Witch Hill by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Title:  Witch Hill
Author:  Marion Zimmer Bradley
Pages:  188
Genre:  Horror / Thriller
Publisher:  TOR, 1990
Series:  Claire Moffatt, Book 3

Synopsis:  This little-known classic by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley is a wonderful treat for readers feeling the loss of this marvelous author. Part of Bradley's beloved "Light" series, Witch Hill is a sensuous story of witchcraft, demonic possession, and true love. — Sara Latimer's last relative has died. Heartbroken and feeling totally alone, Sara moves to the family home she had just inherited, Witch Hill, only to find that she is shunned by most of her neighbors.

Finally Matthew Hay, one of her only allies, explains that Sara's aunt was a powerful, evil witch and that the townspeople fear that Sara is following in her footsteps. Matthew and his ladylove, Tabitha, are also witches, and they too believe that Sara has her aunt's powers-and that she is ready to be possessed by her aunt's waiting spirit.

Sara crumbles under the steady onslaught of Matthew and Tabitha's evil. For a time, her love for Brian Standish keeps her sane, but at last Sara is lost in a maelstrom of dark power and sex magick.  As a Champion of Light, Colin MacLaren cannot allow Sara to be destroyed by Matthew Hay. Even at the risk of his own soul, he will save Sara.

Review:  I really have nothing good to say about this book.  It reads like a Gothic romance twisted together with a mishmash of nightmarish horror.  The very few more standard mystery / thriller portions of the book are so overshadowed by the rest of the book that they are barely noticeable.  Add to that a half-dozen scenes of mostly drug-crazed, brutal sex and the book became very quickly almost more than I could stand to read.  But, I forced my way through it and came to the dismal, disappointing end, where everything tied up too neatly, with true love and sunshine on the horizon.

I disliked this book so thoroughly that I am not going to be reading any more of this author's work for a while.  Since I own almost a dozen more of Ms. Bradley's books (and know of a dozen more I'd hoped to get in the future), I certainly hope this is the very worst of the entire lot.  Otherwise, I'm in for an even worse letdown in the future.

Rating:  0.5 / 10