No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt
Paperback, 304 Pages
2008, Berkley
ISBN: 0425224562
Series: Book 4 of Bewitching Mysteries
Synopsis
Maggie O’Neill reluctantly volunteers to care for her bedridden, oh-so-perfect sister, Mel, but strange spirits threaten to divert her attention. Then a friend of Mel’s loses her husband to a dreadful fall, and the police call it an accidental death. Maggie’s not so sure, and sets her second sights on finding a first-degree murderer.
Review
No Rest for the Wiccan was an uneven fourth venture into O'Neil's world. The mystery was good but the killer was a little obvious from early on. While the "who" was apparent, the "why" and the "how" left mystery lovers with something to drive them towards the end of the book.
The love triangle between Maggie, Marcus and Tom in the Bewitching Mystery series is getting very annoying. In every book the same thing happens over and over again. Maggie denies her obvious passionate attraction to Marcus while desperately trying to convince herself that feeling safe and comfortable with Tom is enough to stay with him. And by stay with him, I mean casually date him without any real agreement not to date others. Maggie continually denies herself Marcus for no other reason that fear of the unknown and while that may have created thrilling sexual tension in the first few books, I think that same tension is starting to feel forced.
Maggie's time spent with her sister Mel did more to showcase Maggie's weakness and inability to say no to people rather than her love and willingness to accept familial obligations. Mel walks, or rather lounges on bedrest, all over Maggie even when she does her best to help. When Maggie goes above and beyond to make sure her sister and her family is safe, Mel thinks nothing of the possible effect on Maggie's life when she gossips with her friends about it. And Maggie just accepts it as how her sister is. Throughout the series we've watched Maggie strive to become her own, stronger person and the scenes with Mel had her reverting back to her former self. It was not Maggie's best moments.
The scenes in the store were where the best of the book happen. Maggie continues to show herself loyal to her employer Liss. She even manages to face down a priest without cracking under the pressure. Maggie and the series have a lot of good points, but this book wasn't the best of the bunch. The groundwork for possible character growth and change has been laid and I look forward to reading more of the series to see if things get better.
Rating
Links
Madelyn Alt's website
I haven't heard of this series yet. The title is quite catchy!
ReplyDeleteShame it wasn't wonderful. I haven't heard of this series, but it sounds weird to hear the word Wiccan in the title. It isn't a religion your hear a lot about, especially in fiction. Does it feature much in the book?
ReplyDeleteSad you didn't like this one. I get what you are saying though. I have read all of them and I really liked the next one. I hope you like it :)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I think I should skip this one. I don't like long drawn out love triangles. :-)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this series. I do understand your feelings about the love triangle between Maggie, Marcus and Tom. I've been hoping she would just forget about Tom and heat things up with Marcus.
ReplyDelete@Peaceful Reader - Yes, and the covers are always fun too.
ReplyDelete@Becky - In a way. Maggie's boss Liss is a Wiccan, as well as Marcus, one of Maggie's love interests. The first book in the series talked a lot about the religion, but later books only focus on it when the story calls for it.
@Rosey - I'm hoping to catch up in time for the release of Home for a Spell. I don't always love the books, but I love the series as a whole for some reason.
@Kah Woei - It is aggravating. Book 4 and no closer to making a choice.
@Deedles - Yes, exactly. I love me some Marcus!