I thoroughly enjoyed this book of paranormal suspense and mystery, especially as the events take place in upstate, New York, a location to which I am always drawn. It is a fairly well-written book, with a tightly woven plot. Although the author's knowledge of criminal law seems a bit sketchy, it does not unduly detract from the mystery within. Moreover, the main character Anna Young, around whom much of the plot revolves, is a very interesting, enigmatic character.
In Sandburg, a small, economically depressed hamlet, nestled in the Catskills region of New York State, a miserly slumlord named Henry Deutch is found dead of a heart attack. Anna Young, who along with her mother had been evicted from one of Henry's rundown apartments, eventually leading to her mother's death, is not shedding any tears over his demise. After all, she was heard to have sworn a blood oath of revenge against him for being the catalyst to her mother's death, and she is not sorry he is dead. In fact, before his death, she was seen casting spells and performing rituals that had disconcerted Henry.
When Henry dies amidst unusual trappings, the politically ambitious local prosecutor, Paula Richards, claims that Anna is responsible, having frightened him to death. She has her arrested, and Del Pearson, the young public defender, is assigned to represent her. Little do they know that the forces of evil are girding for battle. Anna, a practitioner of the Wiccan religion, is not surprised at the forces that are gathering. It is a battle for which she is well-prepared.