Salem, Massachusetts has always been considered to be a
city
of magic and mystery. It also has some of the bloodiest
history of anywhere else in the world. On a past Halloween
night, a part of that history is about to be repeated.
On Halloween night in 1989, three young women were
violently
killed with a small child being the only survivor because
she was hidden away by local historian Rose Whelan. No one
ever found out who killed these women but there are plenty
of other secrets to go around. Then, there is the question
of how a scar in the form of a five petal rose develops in
the child's hand.
Rose has literally lost her mind after that night,
choosing
to spend her days talking to trees and her nights sleeping
under them. This particular Halloween night she is
accosted
by three juvenile delinquent teenage boys. One of them has
a
knife and may be intent on killing her. At the very least,
he plans to harm her. Rose warns them to leave because she
can hear the scream of the banshee alerting her to a
certain
death in the area surrounding them.
That is exactly what happens. The boy carrying the knife
dies on the spot. Naturally, Rose is taken into custody
instantly and blamed for the boy's death even though he
was
threatening her and she never actually touched him.
Callie Cahill is the five-year-old child who survived the
murders of that long ago Halloween night. The nuns running
the local orphanage look at Callie as a miracle or sign
until they discover other things about her and the mark on
her hand. Then they decide she is dangerous. They lie to
her
and tell her that Rose did not survive the attack on the
other three women and that she was killed as well.
Now, in the present, Callie is contacted and told that
Rose
is alive and hospitalized. She immediately drives to Salem
to see her friend. Once she arrives in town, she finds
that
there are many other odd things going on and secrets
abound.
With the help of local sheriff Rafferty, Callie sets out
to
find out who killed those women so long ago. She also
makes
some friends along the way as well as enemies. Most
important of all, she finds romance with a very handsome,
eligible and wealthy man.
Callie is determined to get answers and she will. The
question is whether or not she will live long enough to
share these answers.
THE FIFTH PETAL is a book to be devoured and savored with
each page. It is a story filled with fascinating
characters
that will make you wish you could be in the same room with
them. There are secrets upon secrets that are craftily
woven
into the plot and, just when you think you might have
figured out what is going on; you discover that you could
not be more wrong.
Author Brunonia Barry has created quite the fascinating
community of people in THE FIFTH PETAL with this being the
fourth book about these residents. Obviously, you will
want
to read the rest of them first just because this one is so
awesome, but THE FIFTH PETAL is easily read and enjoyed as
a
standalone book. It is packed with plenty of mystery,
drama,
secrets, romance, and history of the Burning Times. You
will
not want to miss a single word of this mesmerizing story.
It
will grab you from the very first sentence and continue to
hold you in its grasp as the various plots plays out to a
very twisted and satisfying finale.
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?
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