Jeff Mariotte

This particular Charmed entry has a lot going for it that makes it a very nice read for fans of the show. It begins rather darkly, almost atypically, with an atmospheric murder in the San Francisco fog which is very well written. Others are described just as atmospherically as the narrative goes along, adding a touch of depth to a series mostly read as a light and nostalgic book for entertainment purposes.

San Francisco gets more page time as the backdrop to the magical adventures of our show more favorite three sisters in this one than is often the case, and that’s a big plus. Also a plus is we get sections featuring Darryl, one of the nice male characters from the show that is missed by this reader. He’s involved in a task force set up to catch the “Wet Killer” but realizes early on that they may be dealing with someone more up the alley of our Charmed Ones than the San Francisco Police Department, or the FBI, who will be taking over the investigation if the killer can’t be stopped.

Another big plus is Cole has some involvement here. Another great character that’s missed, he often doesn’t get a lot of page time in the entries I’ve read so far. Leo gets some page time, of course, and that’s good as always. The other good thing is there’s a pretty good story in this one, involving some crafty deception which tests the loyalty of the sisters to one another by calling into question the newest Charmed One, Paige. Phoebe has a vision — or is it a dream? — that leads her to the attic, where she discovers an old letter from a distant Halliwell aunt, Agnes, warning of a new arrival to the power of three who will betray them. Could it be Paige?

As you can imagine, this causes suspicion and distrust between Phoebe and Paige (Paige does not know of the letter), but also friction between Piper and Leo on one side, and Cole and Phoebe on the other, as Piper dismisses the letter but Phoebe is not so sure. But why are they so quick to anger, and so unwilling to talk it out? As they try to research their distant relative, and figure it all out, Leo gets a bad vibe off one of Darryl’s crime scenes. It eventually comes to pass that what’s happening now, may have something to do with a horrific killing spree in San Francisco’s distant past. Aunt Agnes eventually stopped an imposter named Timothy dead in his tracks way back when. But wait, isn’t that guy sowing seeds of distrust between Paige and her family named Timothy?

This one feels more fleshed out than some entries, and it’s not just exclusively the sisters — though don’t worry, there’s plenty of Piper, Phoebe and Paige too. There’s a very good ending to this one, and the aftermath is a nice wrap-up. This is a very good entry, with a bit of grit to balance out the fluff. Highly recommended. show less

Ah, Star Trek, my comfort food - there will never be too many novelisations! Jeff Mariotte helped me pass a couple of hours with this entertaining adventure, where the Enterprise encounters the Bermuda Triangle in space, complete with ghost ship, into which the Main Trio take a body of redshirts to investigate. Bonus points for references to Tarsus IV, and a less than diplomatic Scotty threatening to blast an alien ambassador into space. The adopted redshirt from Balance of Terror is a bit show more of a Mary Sue, replete with Childhood Trauma, but the camaraderie and humour of the crew far outweighed the clichéd newcomer and requisite combat scenes. show less

This was an intense book, and it took quite a while to get into, which, considering the topic, wasn't surprising.

It's a non-fiction book about the same kind of criminals and such that are seen on the TV Show of the same name. And the book also details in what episodes, and sometimes how many times (needless to say Ted Bundy has the most references on the show) they've been referred to.

It's an interesting book, because although I have heard of a lot of the men (and a few men) that they talk show more about, there and there there's someone on the show I'll be like 'who'. Of course, they write the show so that you don't have to know all the horrible guys and what they did, but knowledge is good too.

On the other hand, it was a very disturbing book because none of these people's crimes/lives were sugar coated by the author, and that caused me to put it down more than once to give myself a break from the gruesome and horrible nature of the people from the title.

Finally it was an unevenly written book. In some cases the chapters flowed and between the chapters were seamless too, but there were also a lot of places where it was choppy and he jumped from story to story with what seemed like no plan, and it was jarring.

It was a solid three star book, just don't read it if you're squeamish in any way. It's hard core. show less

"Witch's Canyon" is the 2nd novel based on the tv show "Supernatural". This story has Sam and Dean visiting the Grand Canyon. One of the nearby canyon towns has a paranormal problem- natch, this is Supernatural! Every forty years, the town has a huge murder spree that can't be explained. There are a variety of killers, murder weapons, and sites with little in common. Sam and Dean get to town just as the "forty year" begins. They want to find out the problem and take care of it as quickly as show more possible. When they learn of the "Grand Opening" for a brand new town mall, that will attract many out-of-towners, the Winchesters charge into overdrive. This book hits where the first one, "Nevermore" misses and misses where "Nevermore" scored a bullseye. I'll explain: "Nevermore" has the Dean/Sam dialogue down almost perfectly. I could picture the boys in my head actually saying the line in the book. In "Witch's Canyon" we miss a lot of dialogue altogether. There is none of that sarcastic, trademark "Winchester Brothers" humor. However the plot is much better in this book. The story is straightforward and exciting. The pieces add up to a good puzzle and the wrap up isn't bad either. The story has several good supporting characters and a nicely laid out back story. I thought "Nevermore" had too many side plots and the main plot was buried. The ending of that once was also a bit of a letdown. I enjoyed this book more than "Nevermore" but it could easily have been starring any set of random brothers, rather than Sam and Dean Winchester. show less