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Loading... The Witch's Ladder (Detective Marcella Witch's Series. Book 1) (edition 2011)by Dana E. Donovan
Work InformationThe Witch's Ladder by Dana E. Donovan
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I didn’t realise when I read this book, and found out only when I started writing my review that this is the first of, what is currently a series of eleven books. However, don’t let that put you off from reading it, even if you’re not looking for another long series to take up your time, this book works very well as a standalone. Not the usual run of the mill paranormal murder mystery, this one reads more like a novel from an earlier time, with character back story being kept to a minimum and the main focus concentrating on the murder mystery at hand. This really doesn’t spoil the book in anyway though and, in my opinion added to making it a fast paced summer read, just right for these hot July days. The Author manages to tease the reader with just enough information about the main protagonist, Tony Marcella as mentioned in the title, to make the reader perhaps want to read more the books to discover what makes this man tick. Far from being the jaded, coming up to retirement detective readers so often come across in this type of book, I felt that there was an underlying mystery to the man himself and this in itself has made me want to read more in this series to see if my suspicions may be right. The book is very descriptive when it comes to the actual murders themselves, so if you have a squeamish disposition or don’t like overly graphic murders in your reading material, this may not be the book for you. In regards to the plot line though, it is full of twists and turns and definitely keeps the reader guessing. There were several points where I thought I had it all figured out, only for the Author to take my deductions and dash them to pieces with the turn of a page. My reasoning for this book only getting a 4 thumb review; there were several typos and grammatical errors that I felt should have been corrected by a good proof-reader and, if missed by them any editor worth their salt should have picked them up they were so obvious. This spoilt the book in some parts for me, as I found myself having to re-read a paragraph to really understand what the Author was trying to get across. Despite the errors it was a good read, not my usual genre as I tend to find paranormal books a bit sparkly for me, and I would recommend this book to anyone, even those like myself who are not into this genre. Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/07/06/review-the-witchs-ladder-tony-marcella-mys... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The Witch's Ladder by Dana Donovan is the first in the Detective Marcella series, with a strong paranormal bent. It was OK - the characters and plot interesting enough to keep me reading, and maybe enough to get me to read the next in the series (likely, given that I already have it - also as a freebie), but not gripping. Some elements felt a bit cliched, and lots of TSTL and "oh, come on?! Really???" moments. Plus I had a fair sense of the general direction of "whodunit" pretty early on. This novel by Dana Donovan revolves around an old detective investigating a series of grisly murders at a Paranormal Institute. As might be expected, there is a large cast of eccentric characters. I found the writing to be unsophisticated and facile, very casual and amateurish. Both the first and third person voices are used, which created difficulties in continuity. During many of the tense scenes I found the banter inappropriate and inane. My e-book also contained numerous annoying typos (eg. Carlos became Carols halfway through.) All in all, The Witch’s Ladder was an unsatisfactory read for me. I was given the honor of reading The Witch’s Ladder, the first novel in the Detective Marcella Mysteries series by Dana Donovan, a brilliant upcoming author. This book is a rollercoaster ride of paranormal suspense. The characters are each unique and wonderfully entertaining and the plot will keep you guessing until the end. If you like your mystery laced with witchcraft and psychic phenomena, then you’ll love The Witch’s Ladder. Dana has made Eye of the Witch, the second book in this series, a free download available on his website – www.DanaDonovan.com. Other books in the Detective Marcella Mysteries series include: The Witch's Key, and Bones of a Witch. Never the Witch, the latest in the series, is due out in this fall. Other books by Dana Donovan that are not part of the Detective Marcella Mysteries series, include: A Talisman's Tale, Skinny, Abandoned, Resurrection, and Death & Other Little Inconveniences, a book of short stories. Free PDF downloads of some of Dana’s short stories are available at www.DanaDonovan.com. For more information, visit Dana at his website or check out his books on Amazon! no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Series
Book 1 in the Detective Marcella Witch's Series: A group of individuals proficient in the psychic academia of clairvoyance, mental telepathy and bilocation, working to understand life's most unusual secrets soon realize that even their abilities of mind over matter can't save them from the blade of the surgeon stalker. No library descriptions found. |
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Not the usual run of the mill paranormal murder mystery, this one reads more like a novel from an earlier time, with character back story being kept to a minimum and the main focus concentrating on the murder mystery at hand. This really doesn’t spoil the book in anyway though and, in my opinion added to making it a fast paced summer read, just right for these hot July days. The Author manages to tease the reader with just enough information about the main protagonist, Tony Marcella as mentioned in the title, to make the reader perhaps want to read more the books to discover what makes this man tick. Far from being the jaded, coming up to retirement detective readers so often come across in this type of book, I felt that there was an underlying mystery to the man himself and this in itself has made me want to read more in this series to see if my suspicions may be right.
The book is very descriptive when it comes to the actual murders themselves, so if you have a squeamish disposition or don’t like overly graphic murders in your reading material, this may not be the book for you. In regards to the plot line though, it is full of twists and turns and definitely keeps the reader guessing. There were several points where I thought I had it all figured out, only for the Author to take my deductions and dash them to pieces with the turn of a page.
My reasoning for this book only getting a 4 thumb review; there were several typos and grammatical errors that I felt should have been corrected by a good proof-reader and, if missed by them any editor worth their salt should have picked them up they were so obvious. This spoilt the book in some parts for me, as I found myself having to re-read a paragraph to really understand what the Author was trying to get across.
Despite the errors it was a good read, not my usual genre as I tend to find paranormal books a bit sparkly for me, and I would recommend this book to anyone, even those like myself who are not into this genre.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/07/06/review-the-witchs-ladder-tony-marcella-mys...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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