Helpful Score: 2
Fuuny, and eccentric group of 5 women will draw readers in! Typical suburban women carpooling, working gals-and a little twist- they are Wiccans. Being a good sort of group they are unprepared for meeting a man who appears outwardly friendly-but there is something sinister that they sense. They need the strong bonds of their friendship to help them unravel a mystery of a missing boy, and to face danger.
Helpful Score: 1
This eccentric group of women whose deep friendship leads them on a wild ride of hope, and high spirits, and danger. Wickedly funny harrowingly suspenseful, and as deliciously warm-hearted as a girls night in, CIRCLE OF FIVE is a joyful celebration of the kind of friendship that makes a magic all its own.
Helpful Score: 1
Now that her children are grown, her lout of an ex-husband is gone, and her herbal business has taken off. Cass Shipton is free to enjoy the simple comforts of her grown-up life. There's her cozy Cape Cod home overlooking Plymouth Harbor. Her scruffy, disdainful pooch. And the strong connection she shares with four other ordinary women who get together to sip tea, trade stories, cast the odd spell and work a bit of magic. Just your typical, everyday, Wiccans who work at the local library, carpool the kids, and run the vitamin store in the mall.
I loved this book,and the next two that follow after. The characters are so loveable & fun.
The story is OK but the writing is full of errors, contradictions, and stereotypes, especially in the portrait of Native American character, Tip. Mystery reminded me of "Murder, She Wrote".
I enjoyed the background story, a mid-forties divorcee who works with her coven to bring a murderer to justice, but the nature of the murders is so jarring compared to the coziness of the rest of the book that it really put me off kilter. I've since learned that her other books in this series aren't as discordant as this one, so I will definitely check them out.
funny harrowingly suspenseful..girls night in book, all about a group on friends and what they go through
This eccentric group of women whose deep friendship leads them on a wild ride of hope, and high spirits, and danger. Wickedly funny harrowingly suspenseful, and as deliciously warm-hearted as a girls night in, CIRCLE OF FIVE is a joyful celebration of the kind of friendship that makes a magic all its own.
Title: Circle of Five
Author: Dolores Stewart Riccio
ISBN: 0758203004
Protagonist: herbalist and Wiccan Cassandra Shipton
Setting: present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts
Series: #1
Rating: B
First Line: The truck driver, a big ruddy-faced man with a cheerful demeanor, was whistling a tune from Gypsy as he applied a mask of clown makeup.
Perhaps I'm too well-versed in serial killers, but that first line immediately made me think of John Wayne Gacey. Perhaps that's what I was meant to think. Cassandra Shipton's children have all flown the nest, she's divorced her alcoholic bum of a husband, she's changed her name, and she's moved into her grandmother's cottage on the shore of Cape Cod. She's built up a successful herbal business, and she's found four true friends. They are all practicing Wiccans who keep their beliefs very low-key due to the opinion and behavior of their neighbors. Cassandra sees a stranger at the meat counter of the local supermarket and has a vision which tells her that this man is a killer of young boys. She tells her circle of friends, and they decide to look into it because they can't go to the police with a "vision". No matter how many protection spells they cast, they are such complete bunglers as detectives that it doesn't take the killer clown more than a nano-second to know what they're doing. Are they going to live long enough to put Bozo behind bars?
A few things in this book didn't work for me, chiefly the romance between Cassandra and Joe. It was probably meant to be mystical and spiritual, but it left me feeling that the main character had lost her marbles. Although I like Riccio's characterization, I couldn't be a member of this coven because--although each is wacky in her own way--there were too many instances of their claws showing when they dealt with each other. The serial killer was meant to be creepy, and even though my heartbeat did rachet up a time or two, I mostly found him bland.
Although it sounds as though I didn't like the book, I did--with reservations. I'll read the next book in the series because I did find the characters likeable, their lifestyle interesting and Riccio's writing to flow well. I want to see where the author takes these characters she's created.
Author: Dolores Stewart Riccio
ISBN: 0758203004
Protagonist: herbalist and Wiccan Cassandra Shipton
Setting: present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts
Series: #1
Rating: B
First Line: The truck driver, a big ruddy-faced man with a cheerful demeanor, was whistling a tune from Gypsy as he applied a mask of clown makeup.
Perhaps I'm too well-versed in serial killers, but that first line immediately made me think of John Wayne Gacey. Perhaps that's what I was meant to think. Cassandra Shipton's children have all flown the nest, she's divorced her alcoholic bum of a husband, she's changed her name, and she's moved into her grandmother's cottage on the shore of Cape Cod. She's built up a successful herbal business, and she's found four true friends. They are all practicing Wiccans who keep their beliefs very low-key due to the opinion and behavior of their neighbors. Cassandra sees a stranger at the meat counter of the local supermarket and has a vision which tells her that this man is a killer of young boys. She tells her circle of friends, and they decide to look into it because they can't go to the police with a "vision". No matter how many protection spells they cast, they are such complete bunglers as detectives that it doesn't take the killer clown more than a nano-second to know what they're doing. Are they going to live long enough to put Bozo behind bars?
A few things in this book didn't work for me, chiefly the romance between Cassandra and Joe. It was probably meant to be mystical and spiritual, but it left me feeling that the main character had lost her marbles. Although I like Riccio's characterization, I couldn't be a member of this coven because--although each is wacky in her own way--there were too many instances of their claws showing when they dealt with each other. The serial killer was meant to be creepy, and even though my heartbeat did rachet up a time or two, I mostly found him bland.
Although it sounds as though I didn't like the book, I did--with reservations. I'll read the next book in the series because I did find the characters likeable, their lifestyle interesting and Riccio's writing to flow well. I want to see where the author takes these characters she's created.
Circle of Five launches a wonderful series of tales from Dolores Stewart Riccio. This first introduction to Cassandra and crew whetted my appetite for the follow up books. Riccio's writing voice is engaging, drawing you in and making the reader almost wistful for such a group of friends.
This book is a great read for those who enjoy mysteries, a little magic, and empowered women.
This book is a great read for those who enjoy mysteries, a little magic, and empowered women.
Surprised me - I really enjoyed this book. Held my attention from first page to last. Wickedly interesting story, well written, characters well fleshed out - enough to actually 'see' each one. I suggest you try it.
