Review: Thought Provoking and An Intriging  But Dark Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 12, 2014
This book appeared in the results in a search for a mind blowing, gory horror story.  Although not what I was looking for I decided to read it."Witch Water" is one of those books where one has to rely more upon their own instinct, the book's description on the product page and personal preferences rather than relying too heavily on the reviews of others.  That is what I do 95% of the time anyway when selecting a book to read. However, I think it is especially prudent in the case of "Witch Water."  I almost didn't read it but now I'm glad that I did.  This is not a horror, IMO, as we usually think of a "horror" novel sure there are some extremely diabolical atrocities historically recounted in this story, but the real horror lies in self-destruction, choosing between dark and light and choosing between good and evil.  What is the worth of a "soul"?  What lies in one's "heart"?  Do I actions really reflect the true nature of our "heart," i.e. one's true self?Personally, I classify this book as a paranormal, psychological thriller but it's all subjective.  The plot is unique and distributing.  The character development is spot on.  The pace of the story is medium most of the time but I think this pace is appropriate for this story.  Despite being an avid reader, generally, I bore easily and hate slow moving storylines, but in this case the book's pace just seemed to fit the story's tone so it worked for me.  The story contains witchcraft, recollections of particularly heinous satanic rituals, recollections of incest, a couple of explicit sex acts, 1 rape scene(but not overly explicit), grave desecration and recollections of unspeakable methods of punishing and executing those accused of witches, warlocks or otherwise servants of satan, mystery and some action.  The level of violence depicted herein is NOT for adults with delicate sensibilities.As one other reviewer note, I liked Stew Fanshawe and found myself pulling for him.  Although, not the ending I personally hoped for I could appreciate the ending's artistic merit.  This is the first book by Lee that I've read but I gather that most of his work in this genre tends to be dark so I'll have to get over my HEA mentality in order to appreciate and enjoy his work.  Overall, I did enjoy this book and in a sense found it creepy,dark, disturbing and sad but definitely not shallow.  I plan to check out some of Lee's other books.  Do I recommend it? Yes.  However, I also realize that one really has to have an open mind, a strong constitution, and an able to see the metaphors in the macabre, as well as, the interpretations of the word "horror" to really appreciate it.  Enjoy!!!