Rating: 
Summary: A reader in North Caroliona
Review: I started reading Ms. Edghill's work with "The Warslayer," and was hooked. Then, I read "Spirits White as Lightning," a collaborative effort of hers and Mercedes Lackey; another great book.Then, I read this book, a compilation of the three Bast novel-length mysteries, and I was overwhelmed. (In a good way.) Ms. Edghill's writing is incisive, witty, amusing, and involving; she explains what's going on so well that you almost don't notice how she gets everything (and I do mean _everything_ right). Bast (aka Karen Hightower) is a bright, tough woman; she reminds me a lot of the women I knew while going to college. She's a young, urban professional -- except she doesn't make much money, and she's a practicing Wiccan. So what? She's funny, acerbic, witty, complains about her sex life, and makes lots of great sarcastic cracks. I'd like this book even if it were about Moral Majority types (although I'm glad it's not), if Ms. Edghill had found so much of interest to say about them. That being said, it's really a shame this book (the compilation) hasn't sold a whole lot more, as there are lots of people who need to read it (as well as those who'd just plain enjoy it). We can only hope it sells so much that Tor will want to resurrect the series at a later date. Go buy this book already!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful books; buy all the Edghill you can!
Review: I started reading Ms. Edghill's work with "The Warslayer," and was hooked. Then, I read "Spirits White as Lightning," a collaborative effort of hers and Mercedes Lackey; another great book. Then, I read this book, a compilation of the three Bast novel-length mysteries, and I was overwhelmed. (In a good way.) Ms. Edghill's writing is incisive, witty, amusing, and involving; she explains what's going on so well that you almost don't notice how she gets everything (and I do mean _everything_ right). Bast (aka Karen Hightower) is a bright, tough woman; she reminds me a lot of the women I knew while going to college. She's a young, urban professional -- except she doesn't make much money, and she's a practicing Wiccan. So what? She's funny, acerbic, witty, complains about her sex life, and makes lots of great sarcastic cracks. I'd like this book even if it were about Moral Majority types (although I'm glad it's not), if Ms. Edghill had found so much of interest to say about them. That being said, it's really a shame this book (the compilation) hasn't sold a whole lot more, as there are lots of people who need to read it (as well as those who'd just plain enjoy it). We can only hope it sells so much that Tor will want to resurrect the series at a later date. Go buy this book already!
Rating:
Summary: Not just good religion, good writing
Review: I won't recap all the reviews which tell you that the Bast novels are both unpretentious and Wicca-accurate, but I will agree that that's true. The greatest of these for me, though, is unpretentious; that is, these aren't fantasy nor yet the kind of self-aggrandizement and self-marginalization that sometimes stalk the Wiccan community. And--it's a real pleasure to say this after the last Wiccan murder mystery I had to review--these are WELL WRITTEN. Yes, really! Edgehill knows how to use commas, adjectives, and similar arcana as well as she knows how to cast a circle--and that, my friends, is a rare and beautiful combination. Magic (or, if you prefer, magick) without BS, self-delusion, sentimentality or misuse of the semi-colon--need I say more? It's true that the mysteries aren't very mysterious, but I don't think they're meant to be (and in real life, of course, the spouse generally *did* do it.) These aren't really books about how to solve mysteries; they're about the ethical dilemmas that come with believing what we pagans say we believe, but often fall down on in practice. They're about our responsibility to act when we see a problem, and the risks that action entails, and the way Wicca both helps and doesn't help us to do it. Anyone who ever said she wanted something beyond Wicca 101: these books are it.
Rating:
Summary: Let's here it for Bast!
Review: In the pantheon of feisty female detectives, Rosemary Edghill's Karen Hightower (aka Bast) definitely deserves a place. While a few books with characters who are wiccans tend to go overboard trying to prove how "normal" they are, Bast gets down to the brass tacks of the "craft" as it were, and shows us that hey, not only is there no single tradition, but wiccans (or if you prefer the term witch), bring a great deal of outside baggage with them. Just the realism of being a wiccan in the day to day world is worth the price of the book alone. However, Bast is not only a witch, she just so happens to be a detective, and not really by design. Of course, she knows not to get involved with murder and mayhem, but somehow, she just can't help herself. She's got a quirky cast of friends who remind me of some people I know. I love her wry assessments about everything, from New York (her apartment is the size of a cookie box), her job, men, and of course, her beliefs. She's also very resourceful, and rather determined.
Rating:
Summary: Let's here it for Bast!
Review: In the pantheon of feisty female detectives, Rosemary Edghill's Karen Hightower (aka Bast) definitely deserves a place. While a few books with characters who are wiccans tend to go overboard trying to prove how "normal" they are, Bast gets down to the brass tacks of the "craft" as it were, and shows us that hey, not only is there no single tradition, but wiccans (or if you prefer the term witch), bring a great deal of outside baggage with them. Just the realism of being a wiccan in the day to day world is worth the price of the book alone. However, Bast is not only a witch, she just so happens to be a detective, and not really by design. Of course, she knows not to get involved with murder and mayhem, but somehow, she just can't help herself. She's got a quirky cast of friends who remind me of some people I know. I love her wry assessments about everything, from New York (her apartment is the size of a cookie box), her job, men, and of course, her beliefs. She's also very resourceful, and rather determined.
Rating:
Summary: Bell, Book and Murder Casts a Spell on Readers !
Review: It is really refreshing to see a talented author come out with fresh ideas focusing on the world of Wicca and its followers. "Bell, Book and Murder" is a compilation of three murder mysteries--"Speak Daggers to Her," "Book of Moons," and "The Bowl of Night" set in the hectic world of New York City and featuring a spunky heroine, Bast who just happens to be a Wiccan. With her first novel in the Bast series, Edghill introduced readers to the often hectic life of a New Yorker living her life as best as she can in a world filled with mystery, mahem and magick. Edghill's Bast is a quick witted, savy New Yorker who just happens to be a practitioner of one of the most misunderstood religions in the modern world: Wicca. Edghill writes with so much enthusiasm and possesses an almost uncanny knack for her characters that when you're reading the Bast mysteries, as they've become to be known, you almost forget that these are works of fiction. The dialogue is fresh, vibrant and exciting and this reviewer loved her scoops on people in the Craft. While the names have been changed to protect the innocent, friends of this reviewer who are a part of the New York Wiccan Community, have provided me with insights and revelations as to the possible identities of her books' real-life counterparts. This reviewer found the three book series so enjoyable that he can't wait for the next book to come out. When will the next book be released Ms. Edghill? Your loyal Bast fans can't wait!
Rating:
Summary: A real Witch
Review: It's so wonderful to finally find a writer who tells about the true, every day life of a "real" witch. I'm so tired of trying to find good Pagan books and always seeing stories that remind me too much of "The Craft". I would recommend this book to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: Informative and Enjoyable
Review: Just finished the trilogy and really had fun with it. Not only does the author write with an amusing and insightful- yet chilling- style, she also gives real insight into the Pagan community and the characters contained therein. (And yes, I speak from personal experience.) I recommend these stories to to murder mystery lovers unreservedly; any Pagan would enjoy them, as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be fooled!
Review: Nowhere on Amazon's page does it say that this is really just "Speak Daggers to Her," "Book of Moons," and "The Bowl of Night," all combined into one book. Only buy this if you don't have any of them already.
Rating: 
Summary: I wasn't smart enough to enjoy this book.
Review: OK, I know that I didn't finish college and that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so this book made me feel just a tad stoopid. The author is obviously an intelligent and well educated woman. Too often I scrambled for the dictionary or encyclopedia (not that that is a bad thing, of course) when all I wanted was an amusing read. If you're kinda slow like me, try Jim Butcher's hysterical Harry Dresden series, or M.R. Sellars' intriguing Rowan Gant mysteries.
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