Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for this eARC of Witch 13

When I saw the front cover of this I was interested, when I read the synopsis I was intrigued.
The story revolves around Sheriff Sterling Marsh, who from what I could piece together had her own issues and was leaving the force. Her last night at the station promised to be one that she wouldn't forget (or possibly could - I'm not sure) after a bizarre event that saw her taking a "Witch" into custody.
From there the bizarre events unravel and we snowball into a world of confusion and apprehension.

The writing style was that of descriptive proportions and I felt it was a little bit much at times. There's 42 chapters and I felt 41 of them were spent building everything up just for chapter 42 to change it all.

I did enjoy the read as it built up my apprehensive state but I felt deflated at the end. I have more questions than answers - though the book ended with a confirmative ending.
I feel reflecting back, I still have a lot of confusion and I still don't know why everything happened.

My rating for this novel is 3.5 stars because the premise is there but it left me with too many "whys"

This was rather gothic. I don't know why it is put under LGBTQIA, because there was nothing LGBTQIA about it. Plain hetero. Unless if the author is implying there is something between the Sheriff and the witch, which there wasn't by the way, then it is not LGBTQIA.


The story was hard to get in at first but then things started to escalate and well, that was interesting. Though I believe the plot wasn't well built. All those disappearing children and no investigations and the police system was so weak. Character build-up wasn't exploited as well either, though the sheriff's character was explained thoroughly, in all her POVs and others' POV on her.


What I didn't understand was the ending, without giving spoilers, it just didn't make sense. Yes, it is good and a little twist to beguile someone, but again, it is about the explore of that plot on the MC that left so many things unsaid and unanswered.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review

Nope. Not my cup of tea. This was bogged down by far too much narrative. I was so bored, waiting and waiting for something to happen.

This one wasn’t for me. It was just too long. The writing was okay but there was a lot of information and I ended up skim reading most of it. I was just bored for most of it. I enjoyed the spookiness of it and the lgbt aspect but other than that it just wasn’t for me, I wish it was because the premise was so good.

On the eve of her resignation, Sheriff Sterling Marsh prepares for a bleak winter in Drybell, Connecticut, after a string of bad decisions leaves her life in shambles. Two weeks before Christmas and expecting a long night of paperwork and quiet celebration with the friends she’s grown to know and love, she’s surprised when an unnerving stranger appears in the form of a witch.

Great book. Interesting characters. Wonderful artwork. Scary and compelling. A++++

Sinister, unnerving and definitely the result of what happens if you read fairytales backwards on a full moon. Witch 13 is one of those stories that quite literally gives you goosebumps and makes you double check the door is locked just one more time.

With beautiful illustrations, this was not only visually appealing but was fully of visceral descriptive world-building that was captivating and transporting. Taking the horrendously overdone cliches like the dark windy night and the woman working alone and turning them on their head, transforming them into violently haunting horror,

“Witch 13” by Patrick Delaney is intense, unsettling, bizarre, and unpredictable. This is one of those spooky horror stories that dig deep into the human psyche to understand what it is that makes people afraid and how those fears can be used against them. For those who enjoy a gruesome and terrifying novel that will make their skin crawl, this is a perfect read!

On the eve of her resignation, Sterling Marsh’s celebration with her co-workers goes awry when a stranger comes to town and disrupts the peace. Even though Sterling cannot pin down why she gets the heebie-jeebies from this stranger, she knows there’s something off about them. Maybe it’s the fact they don’t talk, or blink, or hardly even move unless prompted. Or maybe it’s due to the fact they wear a black pointed hat and a witch’s garb that sends off warning signals.

When Sterling takes them to the station to hold them for questioning, her co-workers begin to drop like flies. Though she can’t explain how it’s all connected to the witch when they’re locked up in a cell, she knows they’re responsible. If Sterling doesn’t put a stop to this witch, she worries their power will extend beyond the station, and it won’t be just her workmates who will suffer from the witch’s wrath.

"Witch 13" was brilliantly executed! (Excuse the pun). Delaney brings back the fascination people have of witches, along with their admiration and fear of them. This awe that surrounds their power and existence, along with the chilling recognization that they are ancient creatures beyond this realm is astoundingly realistic in this novel. Delaney plays up the fantasy in the gory bits but remains true to the longstanding history of what people have always believed witches to be (with a little spin on it, of course).

The witch is at the center of the story and is likely the most captivating character due to the dark vibes she exudes. It’s hard to say much about this figure without giving too much away, but readers will definitely share in Sterling’s fear of going insane as rationality (there is no proof the witch is scheming against the town) and gut instinct (that the witch is definitely pulling the strings) duel throughout the novel.

Readers will enjoy the characters in this novel who are diverse and come with their own slew of issues—probably why they’re easy prey. It’s easy to be drawn into the storyline when there is a lot of intrigue around the cast and how they affect the chaos that ensues in the tiny town.

As far as witch stories go, Delaney’s is original and thought-provoking. There is a lot of psychology that goes into the creation of the characters that makes them multi-faceted but at the same time, their complexity adds to the horror that permeates the story. Sterling and her fellow co-workers’ fears, desires, ambitions, and regrets become exposed and they will fall prey to their weaknesses.

This is a story that must be read! It’s terrifying, intense, and highly addictive. “Witch 13” by Patrick Delaney is set to be published on May 3rd, 2022. Make sure to save the date and add it to your reading lists so you can read it the second it’s available!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Oblivion Publishing, and the author for providing me with a free e-arc of "Witch 13" and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review!

This is my first book by Patrick Delaney courtesy of NetGalley, and it was such a fun ride.
This story follows Sheriff Sterling Marsh who is finishing up her last shift before laying down her badge. The book mostly sticks with Sterling, but it has a few other characters you experience throughout the night. There are some truly creepy scenes, and from the first moment you know something is off with the Witch- but you just don't know what. This is a small sleepy town full of superstition and one rainy night they lose all communication. The book has some great illustrations scattered throughout that help really tie in the story together.

This was a light read, but Patrick Delenay did not live up to the first chapter's potential! I really wanted to like this but can’t leave it more than three stars!

This is a good book for any horror fan. I felt lost a couple of times but that's probably due to my reading style. This would be awesome to have an audiobook release for those readers who enjoy both at same time.

The first thing I would like to say is this book made me keep the lights on and I couldn't read any of it at night, which for horror is perfect. I don't know what I was expecting for this book other than a bone-chilling witch story. I was initially drawn in by the cover which in this case is perfect for the book and ties in with the illustrations throughout the book which really added to the creep factor of the book. The mind games that are played on the characters were what truly got to me and Delaney did this so well.
One thing I wasn't quite prepared for was how sad Witch 13 would be I want to avoid spoilers but there were elements of this book that choked me up while terrifying me all at once. Sterling is a very grey person and I to the end still can't decide how I feel about her.

Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney is a wonderful romp through a dark and stormy night. I didn't love any of the characters but the tone of the book kept me reading. I love horror and so much has been overdone but this is a nice fresh take on a witch story. I loved it and I hope that Mr. Delaney will be giving us more of these kinds of stories.

Witch 13 is a bloody, violent, unpredictable Holiday tale.
This story was deliciously eerie. The stormy night setting, rather than coming off as cliche, dropped me immediately into the dark mood of the book. Delaney doesn’t stop with visual description. He elegantly infuses all the senses until I was trapped in the setting, unable to put the book down. Everything from the damp, the sounds of the storm, the smells of rot and gingerbread, and the heart-racing experiences created a spider web that wrapped around me and didn’t let go until the end.

The setting and story had me more enthralled than the characters, I have to admit. I rarely pick up books that have cops as main characters but I’m glad I did this one even if I couldn’t really thrum up sympathy for Sterling. I just couldn’t figure out why she felt so hard done by the world. Yes, she is dealing with grief, but honestly, I felt like she was simply the female version of the older jock who was mourning their glory days.
Even Max, who I found to be the most sympathetic of characters, was weirdly written. In one moment he comes off as an older kid who is very smart and good with puzzles. In another moment he is calling his mother “Mommy” which my own 6 year old doesn’t even call me. Delaney does the same with other child characters, like he’s not entirely sure how to write them in their ages and blends the intellect of an older child with the emotional maturity of one very young. I don’t think this was necessary for sympathy or for being terrified of the Witch, since I found myself sympathizing and scared for them despite these discrepancies.

The action and story line in this book, while compelling and exciting, I think would make an even better horror movie. Delaney has a knack for creating a scene that plays in technicolor in my mind. I could watch it play out and was even holding my breath in some moments, wondering what was going to happen. Would they live? How would they die? It was great!
If we ever are blessed by a Witch 13 movie – I could see it brilliantly done either by the makers of Silent Hill or by the studio that gave us Gretel and Hansel (or perhaps a collaboration for the best results). I felt both movies in how this books was written. The cop hero fighting monsters and dealing with interpersonal drama. The gore! And the eerie setting with fairy tale fear sprinkled on top.

Also, I LOVED the illustrations. I couldn’t find the artist name or clarify if Delaney did them himself or if it was the same artist as the cover designer, Ross Nischler, but whoever did them did a fantastic job.

Lastly, I think that Witch 13 would be well loved among the SCP community. For those unaware, SCP stands for Secure. Contain. Protect. The SCP Foundation could easily be the community Bill belongs to and thats all I can say without spoiling too much of the story.

Recommendation

Lovers of Silent Hill, Gretal and Hansel, modern fairy tales, and the SCP Foundation will enjoy this winter tale as much as I have. Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney is an edge-of-your-seat ride into horror.

I just reviewed witch13. A good and creepy book with an unsettling eerie atmosphere and a scary character.

398.2 Fiction and fairy tales.

Witch 13 could quite easily be put into the fairy tale category. It encompasses many fairy tale traits. It has a good versus evil theme, magical elements, a near impossible puzzle to solve, a forest, a castle and of course gingerbread. But this is no ordinary fairy tale, certainly not one you would tell to a youngster safely tucked in their bed eagerly awaiting their bedtime story.

I was given the opportunity to read this novel through NetGalley with permission from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book by the title and cover art. I am a bit of a sucker for a good scare. I was not disappointed.

Delaney weaves his tale of storms and witches with great skill drawing you in with his every word. He is able to bring you face to face with the challenges set for Stirling on her last day on the force in such a way that you are with her every step of the way.

While I cannot fault Delaney in putting the reader front and centre in the action I will admit at times it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The decisions of the main characters were very questionable. While I was mentally berating the characters and wanting to put this book down in disgust for their poor choices I found it difficult to stop reading, just like trying not to watch a drunken friend take that monumental tumble, only not as funny.

Unlike your classic fairy tale this one has a twist. A twist of such colossal proportions it will leave you speechless.

Regardless of wanting to shake some sense into the characters I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will be on the lookout for Patrick Delaney's previous titles and would recommend this to anyone that likes an edge of your seat thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley, Oblivion Publishing, and Patrick Delaney for providing me with an ARC of Witch 13 in exchange for an honest review! I requested this book so quickly when I saw the beautiful cover, the spooky description, and the LGBTQIA tag. The story ended up going in a different direction than I anticipated, leaning more into traditional horror (with a dash of Lovecraftian horror in the second half). It was just so much fun!

The story follows Sheriff Sterling Marsh as she finishes her last shift before leaving her job. It’s close to Christmas, so she’s expecting a pretty laid-back night as she attends a holiday goodbye party with her co-workers. Unfortunately, things take an unexpected turn when strange happenings pop up throughout their small town. At the heart of it all is a witch. The witch refuses to speak and barely moves, but there’s a menacing air surrounding her. Why has she come into town, and what exactly is she capable of?

There’s been a recent trend in contemporary fiction to write about witches who readers want to root for, but this book does not follow suit. The witch is very creepy, and you learn little to nothing about her until the end of the novel. It’s so unnerving to read along, because you know there’s something not right about her… but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. I was on the edge of my seat wondering when she’d truly come out of her stoic shell.

I’m a picky reader, but I enjoyed Witch 13! I’ve been dipping my toes into cosmic horror in recent months, and this book helped to scratch my itch for a weird, spooky read. I think my favorite part was just how entertaining it was. The characters are mostly stuck in a police station with the witch. So, there’s a locked room mystery, as worse and worse things keep happening. This is certainly not a cozy, calm read— it’s got scares, gore, and lots of deaths written in very unique ways. I found that really fun and easy to get into, but I don’t necessarily think it’s for everyone.

I liked Delaney’s writing. He does a great job of describing situations so you feel like you’re right there with the characters. I could hear the rain rattling the windows and see the lightning illuminating the walls of the police station. In a horror novel, having strong imagery is essential to pulling off the scares. There are a couple deliciously creepy scenes that almost gave me goosebumps. He also writes the characters well— they feel fully developed and fleshed out.

The book mostly sticks with Sterling, but the perspective does occasionally shift to other characters as they face different experiences. I liked pretty much all of the characters, except Chase (he was such a jerk!). Sterling is fairly morally grey, but I appreciated having a queer protagonist and empathized with some of her struggles. The other side characters also had unique personalities, and it was easy to get invested in them as you learned more about their lives. Everyone felt real.

It’s not a perfect book, but all of the twists and scares outweighed the negatives for me. Some parts in the first half are slow. The beginning is good, because it sets everything up, but it takes awhile to get to the action with the witch. Some chapters felt repetitive, especially while the characters were still sitting around the police station. I questioned the timeline sometimes, because so much happened within like 12 hours. Maybe time stamps on the chapters would have helped keep things clearer about what was happening when.

Also, this is more of a minor complaint, but there were so many metaphors and similes used. The descriptions were so lovely without them that they felt unnecessary. Near the end, I was getting a little tired of reading "like" and "as" every other paragraph.

All in all, though, I had a great time reading this novel! Horror that actually embraces the supernatural is so much fun for me. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Stephen King or other dark horror writers. It would be a perfect Halloween pick, as it reads just like a horror film. I’ll definitely pick up other books by Patrick Delaney in the future. It looks like his novels are in the same universe, so I want to read more to see if I can get a few questions answered.

4 out of 5 stars.

P.S. It has great illustrations that appear every few chapters! Some of them are quite chilling.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley but the reviews below are my own.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but it wasn't this, I was pretty impressed. It gave me similar feelings to watching a horror movie. The parts full of action had me glues to my kindle, the lulls had me begging these idiots to leave.

I took one star because I figured out the end about 30% through.

I love the inclusion of the pictures every so often. Every timeI was graced with one I was amazed at how well it matched up to the image the authors words built in my head.

The deaths were gruesome and exactly what the story called for.

Over all great book if you like horror or thrillers.

Brilliant, creepy and addictive. A fantastic horror story, that chills you to the bone. It is full of brilliant twists and turns. A must read.

“Cleanup on aisle five”

On her final shift Sheriff Sterling Marsh hopes for a quiet night of paperwork and celebrating with her friends/work colleagues. Fate however has other plans when she arrests a witch. This night is going to be one she will never forget!

I stumbled across this book by accident, I’d never heard of the author before and simply tried my luck based on the description. I’m really glad I did, what a fun book it turned out to be. The prose was fantastic giving enough description for me to really imagine the world Patrick wanted me to see. There were some really nice twists and troupes on familiar genres. I almost wanted to know more about certain parts of the story (which I’ll probably reach out to the author to see if he is going to touch on in future books).
I didn’t find this book scary but that’s not a knock on this book as I’m rarely scared by horror these days sadly (although I’m always on the look out for something that might!!). I think other people will find this book unnerving.
All in all I’d definitely recommend checking this book out and will be checking out Patrick’s back catalogue!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishing house for a chance to read an ARC of this book! Witch 13 is a hauntingly dark read full of twists and turns--really great read!