Patrick Delany (1686–1768)

This is really a case of you having to "suspend your disbelief', put it in the closet and lock the door, or you will spend the entire book saying, "this is ridiculous"..."this just can't happen"...what was this author drinking while writing this book?". After you've had these conversations with yourself, you can begin to see that the best way to approach this book is by just letting it take control when going into it and it will become an amazing experience. Just the idea of a giant house show more suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere had me hooked, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was inside. The beginning is somewhat of a slow burner. Don't give up. It takes about half of the book to actually get the characters inside the house. However, that’s not to say the first half is at all bad. There are plenty of creepy scenes and events mixed in. I actually liked having the time to establish the four main characters and build their personalities and relationships to one another. It's in the second half of the book where things truly get horrifying. I like horrifying! It's now time for the characters to actually enter the house...can't wait.... but then I still have about 250 pages left. That left a lot of space for the something else really spectacular to happen....and that is why the book got 4 stars instead of the 5 I was leaning toward by this point. The inside of the house is incredibly imaginative, and the author does a great job of describing the wide variety of rooms that I could easily picture; however, he had the characters spend way too long exploring thus causing the book to slow considerably. It definitely picks back up and it has a final act that was worth all the time and the money spent for this book. Lots and lots of crazy. impossible and unexpected twists and turns. Reminders of Shirley Jackson's [The Haunting of Hill House], one of my all-time favorites that has been reread so many times I've lost count. If you are a fan of ghosts, ghouls, creepy crawlies, and monsters, you will enjoy this treasure with over 500 pages of these "haunting delights". Just a word of caution. I believe that this is a book that the reader is going to really, really like or have absolutely no connection with. I don't believe that there is any middle ground here. show less

Sheriff Sterling Marsh is not having a good time. She is estranged from her family after the death of her father. A series of choices has left her career in shambles. She’s on the verge of giving up and retiring. Then the Witch arrives in town.
Patrick Delaney’s “Witch 13” is a delight. The story and plot are great examples of the horror genre. There is this sense of dread prevalent throughout the text. No one feels like they have plot armor. Plus, he’s not afraid to be morbid.
The show more prose reads a little like a noir detective novel at times. Delaney is willing to go deep into the thoughts of the characters to give you a sense of them. He is willing to use memories to flesh out character motivations and uses his prose to build the atmosphere in the tale.
“Witch 13” was a fun and creepy read. Worth a look for any horror fan or anyone who wants a break from the manufactured holiday cheerfulness. I look forward to seeing where Delaney goes from here. show less

Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney is a trope that many horror fans find to be comforting. What… Horror and Comforting in the same sentence?! Yes, that’s why so many people love horror because you can get your adrenaline pumping, but you know that good will triumph in the end… or at least one person will survive.

Witch 13 is the classic evil witch tale, this time she takes over a whole town on Christmas Eve… if you believe, the night that Jesus was born, so what a wonderful time of the year show more to introduce an ancient evil that has been around since at least when the Great Pyramid was being built.

Where Delaney shines is in his nightmare scenes where the witch is tempting people with their own desires all while the smell of chocolate and other sweets is wafting in the air. Delaney is able to incorporate lots of horror tropes and give his own unique spin to them.

Where he lost me was in the character development. The reader was thrown into the chaos, as it often happens in horror books and movies, and usually by the end the reader/watcher has some empathy or sympathy for some of the characters. Besides the boy, I really didn’t care if the rest lived. While the reader gets information as to why the main characters are so troubled, it felt more like the author dropped some typical reasons into a hat and picked a couple out. The characters were just a bit too one dimensional for me.

If you’re looking for some interesting material for your next nightmare, Witch 13 may be perfect for you. But if you’re looking for a story that is filled with well developed characters, you may want to look elsewhere. show less

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for making this possible.

While reading this I felt immense amounts of anxiety and just pure claustrophobia. This almost reads like a movie the way its a close proximity with bursts of gory action. I truly enjoyed the unraveling of the backstories of the characters, the majority of them being morally grey which I always get giddy about.
I felt it could be trimmed a bit and while the ending was pretty fantastic show more I almost felt like it was an entirely different book at that point. It went from reality/horror elements to fantastical within a few pages. I would have loved this to actually be a duology because the back story of Witch 13 has so much potential. It just had this disjointed feeling towards the end where there were too many good ideas that just didn't match up properly to reinforce the atmosphere that was a pivotal part of the book.
That being said I couldn't put it down because this makes you feel absolutely dragged through the dregs. And any book that elicits feelings of dread and is ripe with atmosphere is enjoyable.
I would definitely read more from this author and recommend it to my fellow horror enthusiasts so I could discuss it even further since I have THOUGHTS about this one! show less