A multiple murder from the past that remains unsolved and a current death that may or may not be murder in a town whose very name is synonymous with witches. Add to that a growing suspect list and a boatload of secrets. Brunonia Barry is quite talented and that shows in The Fifth Petal. The writing is descriptive, the characters are interesting, and the suspense builds as the story progresses. The supernatural element does add something to the mystery, and most of the solving process is done through visions and memories rather than actual investigation. Nevertheless, Chief Rafferty is an engaging character in spite of having little to go on with these cases. I did have trouble warming up to Callie, but she did grow on me as her story unfolds and the author does a good job of eliciting sympathy for her situation. The story does tend to ramble at times with unnecessary information and some chapters end rather abruptly, both of which become a distraction from an otherwise good story. On a positive note, I did enjoy the bits of history from the witch trials sprinkled throughout the book, and the twists and secrets revealed kept me turning pages to find the answers.

Take witchcraft and new age healing practices. Add some mythology. Place it in a historic Salem, Massachusetts setting. Throw in an atmospheric country estate. Write in an eclectic group of strong female characters. Stir in a mystery and a dash of a love story. Orchestrate everything through a police chief with a history and a story of his own. The end result is an entertaining tale – The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry.

Reviewed for LibraryThings Early Reviewers program.

You know what I like reading about almost as much as plagues? Witches. I loved Brunonia Barry’s first book, The Lace Reader, so much that when I saw another book was coming out, I jumped on it. I am not generally a series reader, though I will often read the first one in a series and nothing else (yes, I’m a quitter, I admit it.) But Barry sucked me in last time, so this time I was a willing victim. I completely believed her tales about the lace readers, and honestly, I was stunned that she made everything up (sorry, spoiler alert). I was completely convinced, and I am telling you that so when she tricks you with her voluminous knowledge of old Salem and throws in a bunch of hooky, you will not feel bad like I did. You’re welcome.

So anyway, here’s what you need to know. Read this book. There is high drama, grave danger, horrible childhoods that need to be redeemed and reclaimed and also, witches. Did I mention that? What could be better? Nothing. It takes place in Salem and surrounding areas, so of course there are witches. There are also regular people, unfortunately, with all kinds of unmanageable, overwhelming problems. There are bad characters I kind of liked, and good ones who do the wrong thing, so basically, it’s perfectly balanced. And don’t worry if you didn’t read the first one – this one stands alone just fine. (But I’d read The Lace Reader anyway, because really, aren’t you better than that?)

The Fifth Petal is the second book in The Lace Reader series.  I really enjoyed the first book, especially with its setting of Salem and the witch history.  This novel is set several years into the future and it features some new characters along with some from the first book.

Callie is at the center of this book, having come back to Salem after decades away.  Salem holds a lot of memories for Callie, many of them too horrible to want to revisit.  But coming back forces her to confront her demons, both inside herself and those around her.

Like the first novel, the story blends magic, history, and thriller elements to create a rich story.  The characters are so quirky, even if you didn't like them.  The local witch at times seems harmless and at other times the femme fatale.  The romantic hero is one moment the privileged son of wealth, the next passionate about his work.  Callie is a healer, who uses sound and singing bowls as her healing modality.  And there is even a bit of old world feuding that has persevered for centuries, manifesting itself in unexpected ways.

I loved the story, but there was a lot going on at times that made it a lot to track.  There really were two major plot lines, that while they overlapped from time to time, could really have been two different stories.  One other thing to love... I loved Towner in the first novel so seeing her character's life now was wonderful.  She was such a tragic character in the first that it was good to see her happy in the second.

All in all, a great read!

What is it about:
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

What did I think:
This is actually book two in a series called The Lace Reader and while I've never heard of the series or even read anything by this author I'm so glad that I requested a copy of it from Blogging for Books, and that in change for do so this is my honest opinion of what I think of the book,
Brunonia Barry has a way with this series that brings the history of Salem,Massachusetts alive, you get not only a mixture of what present day Salme is like but also what the past Salme was like, it's both fact and fiction mixed so beatufully that it doesn't take anything from the story it self , as your reading your pulled into the dark history of Salma in this page turner about magic,beliefs, love , prejudice , murder and secrets .Can't wait to pick up the first book when I can and read more of this series.