The Witch in the Well : A Catherine LeVendeur Mystery (Catherine LeVendeur)

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a great fan of Sharan Newman's Catherine LeVendeur series and often recommend it, but found the latest installment to be disappointing. The entire first section of the novel, set at her brother's castle, seemed unrelated to the second part. I did not see the point, other than to encourage Catherine to visit her family's home. The second part of the novel wandered. I found the descriptions of Boisvert totally unbelieveable, and the actions of most the characters incomprehensible. Catherine seemed scatterbrained and unfocused. I won't give away the ending, but I found the last scene to be inconsistent with all the previous books in the series, and unrealistic. The usual afterward connecting the book with actual historical events and places was also missed.

My distinct impression is that there is a good book buried within "The Witch in the Well" but deadlines and a lack of serious editing prevented its creation. However, I have faith in Ms. Newman and look forward to another installment, hopefully better.

Rating:
Summary: a satisfying read
Review: This latest Catherine LeVendeur installment reads more like an adventure novel -- what with a family secret to decode and a castle siege to withstand -- than a "straight" mystery novel. Still, there were plenty of mysterious goings on and a murder or two to go around, and the novel was a fantastically absorbing and riveting read.

Catherine and her children are summering at her brother's estate in the country, when brother and sister receive summons from their grandfather, Gargenaud of Boisvert, requesting that all his descendants come to Boisvert at once. Legend has it that the family are descended from a poor but honourable knight who served Charlemagne, and a beautiful "fairy" (Andonenn) who guarded a secret spring -- the spring that feeds the well in the castle keep of Boisvert. The fortunes of Boisvert and that of the family are tied to water flowing freely into the well. But now the well seems to have dried up, and Catherine's grandfather is filled with fear. He believes that if Andonenn's children come to the keep, than the curse will be reversed and the water will flow again. Catherine places little stock in legend and fairy stories. That is until messengers turn up dead, and a mysterious old woman urges Catherine to go to Boisvert before it is too late. Should Catherine endanger her family by taking them to Boisvert? Edgar is all for ignoring the summons, but Catherine has a hankering to see Boisvert again. Also, she's rather intrigued about the legend of Andonenn and the part she is supposed to play in all this...

Strangely enough, in spite of all the mysterious and bewildering goings-on at Boisvert, compared to previous Catherine LeVendeur mystery novels, "The Witch in the Well" lacked the darkness and grim somberness that characterised those installments. But did this make "The Witch in the Well" an unexciting and not very engaging read? To the contrary. From the very beginning I was hooked, and eagerly read on until I reached the last page. I enjoyed discovering more about Catherine's family history, and watching her interact with her siblings. Obviously the inability to get along completely and sublimely with one's siblings is a universal condition. And I enjoyed that Sharan Newman showcased this, while also leaving room for readers to realise that that Catherine, her brother, Guillaume, and her sister, Agnes, all have their good points and not so wonderful points. Fast paced and suspenseful, and full of wonderful historical detail about the period (12th century France), "The Witch in the Well" is a treat not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: Great historical mystery
Review: To escape the heat in Paris, Catherine, Edgar and their three children visit her brother's manor house Vielleteneuse. When her brother comes back from the hunt he has with him an injured woman. Despite Catherine's efforts the woman dies, but a few seconds later she says that "evil is coming for all Andonenn's children" and BEGS Catherine to save them before the well runs dry. Catherine learns that the family legend is known to all her relatives except her.

At the Castle of Boisvert, Catherine's grandfather summons all the descendents of Andonenn demanding they come to the ancestral home because their "protection" is fading. Neither Guillaume, his wife Marie nor Catherine & Edgar want to go but someone is causing dangerous accidents that force them to go to the haven of Boisvert. They find no safety in the Castle because the heir is killed and his brother is injured. A neighbor plans to take the castle with the help of a traitor but two women, who though seemingly mad, apparently hold the key to the castle's salvation and the people in it. As Catherine investigates the killing in hopes of unmasking a traitor and looking for the treasure that will restore the castle to its' former glory, Edgar preparing the castle folk for war.

Although there are many incidents in THE WITCH IN THE WELL that seem to be supernaturally based, it is really the actions of two women who want the family to come to the castle and they don't care how much damage they cause along the way. Sharan Newman has written a totally enthralling historical mystery in which a castle with unexplored corridors and white subterranean floor are explored giving the book a gothic feel. There is treasure to be found but finding it is part of the mystery of this incredible amateur sleuth tale.

Harriet Klausner