the three women were murdered. In the aftermath of the horrible crime, Rose is convinced a banshee killed the women and her long battle with mental illness began. Now homeless and obsessed with oak trees, Rose is feared by the townspeople so it easy for everyone to accuse her of murdering Billy. She is once again committed to the mental hospital while Rafferty begins his investigation into both cases.
After her mother's murder, Callie became a ward of the state and bounced between foster homes and a Catholic orphanage. While she has a successful career as a musical therapist, she is plagued with nightmares from the night her mother and her friends were killed and she really has no close ties with anyone. Shocked to discover the sisters lied to her about Rose, Callie drops everything to rush back to Salem to help her honorary aunt. The secrets from the night the Goddesses died slowly return to her the longer she remains in town. Her involvement with the Whiting family, whose history in Salem in also closely intertwined with Marta Hathorne and her ancestors, helps unlock many of her long forgotten memories of the events of the night of the Goddess murders. Callie tries to ignore her startling attraction to Paul Whiting and when their friendship deepens into love, their romance has very unexpected consequences.
Although a little slow-paced, The Fifth Petal is an engrossing mystery that has supernatural elements including modern day witchcraft and psychic abilities. The investigation into the Goddess murders moves at a snail's pace as Rafferty painstakingly reviews old case files and re-interviews witnesses. Brunonia Barry expertly weaves all of the novel's various threads into a credible tale of suspense, murder and revenge. It is an absolutely fascinating addition to The Lace Reader series that old and new fans are sure to enjoy.
bethanyhyde's review against another edition
2.0
Not typically my style, but not good. Interesting premise, but the dialogue and characters’ actions seemed very unrealistic.
jessicafolklore's review against another edition
3.0
It was OK, a bit chaotic at points but enjoyable enough
nursenell's review against another edition
5.0
I read The Lace Reader awhile ago, I think it would be better to read the books one after the other. The setting is in Salem, MA, about 17 years after the first book and with many of the same characters, including Rafferty and his now wife Towner. Rafferty, the police chief, isn't happy that an multiple murder from 25 years previous has never been solved. The victims were descendants of some of the colonial women accused of being witches and there seems to be a tie in with the events of long ago. The book is well written and definitely holds your interest. And if someone offers you a licorice smelling drink just say no.
melissapalmer404's review against another edition
4.0
Book #112 Read in 2016
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
This book was a great read for Halloween time, set in Salem and dealing with witches. Characters from Barry's book The Lace Reader make an appearance. A murder happened years ago where four women were killed. Rose was a suspect then. Present day, Rose is taken into custody for killing a teenage boy. Did she? There is more to this story than meets the idea....history of Salem townspeople past and present comes into play. Written well, this book is a good read. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
This book was a great read for Halloween time, set in Salem and dealing with witches. Characters from Barry's book The Lace Reader make an appearance. A murder happened years ago where four women were killed. Rose was a suspect then. Present day, Rose is taken into custody for killing a teenage boy. Did she? There is more to this story than meets the idea....history of Salem townspeople past and present comes into play. Written well, this book is a good read. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.
lovegirl30's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorite books that I have reviewed this year. I really loved this one. This book is part of a series but I think you can jump in at any time. I wish I could have liked this book more than I did
The book is set in modern day Salem, which is still really connected to its eerie past. This part of the book is painted in such a way that is so intriguing. It has the subject of witch trials and tragic endings. I really enjoy this type of topic so I was ready to jump right in.
This book is a hefty ready, it also is confusing at points. It has too much going on at times. It is a fast paced read. I enjoy that part. It also has interesting setting and characters, family secrets, and twist that will blow your mind.
Huge thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Description:
Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, investigates a 25-year-old triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed one Halloween night. Aided by Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims who has returned to town, Rafferty begins to uncover a dark chapter in Salem’s past. Callie, who has always been gifted with premonitions, begins to struggle with visions she doesn’t quite understand and an attraction to a man who has unknown connections to her mother’s murder. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian and sometime-aunt to Callie, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.
But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?
The book is set in modern day Salem, which is still really connected to its eerie past. This part of the book is painted in such a way that is so intriguing. It has the subject of witch trials and tragic endings. I really enjoy this type of topic so I was ready to jump right in.
This book is a hefty ready, it also is confusing at points. It has too much going on at times. It is a fast paced read. I enjoy that part. It also has interesting setting and characters, family secrets, and twist that will blow your mind.
Huge thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Description:
Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, investigates a 25-year-old triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed one Halloween night. Aided by Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims who has returned to town, Rafferty begins to uncover a dark chapter in Salem’s past. Callie, who has always been gifted with premonitions, begins to struggle with visions she doesn’t quite understand and an attraction to a man who has unknown connections to her mother’s murder. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian and sometime-aunt to Callie, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.
But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?
froydis's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 stars -
Thanks to Edelweiss and Crown Publishers for early access to this title.
Wow! this is a good series! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, and this was a great follow up. I have to take off 1/2 a star because I would have liked to see more on Towner, May and Rafferty as far as their family developments. I really liked Callie and her story though. The mystery was great and the suspense kept me reading. A really great read and a MUST read for those who read the first one.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Crown Publishers for early access to this title.
Wow! this is a good series! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, and this was a great follow up. I have to take off 1/2 a star because I would have liked to see more on Towner, May and Rafferty as far as their family developments. I really liked Callie and her story though. The mystery was great and the suspense kept me reading. A really great read and a MUST read for those who read the first one.
catladylover94's review against another edition
4.0
good, not great, took a while to get into, and the plot was just so so, not a second read or a keeper book