The Bowl of Night: A Bast Mystery
Those wacky Wiccans return in the third Bast mystery (after Speak Daggers to Her and Book of Moons). Bast (aka Karen Hightower) has to sift through a cast of suspects?mostly witches and assorted neopagans?when murder mars the annual HallowFest, a pagan weekend held at Paradise Lake in upstate New York. Accompanying her is ceremonial magician Julian Fletcher, Bast's "lust-object" and co-worker at The Serpent's Truth, an occult bookstore in New York City. They plan to attend some workshops and sell store merchandise, but all that changes when Bast discovers the body of Reverend Jackson Harm, a universally unpopular anti-pagan fanatic, near the campsite. Harm's murder appears to be part of an ancient ritual. But is one of the pagan attendees responsible or is someone being framed? Edghill relays necessary background on the Wiccans and keeps a smooth pace. But the real entertainment here comes from the characters, including Klingons in full regalia, the knife-selling Ironshadow and local police Lieutenant Wayne, who salutes his famous namesake (think Bruce) by sporting a bat pin. While the murderer is a disappointingly easy pick, Bast's personal dilemmas, from love life to coven choice, give texture to the tale, which rides along on the eccentricities and quirks of the characters and setting.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.