Waking the Witch

June 14, 2010
Armstrong's 11th Otherworld urban fantasy, her first book for Penguin since 2003's Stolen, sends two paranormal investigators to the small town of Columbus, Wash. Savannah Levine, a 21-year-old witch from Portland, Ore., who's itching to pursue her first solo case, teams up with half-demon PI Jesse Aanes to look into three slayings with supernatural overtones. Savannah, who displays an appealing mix of toughness and vulnerability, figures she can blast her way to the truth, but matters get complicated fast when her powers keep deserting her at key moments and more bodies pile up. Armstrong skillfully juggles her twisty plot, weaving in characters from previous novels as she builds to a fast-paced conclusion. This supernatural mystery is unabashedly aimed at fans of Charlaine Harris and Stephenie Meyer, and may well hit the mark.

June 1, 2010
Fans of Armstrong's popular urban fantasy series will remember Savannah Levine, the engaging young witch who first appeared as a secondary character in "Stolen". With Paige and Lucas out of town, Savannah seizes the opportunity to break out of her support role to become the primary investigator on a multiple-murder case in the small town of Columbus, WA. Despite her desire to handle the case alone, Savannah finds herself the recipient of assistance from no fewer than three attractive men: Adam, a coworker whom she has had a crush on for years; Jesse Aanes, a half-demon PI from the West Coast; and Detective Michael Kennedy, a Dallas police officer who is half brother to one of the victims. VERDICT Savannah is a gutsy, shrewd, and accomplished protagonist who will immediately capture the reader's allegiance. Although this is essential for any Otherworld fan, readers new to the series will still be able to enjoy this delightful, fast-paced adventure without difficulty. [This marks Armstrong's Dutton debut.Ed.]Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
For the eleventh volume in her Women of the Otherworld series, Armstrong shifts to a new narratorthe 21-year-old daughter of a sorcerer and a witch, Savannah Levineand takes the urban fantasy conceit into rural Washington. Eager to prove herself as a sleuth, Savannah takes up a case brought to her firm by a freelance PI, a suave, telekinetic half-demon. Three young women have been murdered in a small town north of Portland, and there are signs that an occult ritual might have been involved. The two prime suspects are the towns resident golden child and the leader of a commune (or cult, depending on whom you ask) for young runaways. Armstrong writes with page-turningly lucid prose and outfits her heroine with plenty of pluck, which shell need to navigate the handful of handsome fellas who drop in for potential romancing. Despite the occult angle and all manner of witches, demons, and other supernatural types (no vampires, thankfully), this is first and foremost a mystery, and a pretty decent one, with the magic mostly coming in the form of cloaking spells and energy bolts employed to bolster Savannahs snooping skills. While this story is mostly self-contained, any number of allusions to the massive backstory and cast of characters will likely have newcomers tracking back to flesh things out. Established fans, of course, will gobble it all right up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)