The Thirteen by Susie Moloney

In The Thirteen, Paula Wittmore returns home to Haven Woods with her young daughter, Rowan. Paula's mother, Audra, has recently become ill and the two want to visit her. What they doesn't know is that Audra's friends need Paula to return with Rowan to complete their little group and to appease their dark side.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I should state up front that this is not my preferred genre. I've only read a handful of paranormal books in the past and I don't think I loved any of them. Having said that, I liked the first part of the book where the witchcraft was merely suggested or hinted at...just a few unusual things happening. The rest was left up to my imagination. However, later on it got into the incantations as well as some "icky" stuff, which I didn't enjoy as much.

I liked Moloney's storytelling style. She revealed the details slowly and carefully, which added a lot of suspense of the story. A couple of times, though, it came across as a little too cryptic and I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. There were a couple of passages that were awkward and a few that I didn't like at all, but overall it was pretty well written.

The description on the back of the book "The Witches of Eastwick meets Desperate Housewives" was somewhat accurate, only I didn't find the book all that funny. Maybe the humour was so subtle or dark that I didn't quite catch it. Whatever the reason, the humour, which I know exists because I've read about it in other reviews, apparently went right over my head. Also, parts of it seemed a little predictable and the story contained a few clichés that had me rolling my eyes. Only later did I realize that maybe those were the funny bits that I thought I missed. Sometimes I tend to take things too seriously. Really, I have a sense of humour. I just hide it really well.

While this really wasn't the book for me, I think paranormal fans, with a sense of humour, will enjoy it.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author, please visit Susie Moloney's website.

This book was a win from the Editorial Board Survey I filled out from those nice people over at Booklounge.ca (Random House). Thanks!

The Thirteen by Susie Moloney, Random House Canada, ©2011. ISBN 9780679313816(Uncorrected proof), 328p.