I really enjoyed The Fifth Petal. It has the same kinds of vibe as books by Alice Hoffman, except with more mystery. I pretty much love anything set in Salem. I was able to guess part of the mystery but the other part kept me guessing right up til the end. I liked the characters and the friendships that Callie made. The mystery surrounding her mother was intriguing and weird.

(10/30/22: I uploaded my initial review several years ago. Today I'm updating the link to my new website. I didn't have a rating recorded when I initially uploaded this review so the star rating was added today so that I could re-submit my review--it is not necessarily accurate to my initial feelings.)

The Need to Know: An atmospheric, detailed mystery, Brunonia Barry’s The Fifth Petal is a satisfying, juicy book to sink into and enjoy.
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At its heart, The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry is a murder mystery about who murdered “the Goddesses,” three beautiful young women who were killed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1989 while attempting to consecrate the spot where their female ancestors were executed for supposed witchcraft in 1692.

The answer to this murder mystery is particularly important to Callie Cahill, daughter of one of the Goddesses, who was present at that ill-fated ceremony and only avoided death thanks to “Auntie” Rose, who hid her away before returning to the murder site.

Unbeknownst to Callie, now thirty years old at The Fifth Petal’s opening, Rose is still alive and many of Salem’s residents hold Rose responsible for the Goddesses’ murders, even though there was no evidence that she was their murderer.

When Rose is believed to have committed a fourth murder, this time of a teenager who was threatening her, Callie immediately returns to Salem to clear Rose’s name and to uncover the truth about what happened to her mother and the other Goddesses. One challenge that Callie faces, among many, is that Rose is considered insane by many Salemites, and Rose maintains that a banshee was responsible for all four of the murders.

Though the rich plot of The Fifth Petal is somewhat difficult to summarize, Barry maneuvers the plot and characters deftly, and the book remains suspenseful rather than gratuitously complicated.

Barry’s rendering of Salem, Massachusetts, a city already compelling to many Americans familiar with the barest bits of its history, is smart and thorough, and she has rooted her plot within the occult and religious practices unique to Salem’s history. The ways in which Puritanism, Catholicism, and the occult clash and overlap with each other in The Fifth Petal enrich the reader’s understanding of the characters themselves: their motivations, their fears, and their desires.

I was invested in finding out the answers to the mystery throughout the book, and in true Jessica form, I guessed that several different people were responsible before reading the book's satisfying revelations.

The Fifth Petal is an engrossing, sexy read that is also dense and seemed well-researched.

Fun to read and smart. A great combination, in any book.​

For more info on Brunonia Barry: http://www.brunoniabarry.com/

A pretty decent novel. It was all over the place at first, but I stuck it out and was pleasantly surprised. Nice weekend read if you want a nice thriller.

A murder on Halloween night is spooky enough but then you throw in witches and visions and town rich in murder and history. Old murders combine with new to make a page turner for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

Disclaimer: I haven't read books 1-2 in this series. But they aren't, as far as I can tell from this story, necessary to read in order to understand this title. They do, however, give stories to some of the characters in this title. I've added them on my TBR. The books in this series could easily be read as stand alone's.

Salem, Massachusetts. Home of the Witches. Or so history intones. It's a hot bed of curiosity and magic. Any crime committed there is blamed on the backstory of Salem. It's the day after Halloween 1989 and a young girl has been brought to the ER - clearly in shock, unable to speak, and blood pouring down her arm from something she is gripping, and refusing to let go of, in her hand. She was found near a pit with the bodies of three women, one of them her mother. A fourth woman was found, alive, at a home in town and covered in blood. Reports from a local convent were that loud, piercing screams were heard all night throughout the area but nobody thought to report them because it was Halloween night. The woman found covered in blood and alive is making claims that a banshee killed the women.

Fast forward 25 years, it's Halloween night and Rose Whelan, the local crazy lady, is headed toward an oak tree she thinks holds the answers to the witch hangings of 1692 which kind of led to the murder of the Goddesses in 1989. But she's accosted at the tree and as a result a boy ends up dead. Rose heard the banshee right before he keeled over. She couldn't be contained any longer, she was crying out for restitution for the 1692 and 1989 killings. Rose Whelan goes catatonic and the town goes berserk. They want Rose pinned for the 1989 deaths and the death of this boy. An hour and a hour away Callie Cahill hears on the news about the newest in Salem and immediately, almost without thought, heads for Salem and Rose. It turns out Callie knows Rose, they are the only two that survived the 1989 murders.

Rafferty is Salem's Police Chief and this present day death pushed him to open back up the 1989 case and get some answers. With Callie and Rose's help, along with a few other willing townspeople, Rafferty starts making headway on what actually happened in 1989. But someone doesn't want anyone to know what happened and starts to go to big lengths to make sure nobody finds out.

Oh this was good. I know that's an awful thing to say when reviewing a book but it was GOOD. From the first paragraph I was captured by what the story was going to hold and reveal. Barry captures her audience right away with a gripping start to this tale. She starts us off in 1989 to give us backstory before moving us into present day. Her descriptions of the characters, both their physical appearances and their personalities, are so vivid that you can almost see them. She creates an interesting cast to help tell her story. The backdrop of Salem provides rich content, it helps the imagination along for sure. Her twists and turns to the resolution of the story were engaging, I couldn't put the book down until I knew it was done.

I loved the Lace Reader which is book 1 in the Lace Reader series. Set in Salem, Towney Whitney is now married to chief of police, John Rafferty. He is investigating a cold case from 25 year ago when three young women were murdered. Rose Whelan is the main suspect. She is the town historian and aunt of Towney. Towney tries to use her visions to help solve the case but there is something very sinister lurking in Salem. Enjoyable and an attention holder. Reading The Lace Reader may help keep some of the story in perspective.

A fresh murder happens on Halloween and everyone suspects the town witch- Rose Whelan as the prime suspect. Running adjacent to this new murder brings up the suspicious Goddess killings that happened in 1989. Callie Cahill was only 5 at the time but was saved by Rose when the Goddesses were brutally murdered, her mother being one of the victims. Callie finds out about Rose being implicated for this new murder and she rushes back to Salem to confront her demons (pardon the pun!).

I really enjoyed Barry's first novel, The Lace Reader and was looking forward to connecting to the characters again. I appreciated the complex story lines and the witchy overtones sprinkled throughout. The story was a little too clunky, and took too long to get the point across. I lost interest and had a hard time connecting to the characters enough to really care how this would all end. The real question is, since I inadvertently skipped book 2, do I still read it? Or do I bypass....?

Falling right down the middle on this one.

Somewhere between a three and a four-star novel. I love Barry's first novel, but the main problem here is pace and length. Nevertheless, the demonstration of music therapy and use of sound tones for healing was completely fascinating. At first I thought it might be magical realism, in line with the "lace reading" in Barry's first novel, but it is in fact an actual technique.

Some readers complained about the section set in Matera, Italy, but I loved it because we visited the remote town with its hillside cave houses 5 years ago. So really, aside from the length and a wild ending, it was well worth reading. And if you are interested in the Salem Witch Trials (I'm not), it would certainly rate four stars.

I had to struggle to finish this book. I kept going out of mere curiosity about the identity of the antagonist who was manipulating everything behind the scenes. Even though Rafferty and Towner, whom I had enjoyed as characters in the first book returned, they weren't quite enough to save this one. Callie was too ditzy and too New Agey for me, and Paul was a spoiled rich boy. There was an awful lot of nonsense in the guise of history and alternative medicine which I found altogether annoying.

"Beloved author Brunonia Barry returns to the world of The Lace Reader with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem's chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed "The Goddess Murders," in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?"

I hadn't heard of The Lace Reader, but this sequel sounds just riveting! Time to get on this series!

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This book was on my wish list as a sort of sequel to The Lace Reader, which I loved; so I was thrilled to be chosen to read it. I really liked this novel. The witch trials in Salem, what a great backstory for this book.. Callie was traumatized as a child when her mother and her friends were murdered on the anniversary of the witch hangings in 1692 and a beloved friend of the family was suspected of the crime. Forward 25 years and the questions are still there, who killed them; were they witches; are there really witches in Salem, who was the missing member from that night, is the killer Rose or another person or was the devil really at play?

I loved Callie and her search for the truth, it was a good cast of characters, that made the story more interesting and left me wondering what to believe. I loved the use of singing bowls and the explanation of them as a healing agent. I loved that Towner is a minor character in this book, as well, carrying on from the previous book. I liked the ending, I was somewhat surprised as I had pegged everyone as a suspect right from the beginning but it was a rewarding ending with a good twist

Will definitely read more books from this auhor.

So apparently this is book 2. I didn't know this was book 2 when I requested it. Don't worry you don't really need to know much of book 1 to follow and enjoy book 2, plus anything referenced from book 1 is explained enough. This story follows two times, past and present. Back in Salem in 1989 decedents of the victims of the Salem witch trials try to bless the ground where the atrocity happened. Something goes horribly wrong. Three women die, one goes insane, and a child is scared for life.

Flash forward to the present. The "crazy lady" whom everyone thinks killed her friends back in the day is a suspect in another death. The child, now an adult, comes home to Salem to help her. And the Chief of Police tries his hardest to bring the murderer(s) to justice.

I love the intertwining of the fictional world of "witchcraft" and mystical creatures with the real Salem witch trials. It is a gripping story that keeps you guessing until the end. Who did it?!? Is there really a Banshee? Is witchcraft real? Why can't Cassie just have a happy life? Is Rose really crazy? Is Rafferty biased? What's up with Towner? I don't trust Emily, Anne, or Marta...Paul is sketchy too! I mean seriously the who done it is strong with this one.

I love the retelling of the 1989 case through memories surfacing in Cassie. It is an interesting way to see such a horrible day...through the eyes of a child who witnessed it, among other things. We also see things from other people's POV including the police chief. It makes you question reality. Who is capable of murder? Do things we consider myths have some base in reality? How else do you explain the mysterious cerebral hemorrhage? Honestly its a bit of a mind _ _ _ _ but in a good way.

If you are a fan a mysteries with a hint of supernatural and a dash of romance check this one out. Seriously, give it a look see I really enjoyed it.

I got this book for free from Blogging for Books to read and give my honest review.

This was an ARC from Netgalley that took awhile for me to get to. I had read The Lace Reader and decided to try to read this novel. It did take me longer than normal to get into the story. It felt like the plot jumped around a bit at first. Then I got involved in trying to figure out what really happened and that's all she wrote. Not a bad story and being set in Salem gives you a bit of a history lecture of the witch trials.

Fantastic storytelling that keeps you guessing until the very end. Interesting mix of the history of Salem and the present day.

I normally never read traditionally published authors anymore. I had read the blurb for this and it caught me. I love anything about the Salem witch trials and the ways Brunonia Barry weaves truth and fiction are fantastic. I loved learning about Rose and watching Callie grow up into an amazing young woman who took her pain and made it greater than. It is a lesson we can all stand to learn at times. There is just enough fantasy weaved into reality that I could imagine something like this happening in real life, which made the story that much better for me. Come visit Salem, I hope you love it as much as I did.

Brunonia Barry is a wonderfully talented writer -- one of my favorite recent discoveries, and for the most part I enjoyed The Fifth Petal. I loved her earlier book, The Lace Reader, but felt the sequel (The Map of True Places) represented something of a falling off. I'm happy to say, Barry is back on track with this third book in the sequence.

Almost all the characters in the book (and there are a lot of them) are interesting and well drawn, and there was enough suspense to keep me intrigued right up to the final pages. Can't really ask for more than that, right? The story did tend to ramble a bit in the middle section, and that's really what keeps me from giving it a full five stars. Otherwise, this was an excellent read.

The Fifth Petal tried to weave too many stories into one tale. It became disjointed and confusing at times. I wouldn't recommend this one.

This was a really good read. The atmosphere was lovely, the characters life-like and the plot very interesting. I highly recommend this.

The best YA reads are those that can also engage older readers, and The Fifth Petal is one such novel. Thoughtful, suspenseful, imaginative and adventurous, it appeals to a wide range of readers. Recommend!

I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. In The Fifth Petal, Brunonia Barry takes us on a picturesque yet rather dark trip through Salem, MA. We meet some quirky characters, and if you've read The Lace Reader, you'll see some familiar faces as well. The story starts out rather slow, and doesn't pick up until near the end, where it races almost too quickly toward the finish line. I feel like this was a book that was ALMOST great, it just needed a bit more here, a little less there. I would have liked more depth to the characters, and less descriptions of places that had little to do with the story. The historical facts were interesting, and I enjoyed learning more of the witch trials. At times, questioning the why of something made my head hurt, but also made me think, which is always good. Overall, a good book if you're into witches, history, and psychology.