Chrysler SzarlanBesprekingen

I can't do it. I've tried. I'm giving up. For now.

Despite the ploddingly slow start and the occasional extraneous cliché, I really enjoyed this book.

I do believe it could have benefited from a more stringent editing process, as a slightly more streamlined version of the story could have solved my primary complaint: after the thrill of the exciting first few pages it takes nearly half the novel before anything of particular importance happens.

Instead of action, we are treated to page upon page of talking to people who don't feel like answering questions. This strangely drawn out opening is made all the weirder by the way that it only takes two months of narrative time. The time span in general feels all screwed up, honestly, as the Dyer family react to the grief and loss of their father/husband as if that event was much more temporally distant.

There's something to be said for the slow route, however, and that thing is the way the Dyer family, Rev especially, grow to find a spot in the reader's heart in the midst of all this narrative meandering. When the story finally kicks into gear it is well worth the price of entry.

I picked this book due to the story-line being about women, witches, and magic. It seemed fitting to read in September prior to fall really rushing in.

The main character in this novel is Reve Dyer (full name Revelation). Reve and her husband Jeremy are practicing magicians in Las Vegas. We quickly find out that Reve and all of the female ancestors in her family tree are able to do real magic. Reve, Jeremy, and their three daughters, Grace, Faith, and Caleigh are genuinely happy until the day her husband is accidentally killed. Reve finds out that her husband's accident was in fact murder and is soon hiding with her children from a man that wants to harm all of them. This causes her to go back to Hawley Five Corners in Massachusetts to stay with her maternal grandmother.

I really did like how the book slowly spilled all of the secrets of the Dyer family. One of the secrets that Reve starts to delve into is the "The Hawley Book of the Dead," which is also the title of this novel. The Hawley Book of the Dead is supposed to be able to reveal truths.

There were still some things that I didn't think worked that well in this novel. First, having the story also including Reve's daughters viewpoints just didn't work. I think it would have been better to have additional books that fully explored all of the characters individually.

Also the hint of a romance that was set up in this book was just a bit much for me. It probably didn't help that I never got a sense of Reve as a character or that she really loved her husband. At times Reve felt very one dimensional to me. The character just reacted to many things that happened to her and I hope in future books (if there are any) she is more well rounded.

Additionally, there was way too much tell going on in this novel. I honestly started rolling my eyes when the book slowly started unveiling how the Dyer women were pretty much a part of every ancient myth in the world. It started to get to be a bit too much for me. An entire family of Mary Sue's doesn't interest me as a reader.

That said, I still think that Chrysler Szarlan, the author of this book, has set the stage for a continuing series and I hope does follow up on this book with more stories about the Dyer women.

Please note that I received this book for free via the Amazon Vine Program.

This book wanted to be bigger than it was. There was way too much going on at once, too many plotlines.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.]

A little odd but compelling. It was a surprise that it's set in the area I just moved to.

This book had me up late at night desperately trying to read just a few more pages. Filled with edge of your seat suspense this book takes you for a wild ride into the past, present and beyond time's boundaries. If you are a fan of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe or A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness, this book should be added to your "to be read list".

While trying to protect her family and recover from the tragic murder of her husband Reve returns to the town she grew up but lives in the abandoned town of Hawley five corners which is steeped in mystery. The locals think its haunted since 5 children disappeared from there many years ago and then quite soon after the entire town disappeared without a trace with food still cooking, laundry mid wash and dishes half cleaned.

What Reve learns when she gets there is that her past and her present are very connected and the history of Hawley Five Corners has a deep connection to her family and the very real mystery she finds herself in today.

I found the history of the mysterious abandoned town and Reve's family so interesting, I just wanted to keep learning more. Then there was a crazy flea market that appeared out of nowhere that I would love to learn the origins of and where exactly it goes. In a way there were elements of The Night Circus by Erin Morenstern the way things disappear and reappear and the magical elements that are hard to explain yet tie everything together. Its hard to say more about this book without giving too much away. Suffice to say I loved it and for a debut I'm very impressed. This is an author to keep an eye on.

Several readers recommended this book about a woman magician who, after accidentally killing her husband during a performance, flees to her family in Massachusetts and learns of her real magical origins, or should I say Magickal.

I had high hopes for this book, but it devolved into a regular suspense novel, with serial killers and government bad guys, but also with fantasy elements. The grittier and presumably more realistic plot elements just distracted me from the fantasy and made it impossible for me to suspend my disbelief. Also, the author made the rookie mistake of too much exposition. The titular Book of the Dead was too often just a vehicle for the author to explain stuff she wanted the reader to know. I prefer it when stories grow organically.

The book had some nice inventive touches and the prose wasn't terrible, so possibly it's just not my genre.

One of the best books that I have read in a long, long time. Kept trying to go to bed, but I could not stop reading. Finally finished it around 4 am, and went to bed, only to dream about it!! Fabulous!!

The Hawley Book of the Dead is a gripping thriller: the tale of a woman who's a magician and also is magic. Her particular gift is the ability to disappear instantly, which adds considerably to shows she and her husband, also a magician, perform in Las Vegas.

Reve (short for Revelation, an old family name) finds her life turned upside down when an unknown person puts live bullets in a gun used in performances. In front of an audience she shoots her husband in the chest, killing him almost instantly.

Reve realizes that someone is stalking her, planning more violence against her family, so at the urging of her grandmother she returns to Hawley Five Corners, an abandoned town deep in the New England woods, where her family has roots.

At this point, the book moves into the realm of the supernatural. Reve is learning family history that her grandmother has withheld for years. There are ancestresses accused of witchcraft, magical connections to a sort of fairy folk who went underground after the arrival of humans to their lands, and devices with magical powers.

This is escapist reading, in the good sense of the word. It's paced quickly and keeps offering new complications. When you need to take a vacation between the pages of a book, The Hawley Book of the Dead will work nicely.

A special thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan, a spellbinding mix of mystery, contemporary romance, and a haunting magical supernatural fantasy ---for a suspenseful debut novel of history, revenge, betrayal, love, and family secrets.

Revelation Dyer (Reve) and her husband, Jeremy are acclaimed Las Vegas stage magicians, known worldwide with three daughters: twins Grace, Faith age 15, and Caleigh age 10. During a performance (“Defying the Bullet” trick), Reve accidently shoots her husband with a blank; however, the blank has been replaced with a real bullet and Jeremy dies on stage. Now Reve has to protect her family, no matter the cost while grieving her husband, someone is out to destroy her family.

Reve has a connection along with her family to ancient magic, and many of the women have been named Revelation. All of the Revelations and their descendants have magic powers. Reve takes the girls home to Massachusetts, to stay with her maternal grandmother where the Dyers have lived for many generations in the Town of Hawley Five Corners, the New England Village was founded centuries ago by one of Reve’s relatives.

Reve soon realizes she is being stalked by the man (Fetch) who changed the bullets in her gun. When he sends her an email telling her he is going to find her no matter where she runs, she is scared for her life; however, is unsure the motive? What happened in the past to cause his need for revenge?

Reve’s best friend from childhood in Hawley (Jolon) is now the Chief of Police and they were once close and now have not kept in touch after she moved away. Jolon is very familiar with the family situation and agrees to help her, as he is well aware of the special gift the Dyer women possess, as Reve can make herself disappear. The Dyer women all have supernatural abilities, and Reve can vanish at will from the world.

Hawley Five Corners has a reputation in the nearby town of Hawley Village – people disappear in the Corners, buildings are haunted, and all is mysterious; however, Reve believes this is the only place to keep her family safe. As the story progresses, Reve finds outs out her parents and grandmother have kept secrets from her, which would have helped her determine more about herself and her powers. One of the secrets involve a mysterious book, “The Hawley Book of the Dead,” with the power to unveil truths with four sacred objects to protect her.

This novel is a cross between reality, supernatural,and enchanting fantasy with connections to ancient myths, illusions, and magic. You root for Reve as she takes the adventure of discovering more about her life and the journey of Fletch getting to the reason behind the stalking. Chrysler Szarlan skillfully crafted characters each with their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses for a contemporary romantic suspense debut.

Not typically my type of genre; however, would recommend to those who enjoy horseback riding, and more of the haunting magical, supernatural flair, and mysterious family drama adventures. The book reminds me a little of Karen Harper’s Cold Creek series.

http://www.judithdcollinsconsulting.com/#!The-Hawley-Book-of-the-Dead/cmoa/9F995...

*I requested this book from Edelweiss/Above the Treeline as a free e-book ARC. I receive nothing but the book, and was not in any way compensated for reviewing it. I know the author by sight as she lives near where I work.*

Illusionist Revelation Maskelyne and her husband Jeremy put on magic shows in Vegas, but when someone inserts a real bullet in the gun which they use for a trick, her beloved husband dies apparently by Reve's own hand. Reve - who has true magic that few people know about - realizes that she has to return to her family roots in Hawley Five Corners, Massachusetts for protection from the man who doesn't appear to be ready to stop with just killing her husband.

This debut novel from an author living in my hometown is a taut blend of suspense and fantasy that keeps you reading quickly. Though it's set in 2013 and very much its own story, the way fantastical elements were blended into the real world reminded me a little of The Night Circus. I really enjoyed references to people and places with which I am familiar and the way small-town life in the Berkshires is described. Reve's relationships with her family, especially mothering her three girls Grace, Fai, and Caleigh after their father's death, ring true. The Hawley Book of the Dead is the first in an intended series, but well done as a standalone story; there's no cutting off with a Major Cliffhanger meant to keep you reading. My one complaint was that the author had a habit of using too many commas to tack on clauses that really needed an "and" or other conjunction to make it a proper sentence. I found it jarring, though I know it's simply a stylistic choice that I've been seeing in some books lately. A truly intriguing book, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.½

Book Review & Giveaway: Sometimes it’s hard to switch gears to scout for scary books for October during the hot summer months, but I was instantly drawn to the book cover for The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan. When I read the publisher’s description, I was hooked. And then I read it; all I can say is “WooHoo!” I’m so happy the publisher has given us a finished hardcover copy to feature in our giveaway! Like magic and illusion? How about family myths of otherworldly events? Or maybe eerie and mysterious tales set in New England? Then have I found the book for you! Read my review and enter the giveaway at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7761.

From Las Vagas magic shows to the ghost town of Five Corners in New England surrounded by forests; lovely, dark and deep. The story unfolds like a fairy tale for adults in the truest tradition of grim, dark and unsettling stories. Reve is a brilliantly imagined character - a magician capable of real magic whose life is being haunted by a 'Fetch', an enchanted entity determined to destroy everyone close to Reve. I really loved reading this book, Szarlan writes with a dreamy, lyrical prose that is hard to resist. This is just the start of things for Reve and her family and I am really looking forward to catching up with her and her magically gifted children in future tales - recommended.

“On the day I killed my husband, the scent of lilacs startled me awake.”

It doesn't take long for this book to jump into its story. The combination of stage magic and real magic (well, yes, you do have to suspend disbelief a bit) is nicely done. Reve, Revelation, comes from a long line of women with special powers, and while her special power comes in handy on stage, it also got her into more trouble than she could get out of.

Of course, there is a magical book, the Hawley book of the dead. That has become almost mandatory in stories of this type, and is used a bit too much to move the story along when there are no other possible hooks.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. The plot was interesting, the characters were well drawn, and the writing was crisp, descriptive but not too drawn out.

I liked Reve's thoughts on writing:

“Writing is a kind of magic. One person sits alone in a room and makes marks on a page that represent the images in her mind. Another person looks at those marks, weeks or months or a hundred years later, and similar images appear in that person's mind. Magic.”

While the book kept me engaged, I did feel the end was a bit of a letdown. Not that there was anything definitively wrong with it, it just kind of whispered itself out.

For those who enjoy the genre, who like reading about supernatural powers past and present, this book is entertaining and worth reading.

I was given an advance readers copy of the book for review, and the quotes may have changed in the published edition.½

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan left me wanting to know more, so Having just closed the covers of this book, I am already hoping for a sequel. This was a wonderful read!

Jeremy, Reve, Faith, Hope and Caleigh, all beautiful and content.A happy family surrounded my more kinds of magic than even they knew, performed in their own theater in Las Vegas . A lovely, old fashioned but beautifully restored theater is where they worked, performed their magic, both mundane and true. They made their home in Vegas and raised their three very special daughters there, a perfect family. A family that included Nathan, cousin to Jeremy.

They all worked in the family business, which as it happened was Magic! Reve and Jeremy wrote and performed their own shows, hosted other magicians, and tried to live as no called normal a life as possible around the business for the girls. But normal in their house, was a little different than what is no called normal in some others. Reve came from a long line of women who had special gifts, as well as beauty. Her daughters had gifts of their own, as we come to see as the story plays out. And as stories, and in fact life, work, it seems that the happiness must always be paid for in some way. The Maskelyne family would pay a heavy price for theirs.

Reve, whose full name, like that of her grandmothers before her was Revelation was strong in many ways, but much was asked of her. Nothing weakens us like grief, and with fear coming in a close second, her days changed from days of the warmth of the sun, and the warmth of love, to striving for survival. Thank goodness for the long line of Revelations who stood behind her her in this world and in the other. She would need all of them.

After tragedy struck the family, they moved across the country to her long abandoned home in Hawley Five Corners. There she would be closer to her family, and to the magic which would help to save them all, and to put the world to rights. If, that is, Reve could find the way, and enough magic within herself to do so. Many twists and turns, many quirky events and many secrets in the book about the many generations of Revelation's family.

This book, like gorgeous and magical books The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe and the Newford series by Charles de Lint will draw you in, it will delight you, make you fall in love with some of the characters, and leave you wanting more.