Last October I found myself sitting at the New England Library Association’s (NELA) annual conference, finishing up my lunch and waiting for the speaker to begin. The speaker was Brunonia Barry, author of the Fifth Petal.
Now, I’ll be honest. At this point I did not know who Barry was. As a newly minted librarian, I was not very familiar with many popular authors. In fact, I am still learning about many, and I doubt I’ll ever keep up. But, I sat there intrigued to see where the talk would go. Barry spent much of her lecture sharing with the listeners about life in Salem, and how crazy it becomes around Halloween. She introduced us to her world, and the world of her characters, as the Fifth Petal is largely set in Salem as well.
Being from New England myself I am a sucker for any reading about the Salem Witch Trials. I find learning about the past fascinating, even through fictional stories. Often it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction, but I was beyond excited to see the likes of Samuel Sewall and Cotton Mather woven into the family lines of the characters.
The story centers on the sole survivor of a horrific murder 30 years prior. She finds out the woman that saved her from the homicide is actually alive, although she was told otherwise. The rest of the book works to solve the crime from 30 years ago, as well as the murder of a teenager that opened up the book. I really don’t want to give too much away, because I know I hate spoilers.
The next few books I will be reviewing are going to be non-fiction books, and then a Christmas story, just in time for the holiday.
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