Amanda is a powerful 21st century white witch. Her sister Rebecca isn’t so powerful; she makes her living writing nonfiction paranormal books and performing other fairly lucrative acts. When a Satanic cult moves into Amanda’s town and makes certain she’s blamed for their activities, the white witch strikes back, but in the process loses her powers and is swept into the 17th century by the wraith of Rachel, a black witch killed in that era. With her knowledge of the past, Amanda takes Rachel’s place and transforms the witch’s character into one people will trust,. Then, she settles in, expecting to stay there, especially after she falls in love with Joshua, a farmer whom she realizes is later reincarnated in Jake, her now-deceased 21st century husband.
There’s only one fly in Amanda’s particular ointment…she’s attracted the attention of Sabestien, a demonic witch-hunter, and he’s determine to prove she’s a witch.
In the meantime, Rebecca, realizing Amanda has disappeared, is frantically searching for her sister, enlisting two of Amanda’s neighbors, Jane and mailman Ernie, to assist her. With the help of Tituba, her rodent familiar, she discovers a book buried in the mud of Black Pond where Rachel was drowned. A trip to England and a meeting with a member of the Guardians—a group formed to watch over witches and long thought to be merely a myth—Rebecca not only finds the answer to how to get Amanda back but discovers the first glimmerings of love.
While Amanda and Joshua fight off Sabestien, a demonic witch-hunter who’s descended on the little town of Canaan, Ernie and Rebecca battle more demons in their own time and the battle culminates at Black Pond where each couple goes—one in the 17th century and one in the 21st—expecting to die but determined to take Satan’s minions with them…
MY OPINION: A tense tale—flashing between centuries and contrasting each sister’s actions as they strive to one more reach each other. The discovery that Joshua will one day become Jake is a nice touch on the reincarnation theory—having it happen in reverse. The addition of Tutuba and Amadeus—one a smart-mouthed little mouse, the other a blue Maltese who’s at least 34, if not older—gives the story a welcome bit of comic relief.
Well-written and characterized, this is a tale of sisterly love, the love between a husband and wife, and the determination of that love to survive. Read it. You won’t forget it.
This novel was supplied by the author and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
