Dream Stalker

Content warnings: suicide, addiction and abuse.

The start of the story feels a little confusing and doesn't hook you, which I feel is sort of really important in books. But as the story progresses, it starts getting more interesting.

After that start, I hadn't expected much from the book, but it managed to surprise me. The story managed to pull me in just a couple chapters in.

The witch culture, the history of Dream Walkers, and the concept of fighting crimes by Dream Walking have got so much potential. I've always been interested in pagan culture and this book was such a good way to cater to that curiosity.

The concept of the Dream Stalker plaguing the shadow land wasn't explored much here, and the book focused more on the murder mystery aspect of the plot. It's not a downside, but it was different. I'm expecting it'd be expanded upon in the sequels.

I loved how the book dealt with human loneliness and the complexity of relationships. Relationships between a mother and daughter, between two sisters, between friends, creating your own family and rekindling old connections.

It also portrayed how grief stays with you, how a person, even after death, doesn't really leave your life.

There's a dog too! I fell in love with him the instant I met him, and who doesn't like dogs?

The thriller part of the book sucks you in, keeps you reading, you just need to know what's going to happen next. The way everything starts going downhill and how Lily deals with it.

The writing style wasn't exceptional, but it was straight to the point and engaging. The book picks up pace in the last quarter, but manages not to feel rushed.

Overall, I actually really liked the book. A murder mystery with some supernatural elements. I'm looking forward to learning more about Dream Walkers and other witch lore from this universe. And also a few other things that had been hinted upon at the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book and the idea of the dream stalkers. I hope the author continues this world because they left the door open for it to continue into a series. I thought the plot was laid out well and it moved along nicely and kept you engaged throughout the story.

Lily Scott is a witch, living in Salem, and estranged from her family. But when her daughter Sarah is wrongly accused of murder, she leaps in to action to help her, even if it means dream walking again. Having barely survived her last attempt, as a teenager, it’s not something she really wants to do but must if she is to find the real killer.

Yet another twist on this fantasy genre, which is great. Even set in Salem this still feels fresh. It’s a proper who dunnit with a nicely plotted story, well written and enjoyable, with a magical bent. Lily is a great character, not your typical fantasy heroine, which is refreshing. A middle aged mum doing what she can to survive. Slightly slow start, but speeds up nicely. Enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it. Although, in my opinion, the bad guy was a bit obvious, it did not impact my enjoyment of the book

The heroine of this cozy mystery is different. She’s a middle-aged, widowed, somewhat wealthy, Wiccan. She also has a sister who is a Catholic nun. The sisters are estranged, but willing to help each other out, and they grow closer over the course of the book. That was an interesting situation to me.
Also this novel takes place during Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts. Setting is important to me and that is quite well done here. It’s not overblown, but is well-used. I liked the historical explanation of Dead Horse Beach and I didn’t get a chance to have a chop suey sandwich when I visited a few years ago.
This book is planned to be the first in a series. Everything was resolved- it’s not a cliffhanger- but I was left with enough interest in its characters to be eager to read further.
I received a free copy of the mystery. This is my honest opinion. I enjoyed the book!

Lily is a contemporary Salem witch who descends from a long line of witches born with the power to walk into other people's dreams to fight crime. But her disastrous first dream-walk almost killed her, and she vowed never to repeat the painful experience.

Now her daughter is falsely accused of murder, and the only way to clear her would be for Lily to enter the dreaming mind of the real killer, risking confrontation with the deadly Dream Stalker.

Dream Stalker was exactly what I was itching for in my witchy fiction recently..

I really enjoyed that our heroine for this story is somewhat unconventional; she’s an adult , widowed, financially stable, Wiccan. It was also intriguing that she has a sister who follows a different path . The estranged family dynamic allowed for us as readers to see character progression as the two were willing to assist each other and mend their bond over the course of the story.

I would have liked to have a non Salem setting as it is a more than slightly cliche but even this was utilized to great effect.

Dream Stalker by Nancy Gardner is well set up to be the first in a series focused on an adult witch descended from a long line of witches bearing the same gifts as herself. I would recommend this book both to those who enjoy mysteries with a slight supernatural twist and to those who enjoy magical books with a dash of realistic setting.

Lily is a Modern-day witch who denies her true calling of dream walking. After a tragic magical mishap, Lily becomes estranged from her family. The story started years after the events with Lily being middle age and estranged from her daughter. I found this to be a truly gripping tale of finding oneself and mending family rifts, all while crime fighting. Some aspects made me shake my head. The daughter, I figured her problem out right away. I pegged the lousy person at about 70 percent. I read it all in one day—uncomplicated writing with personable characters.