Monday, August 03, 2015

The Witch of Bourbon Street




The Witch of Bourbon Street: a novel by Suzanne Palmieri. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2015. 324 pages. Discussion Questions. ****


Set in the Louisiana bayou, Frances Green Sorrow, lives up to her name and her family reputation. Returning home after a tumultuous marriage, recluse Frances just wants to be left alone. Settling in a home on the edge of the Sorrow Estate, Frances lives in harmony with the ghosts of a series of murders in 1902 and the regret of her past decisions.  She is content with her self-imposed isolation until her son disappears, her best friend betrays her and one of those past decisions arrives on her doorstep. Is there a chance Frances can redeem her past, restore her family's name, find true love at last and learn to forgive herself? 

While at times the plot was predictable, there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Palmieri's strength is in her description of the main characters and the sights and smells of the bayou. Throw in some ghosts in white dresses, voodoo, magic, a journal from the past, family discord, and you have a compelling mystery. Frances is her worst enemy, but I couldn't help hoping that she would solve the mystery and find happiness. Palmieri fans will not be disappointed.


Suzanne Palmieri is the author of The Witch of Little Italy and The Witch of Belladonna Bay. She also writes as Suzanne Hayes and lives in a haunted farmhouse in North Branford, Connecticut, with her husband and three daughters. 

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