Book Review: Something Wicked

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Something Wicked     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Jennifer Rowe
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Supernatural
Ballantine, Dec 1999, $5.99, 304 pp.

During the workweek, the Sydney suburb of Oakdale is a quiet place. However, on weekends, the small town is hopping with tourists who want to leave the big city to visit nature. Jonathan Stoller bought a weekend place on the isolated Lily Lane. His only neighbors are former rock star Adam Quinn, Rachel Brydie, and her three daughters (Skye, Bliss, and Astrid). They dwell in the secluded estate isolated by the messianic Adam and her abusive mother.

The seventeen years old Astrid and the decade older Jonathan begin a relationship. Adam dies and the three sisters tend to his corpse, expecting him to rise again. However, her mother is missing and their home is set on fire. Astrid, a true innocent, turns to her lover when she needs to know if Adam will remain dead. Adam immediately calls the police. Senior Detectives Tessa Vance and Steve Hayden investigate the death. They immediately find the atmosphere surrounding the Brydie home forbidding and evil. Though some people feel Adam killed himself, the law enforcement officials have some doubts. Their digging will lead to the discovery of SOMETHING WICKED on Lily Lane.

Jennifer Rowe's narrative provides a Poe-like atmosphere that permeates the story line. The audience never knows who is victim and who is villain until the end. The mystery is an entertaining puzzler that comes together one piece at a time. The explosive finale is unexpected but plausible and will surprise those readers who pride themselves in solving a who-done-it. Though not for action-packed readers, the gothic-like SOMETHING WICKED will provide full pleasure to fans of a simmering well-written tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner