It's Sterlings last night as Sheriff & she is reminiscing on the actions that lead to her resignation while being farewell by her staff. But the appearance of a woman dressed like a classic witch in a black dress & pointed hat turns what was suppose to a quiet night into a nightmare.

It starts off creepy & just escalates from there. Right from the first chapter I was hooked right in. Patrick Delaney has created an atmospheric horror story of a witch I would be scared to see any time. Has the classic elements of a raging storm while everyone is confined to one space. You feel the fear & dread whats to come. Has some great bloody scenes. I loved the Witch, she was such a great character who was so menacing while doing very little.

There was an event at the end I wish had been given a bit more explanation to. Other than that enjoy this story & is perfect for curling up with on a cold night or when the rain is falling.

Thank you to Netgalley & Oblivion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for honest review.

This was a good spooky story. Set over one day and night in a small town, the mysterious witch is the centre of strange and horrific events. Things get more and more weird and intense as the night progresses. A good twist at the end, with a possibility for more books to come
Enjoyed it a lot.

I found myself unable to put this book down, and a couple of times thought about not finishing it.
To say I was surprised at how it ended would be an understatement, didn't see it coming,I was left with questions.
Not the usual type of book I normally read, but I did enjoy it.

Holy hell this book was FUN. Witch 13 reads like a movie in the same vein as Autopsy of Jane Doe, Woman in Black, and Blair Witch Project.
The entire book takes place over one night, set mostly inside of a small-town police station. Cut off from the rest of the world due to a raging storm, increasingly strange things happen in the presence of an honest to God witch. Like, with the pointy hat and everything. Despite an almost comical appearance, the witch is absolutely terrifying - an almost Lovecraftian entity capable of leaving pure carnage in her wake.
Although I wasn't huge on the writing - imo, the prose was a tad simplistic and some characters leaned 1-dimensional - the fast-paced story, genuinely creepy scenes, and terrifying antagonist sold me. Did I mention that the witch is terrifying?
This comes out in June, and I think this would be an excellent fun Halloween read.

It started out pretty strong yet soon after it lost its cohesion for me. I liked the inclusion of LGBTQ+ and found the witch intriguing, but none of the other characters drew my interest or empathy (except perhaps Rosa). The pacing was sporadic – sometimes it felt too rushed, other parts seemed slow and not very relevant to plot progression or the storyline. I normally enjoy reading from the viewpoints of various characters but they way many of these characters diverted into their old memories made for a disjointed read. The atmosphere felt very hollow, which was pretty on-point with ongoing themes in the novel. Perhaps part of my problem was that I just couldn’t connect empathetically to Sterling’s character – and I think you need to be able to in order to enjoy this novel.

After reading Silvers Hollow, I marked Patrick Delaney as an author to watch. So when Witch 13 was made available, I jumped at the chance to read it. I found myself once again impressed with the author's writing, character development and overall dark style.

An atmospheric and creepy thriller, Witch 13 starts out with a bang and just keeps the action rolling. Real characters, a strong protagonist and a twist at the end that will make you want to stay the whole thing over saying "What the f-- did I miss?"

Thank you to Netgalley, Oblivion Publishing and of course, the exceedingly talented Patrick Delaney for allowing me the honor of reading this ARC.

All opinions are my own.

Witch 13 is the perfect book for a cold winter night. It is really well-written with great characters. I really enjoyed the plot especially the witch and all the mystery surrounding her. It is pretty gory so prepare yourself.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Witch 13 is a spooky story that takes place in a small town when a storm hits. Weird things start happening, and the local police force, especially soon to be ex-sheriff Sterling Marsh, are confused. Soon, Sterling stumbles upon a woman who looks like a witch straight out of a fairytale. Unfortunately for Sterling and her team, they soon discover that she actually is a witch.

I wish this book was spookier to be honest. There were elements of spooky but I felt like it could've been amped up. There were moments where I didn't want to put the book down, but then also periods of slowness. I also found the end to be a little unsatisfactory.

A creepy dark witch story. Was very unnerving, especially the first chapter. I liked how the story is different from most things that have been released lately and I absolutely loved the illustrations! The illustrations made it feel like I was reading a children's book but knowing full well that the disturbing and gothic atmosphere was far from a children's book. A good read

A huge storm is coming to Drybell, Connecticut, but there are more powerful forces ahead. As Sheriff Sterling Marsh prepares for her last day on the job, and her colleagues gather around her, a woman dressed as a witch makes her way into town, surrounded not only by mystery but by a menacing aura who will soon engulf anyone who crosses her.
Patrick R. Delaney’s latest novel, Witch 13, is a slow-burn police procedural that stars with a extremely creepy scene to then jump to a last-night party in a tiny police station where the reader meets not only the main character, the aforementioned Sheriff Marsh but all the characters in the story, each of them fleshed out in different scenes and flashbacks in order to get to know them better.
I am not a huge fan of slow-burn stories. I like to know the characters, but sometimes their stories drifted long from the main story, and I found myself eager to come back to it, to see the witch breaking havoc. She just had to be on one page in order for the whole chapter to become extremely creepy, which I loved. The author’s writing style shines best when there’s action, so, once the story explodes, the pace changes completely and swallows the reader whole. It is simply impossible to put the book down. Sadly, I am afraid that some readers will not be able to reach this climax, lost somewhere in the valley. To those, I will say to keep up, it is worth it and it all makes sense towards the ending. And to look for the eery pictures, because they also tell the story.

I loved this dark witch story. It was well written with a well executed and creepy storyline and well developed characters. It was so atmospheric and chillingly gothic in its narrative and I loved the cultural nod to other well known witches in literature. I couldnt put this book down and I read it really quickly, I love books about witches and dark and disturbing reads and this combined the two. A really good read.

The first 40% of this book was fantastic! Creepy, with Hanzel and Gretel vibes. I was completely entranced by the story. The middle-end were a little bit off for me. I did love all the creepy illustrations! That was a nice touch that I wasn't expecting. If you like creepy, witchy stories, give this one a try!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Wow, what a book. It has such a great premise, and then the execution made me want to tear my hair out.

I picked this one up from NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, this book was not well written. It's 654 pages when it really should have been 250, 300 at most. This author badly needs an editor to 1. cut out 90% of his adjective use, 2. make sure he uses the same tense throughout a sentence, and 3. just cut out all the extra stuff that he does to "tell" not to "show". It reads like a first-semester-writing-class novel, and that's such a shame since I really wanted to read a story about an evil witch terrorizing a small town by tricking people into killing themselves!

I think I also would have appreciated this story more if it was written from the POV of the witch, and not the constantly-flashbacking-acting-like-a-teen 35-y/o Sheriff. And I mean constantly. Every little thing she encounters makes her remember something from the past. And not in a trauma-survivor way (though that may have been the authors intention), just in a constantly-monologuing-in-my-head kind of way.

The prologue was really great! Well written, creepy without being overt, setting up the premise of the town, the witch, the magic at hand. It wasn't even too wordy.

But then the first chapter started and it was just over the top (without even being fun purple prose or not taking itself seriously. No, this book is taking itself very seriously while being so heavy handed with the metaphors, and the adjectives and the constant over explanations, it's hard to take it seriously).

As an example, here is a new character being introduced:
"She recognized the girl: it was Kayla Grayson, the nineteen-year-old daughter of Danny Grayson, who owned Grayson's market, the one and only grocery supply store in all of Drybell. Kayla had been hired on the second she'd been old enough to get a work permit. Sterling thought the girl was pleasant enough. She'd make polite conversation at the checkout every time she needed anything, whether it be new batteries, spaghetti sauce, or toothpaste. The girl got the job done well enough, although the amount of time she spent on her cellphone was outright alarming, and she didn't have enough common sense to fill a shoebox. Sterling on the other hand, had never been a big fan of modern electronics. She preferred to spend her time outside, exploring the real world. Kayla's father was also co-owner of the Fratelli's Butcher Shop. Sterling would see Kayla some days walking to and fro, hauling bags of meat. Sterling wasn't a vegetarian by any means, but she wasn't big into meat either - much to the chagrin of her mother and father whose traditional English and Indian dishes used meat like nobody's business."

What is even going on in this paragraph? A moment later Sterling saves Kayla's life - lead with that! Don't lead with her entire backstory, half of it things that are about your MC. The other half which are misogynistic or outright wrong (there's a large percentage of Indians who don't eat any meat, in fact the largest percentage in the world of a vegetarian community, and here the author needs to push not only his not-like-other-girls views but also his carnist views).

The book is full of things like this; too much: too much backstory, too much description, too much unnecessary information where less is more. There is tons of telling when there should be focus on action or character work. Any creepiness is completely washed away by the endless boring descriptions of things, flashbacks, using five words when one or two will do. And any interest in the characters is washed away by the constant underlying misogyny and the weird Hail-Corporate insertions (she can't just drink from a water bottle, no, she "quenches her thirst from a Hydro Flask").

It's just too much, and I'm not here for it.

This story is very atmospheric, and definitely gives off creepy, spooky vibes.
A bloody, spooky Christmas ish story??? OK!

The side stories and the non-witch characters didn’t quite work for me, but anytime the witch or the effects of the witch were in a scene, I was hooked. I thought the witch parts of the storyline were brilliant! She was this huge, menacing, but silent presence. The author had a very unique take on a witch story.

Thank you Net Galley and Oblivion Publishing for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

This was so good. The writing was easy to understand that book was interesting to get into. I think that maybe the motivation and actions of the witch were a bit confusing and I didn't really understand the end, but it was still enjoyable. The deaths were really interesting in how they happened and how they were written. I really enjoyed this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4543742531

I thought that the authors writing style is amazing. I was super excited to read this book. The story is different than any others I've read lately, and it gave me a spooky feel. I felt like the story was rushed though while at some points it seemed slow. I was a little confused at the beginning of the book and at the constant switch of characters leading the chapters was a little confusing as well. All together it was a pretty good story that is worth a read.

Loved! I adore any book about witches and the fact that this one has LGBT representation makes it all the better.

Set in a small town in Connecticut, a mysterious witch arrives to wreak havoc on an isolated community. The setting was vivid and engaging, and the illustrations throughout the story made it feel extra atmospheric. The mystery of the witch and her unsettling demeanor made this book difficult to set down, especially as the secrets were revealed. I'm not always a fan of police procedurals, but nevertheless I found this book to be very enjoyable, and would be a great read for lovers of horror and creepy supernatural antagonists!

If your Horror preference is for Implacability, come right over here and peek around this dark, dark corner. Patrick Delaney has a funky expansive locked-room Mystery for you that is rife with Implacable Horror, a locked room that is not just one room, not a castle or an isolated island. No, this is an entire small community in Connecticut! Isolated, here in the 21st century, cut off by an unnatural Storm, technology failing (no telephones, no dispatch radio, connection to outside world destroyed, electricity out), subject to monstrous unimaginable Evil which taunts and torments and is a cosmic puppet master negotiating the lives of unsuspecting trapped humans and wildlife, till one wonders if anyone can, will, survive!

It has been a while since I have read a good evil witch story, so Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney was a treat for me. I loved how the story emerged from an atmospheric and spooky setting…and how the witch was incredibly dangerous. This book has a lot of nods to witches in traditional fairy tales and stories like The Wizard of Oz while maintaining a contemporary setting in Connecticut. This fast-paced supernatural horror novel made for a really fun afternoon read!