Book of Shadows (St. Martins Press, 2010)

Review by Mari Lynne Rupp
Author: Alexandra Sokoloff

"Book of Shadows" starts out as almost any other paranormal suspense. With a mysterious death under mysterious circumstances, discovered mysteriously. Throw in a few 'magick' dabblers, witches, demon-summoning spells and catholic cops, you've got a fantastic mix. At least in the hands of author Alexandra Sokoloff. I regret I haven't heard of her until now, but I'll have to look up her other works. In any less talented writer's hand, this story could have come off cheesy, overdone and overwrought with cliches and tired old lines about witches and pagans being mistaken for "devil-worshipping"... Thankfully, Ms Sokoloff has obviously done her homework and uses her deft hand to weave a whodunit with some saucy witches, spells and an infatuated detective stepping outside his comfort zone to do what's right. Especially good for a summer beach read! Heavy to keep you interested, but light enough to keep you awake! eight out of ten.