Book Log #76: Speak Daggers to Her, by Rosemary Edghill

[annathepiper]

Rosemary Edghill gets in a lot of work these days co-writing things with Mercedes Lackey, but in the 90's, she did three books in a mystery series featuring a neopagan named Bast in New York. They--or at least, the first two, the only ones I ever got around to reading before--are short but fairly gritty little books. They're also an interesting little window into the neopagan and Dianic community, seen through the eyes of Bast, a.k.a. Karen Hightower.

Speak Daggers to Her starts off with Bast getting the word that an acquaintance of hers has been found dead in her apartment. As she reports the crime, Bast learns that the dead girl had become involved in a coven with far darker intentions than the ones with which she herself is familiar. And when she discovers that Miriam had left her an urgent message on her answering machine before her death, asking her for help, she realizes that that unsavory coven may have brought about Miriam's murder. Bast must risk the censure of her notoriously tolerant Wiccan community, the wrath of the legal authorities, and the vengeance of Miriam's former group as she investigates what truly happened.

As this is a book heavily featuring neopaganism and Wiccan traditions, it arguably skirts the edges of the paranormal mystery realm. Yet nothing in the book is truly paranormal. If anything our protagonist Bast is more academic than anything else, which shows up a lot in Edghill's strewing of the narrative with older literary quotes as well as highly unusual word choices (like 'exophthalmic', 'hele', and 'plosives'). The tension of the crime against Miriam, though, is very real. Overall it's a tight and effective read, albeit slightly dated for mention of BBSes in a pre-Internet time frame. Three and a half stars.

Comments

[minaloush.livejournal.com]

i read this like.....ten years ago...quite enjoyed it. there are a couple other you could seek out if you wanted.

[devichan.livejournal.com]

I really loved this book. It's a very clear-eyed look at some of the problems of the pagan community as a whole, when you look beyond the set-up murder plot, and it impressed me. The third book actually shocked me, which is rare. It may not do that for everyone, but I was floored.

[annathepiper]

I know, actually, but thanks! This is actually a re-read, not a new book to me; I've had Books 1 and 2 of the Bast Mysteries for some time. Book 3 I just got as a library checkout, and I wanted to re-read 1 and 2 before I get to 3.

[annathepiper]

I'm re-reading 1 and 2 to get to Book 3, which is one of the things I have checked out from the library. Interesting to know. I'll be sure to note if I'm shocked too. ;)