Revelation "Reve" Dyer flees Las Vegas after a magic act
goes awry when someone puts a real bullet in the prop gun
they used for an illusion, leaving Reve's beloved husband
dead. At the suggestion of her grandmother, Reve and her
three daughters return to Hawley Five Corners, a place
Reve
explored frequently as a child. Her grandmother also
reminds
her of a story she once told Reve of a Fetch, a shadowy
creature that steals humans to the fairy world. Will Reve
learn how to use the ancient magic of her family in time
to
stop the Fetch that is now seeking her family?
Chrysler Szarlan creates a haunting ambience that pervades
every aspect of THE HAWLEY BOOK OF THE DEAD. From the
abandoned village of Hawley Five Corners that is shrouded
in
fear, to the spooky story of the Fetch, every detail in
THE
HAWLEY BOOK OF THE DEAD builds an atmosphere that lingers
with the reader long past the last page being turned.
Chrysler Szarlan has a gift for using the world around her
characters to evoke various moods and feelings.
I love the history of Reve's family and all the various
powers each woman has manifested. We meet a plethora of
characters as Chrysler Szarlan tells us a story that
weaves
back and forth between various time periods. I have to
admit
that I found Reve's daughters to be slightly annoying at
times but the other characters we meet are simply
fascinating.
Chrysler Szarlan has some marvelous surprises in store for
the reader as THE HAWLEY BOOK OF THE DEAD is a tale unlike
any I've ever read. THE HAWLEY BOOK OF THE DEAD is a
magical tale that transcends genres as Chrysler Szarlan
blends together horror, historical fiction, contemporary
suspense, and a touch of romance to craft a tale that is
brilliantly executed. I'm excited that THE HAWLEY BOOK OF
THE DEAD is part of a quartet as I can't wait to see what
the future holds, particularly in light of the revelations
we learn about the family history. THE HAWLEY BOOK OF THE
DEAD is highly recommended!
For fans of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and A
Discovery of Witches comes a brilliantly imagined debut
novel brimming with rich history, suspense, and magic.
Revelation “Reve” Dyer grew up with her grandmother’s
family
stories, stretching back centuries to Reve’s ancestors,
who
founded the town of Hawley Five Corners, Massachusetts.
Their history is steeped in secrets, for few outsiders
know
that an ancient magic runs in the Dyer women’s blood, and
that Reve is a magician whose powers are all too real.
Reve and her husband are world-famous Las Vegas
illusionists. They have three lovely young daughters, a
beautiful home, and what seems like a charmed life. But
Reve’s world is shattered when an intruder alters her
trick
pistol and she accidentally shoots and kills her beloved
husband onstage.
Fearing for her daughters’ lives, Reve flees with them to
the place she has always felt safest—an antiquated
farmhouse
in the forest of Hawley Five Corners, where the magic of
her
ancestors reigns, and her oldest friend—and first love—is
the town’s chief of police. Here, in the forest, with its
undeniable air of enchantment, Reve hopes she and her
girls
will be protected.
Delving into the past for answers, Reve is drawn deeper
into
her family’s legends. What she discovers is The Hawley
Book
of the Dead, an ancient leather-bound journal holding
mysterious mythic power. As she pieces together the truth
behind the book, Reve will have to shield herself and her
daughters against an uncertain, increasingly dangerous
fate.
For soon it becomes clear that the stranger who upended
Reve’s life in Las Vegas has followed her to Hawley—and
that
she has something he desperately wants.
Brimming with rich history, suspense, and magic, The
Hawley
Book of the Dead is a brilliantly imagined debut novel
from
a riveting new voice.