In Plymouth, MA, five women friends have found that they have a lot in common, especially their practice of Wicca and celebration of pagan holidays. Cassandra, Fiona, Heather, Phillipa and Diedre all have their specialties, including tarot reading, herbs and lotions, and the five women have formed a close knit group of support. Cass often has visions and one afternoon at the grocery store she bumps into a stranger and immediately senses that he is a dangerous man who preys on young boys. The women decide to take on the investigation on their own since they know the police will not act on Cass' vision. Once the killer becomes aware that the women are on his trail he ramps up his violent tendencies, vowing to destroy the circle of five and everything that they love.

This was a fairly good story with likeable characters. There really wasn't any mystery since the women immediately focused on the murderer and his identity was never in doubt. The story was suspenseful and had a nice, satisfying ending. I don't think I liked it enough to continue with the series, but it wasn't bad.
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I'm always on the lookout for "witchy' books and this was a wonderful find. The story of five ladies who find each other through a local class was a read I couldn't put down. Mixed in with the talked of Wicca is a series of crimes that the ladies help solve with their witchy ways. Looking forward to reading more in this series. ( )

Opening Sentence: ‘…The truck driver, a big ruddy-faced man with a cheerful demeanour, was whistling a tune from gypsy as he applied a mask of clown makeup…’

This cheerful man is an evil, evil person. He preys on young boys, luring them away and then murdering them without compassion. Cassandra, the narrator, is a middle-aged divorcee whose children have grown up. She has inherited her grandmother’s cottage by the sea in New England and moved there to start a new life. She also has ‘the sight,’ so when she bumps into the ruddy-faced man in her local supermarket she is shocked when she is sucked into a dreadful scene where a young boy is being murdered. She knows this man is a child killer, but she needs to find out who he is and bring him to justice. Luckily she does not need to do it alone. When Cassandra moved to the area she attended a local book reading group and bonded with four ladies there. Together they discover Wicca and form their own circle of five. Knowing that Cassandra just can’t go to the police and tell them that she had just had a vision so arrest that man, the ladies decide to use their powers to bring him to justice. They have to be careful though; magic used for evil will come back onto the spell casters. The women manage to make a hash of every attempt they make to investigate the suspect, they find out his name, and where he lives, and then it doesn’t take very long for Mr Q to become aware that they are after him.

CIRCLE OF FIVE is the first in a series, and is mostly an enjoyable read; I did struggle with it occasionally so it didn’t wow me. The mystery is not finding out who did it, which is revealed very early in the book, the mystery is in trying to come up with credible evidence to prove that he did it. Mr Q is a really nasty villain, who does some truly horrible things, yet not with the wall to wall blood and guts that so many mystery authors think is necessary. There is a child in jeopardy, a swashbuckling boyfriend, a satisfactory ending and some very humorous moments. There is also the wonderful, wonderful telepathic relationship with Cassandra and her dog which made the book for me. ( )

Cassandra Shipton has started a new life for herself after her divorce. Her children are grown and gone, she's taken back her maiden name, and moved to Plymouth, Mass. to live in the small Cape Cod beach house left to her by her grandmother. She started an herb business there and found her niche in a group with four other women who started their friendship over books, and have developed into a group of Wiccan sisters, each with their own particular "gifts" and talents. Cassandra's gift is one of visions, and they come completely unbidden when she least expects them. When she is stunned by a vision of unspeakable horror upon looking into the eyes of a total stranger at the grocery store, she is convinced to her very core that this man is a child abuser. Enlisting the help of her circle of friends, the ladies discover that he is much more than that -- a heretofore unknown serial killer who has left a string of boys' bodies behind him as he's ravaged the New England seaboard. The circle of five will band together in a dangerous undertaking that will test their powers and the bonds of their friendship as nothing ever has before.

This is the first in the "Circle" series and it is very well done. The "witchy" business is plainly told and not at all overbearing or cartoonish as it so often is in books of this genre. The women are believable and even though there isn't much mystery to the story (we know early on who the bad guy is -- even if we don't know exactly /how/ bad he is), it flows well and held my interest till the end. 4. ( )