2014 Novel Series #2: Witches

I probably should have written this last month (since I finished it last month) but I got distracted or something. This is book 2 of the year: started in February and finished in March, book four of a 13 part series.

Witches is like it's counter-parts: Face Snatcher, Hangings, and Dryer and deals with the same team of officers who are assigned to solve the weird-arse crimes. Anyway, onwards:

Genre: Mystery/Thriller fiction (I found out last month that Crime Fiction comes from the POV of the criminal. These don't but for the prologue so it's mystery. I've always sucked at genre-ing my fiction...)

Word Count: 70,056

Prompt: Salem Witch Trials. Yeah, that is as bad as it sounds.

Main Characters: James Reeves, Mia Liu, Lucy McGregor, Michael Brown, and our killer.

Minor Characters of Note: Patterson, Chief of Police, who still doesn't have a first name. Samantha Sumner.

Summation: James talks to two people who came in reporting their friends missing. Turns out the people are Wiccans and their friends are later found burned at the stake. Then things get all sorts of funky.

High Points: The Wiccans perform a ceremony (or two) in front of James and Mia. The ending because the epilogue for this sets in motion the changes that happen in the next book.

Low Points: If I said it then I'd completely spoil the ending. So there.

The World: Ours.

Memorable Lines:

"You know this could be nothing, right?" Carol asked.
"I know. But something doesn't seem right." James answered.
"What do you mean?" Carol questioned.
James let out a breath and shook his head. It was the came kind of feeling he had when he first saw the pictures of the first two victims in the College Hanger case. it was the same feeling he had when he saw Emily Henderson's faceless body and walked into the Clean Brite Laundromat to see Melissa Pope's limbs.
"It's a feeling I've got. This is not going to be a normal case." James said. (Cuz he's physic you know...ha)

"It helped, yes. Claire and Abigail are dead. Someone burned them at the stake."

"I always wanted to camp in an SUV in the middle of nowhere during autumn." Lucy said.
She was still digging as she spoke but hadn't turned to look at him yet.
"Really?" James asked in wonder.
"No. Sarcasm James, learn it." Lucy said with a snort.

"I kind of hate that I was right and this thing is bigger than two missing people. We're going to have another serial killer on our hands."

"We can help if you want." James offered.
"And let you get your suit dirty? That'd be mean." McGregor said. (A/N: James and Mia are Lucy's friends so they refer to her by first name. When it's her POV scene, Lucy refers to herself as McGregor because she keeps her personal life (Lucy) and work life (McGregor) separate in her mind to better handle cutting up the dead and such.)

"Enter the lair, leave your souls at the door, and you'd better have cool offerings because the dragon-god is bored."

"I hope to Hell you're not allergic to anything." Mia said.
"Nope, well except outside. I don't like outside." Brown (hacker) told her.

"If you know that, why are you here?"
"Formality. And a chocolate chip muffin."
(a bit later)
"All that from a simple conversation about a chocolate chip muffin."
"It was a good muffin."

The only thing worse than telling parents their child was dead was telling parents their child was the reason other people's children were dead.