Welcome to my first book review here at Dark in the Dark. It sure is dark in here. Today I am reviewing Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert, and I’m going to tell you up front that I liked it.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking with a pen name like Natasha Mostert, there is going to be some serious cheese factor. Like maybe all the characters will have names like “Willow” or “Speed”, or maybe there will be some bodice-ripping. Most likely the men will have grey eyes and chiseled features. I have to admit that when I grabbed this book off the shelf at my local used book store, I was expecting it to contain some cheese for sure. And I’m not ashamed to say that I wanted some.
Here’s our inventory: Redhead? Check. Computer hacker? Check. Secret government experiments? Check. Set in London? Check. Main character named after heavy-hitter angel? Check. Mysterious, maybe kinky witch sisters? Check. The word “Eroticism” used at least once on the cover? Check.
Here’s the layout: Gabriel is a remote viewer who has become a computer hacker and is approached by his ex to find out what happened to someone who has mysteriously disappeared. The missing person investigation leads to a pair of “solar witches” who play a game of cat-and-mouse with our man Gabriel, while he tries to solve what is most likely a murder.
OK and with all that you might have a winner that’s entertaining, and you might have a loser that’s entertaining. Or you might have a loser that’s a loser. Luckily we have a winner. This book is a lot like William Gibson meets Anne Rice. By Anne Rice, I mean Anne Rice precisely at the first Mayfair witch book, and by William Gibson I mean William Gibson like maybe at around Count Zero. The writing is good but you’re not going to think back and savor this book for it. Also, at some point I was able to see how the story was probably going to wrap up, but there were enough surprises that I still wasn’t disappointed. There IS some cheese here and there, and some of it was quite tasty. Mmmmm. Luckily it doesn’t get thick enough to spoil the broth.
Creepy Factor: 2 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 4 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 4 out of 5
Final result: “Yesterday I didn’t know what a solar witch was and now I are one!” Season of the Witch was not good enough to make my “must read” list, but it left me curious enough to want to check out more by this author in the future. I would definitely recommend it to anybody looking for a fun read.
Season of the Witch – Natasha Mostert – New American Library – 2007
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