If you followed the Women of the Otherworld series, you will be familiar with the witch Savannah Levine, daughter of a dark witch and ruthless sorcerer.  Now at 21 she is eager to prove herself as a supernatural PI,  qualified to operate solo.  With her bosses (and guardians) Paige and Lucas on vacation, the new job falls to her.  Savannah roars into the small, rundown town of Columbas, Washington on her motorcycle, immediately attracting attention.  She’s there to find out who murdered Claire Kennedy, a young college student who was in town a mere two weeks before her untimely demise.  Armed with photographs of the crime scene that hint at a supernatural cause, Savannah sets out to find the killer, putting herself and everyone around her in jeopardy.

Savannah is a bold and confident young woman, brimming with self-assurance that borders on arrogance at times.  She has been in love with Adam, her cute, half-demon co-worker since she was 12.  There is a bit of an age gap, a little over a decade and this is perhaps why Adam hasn’t made a move though it’s clear he is crazy about her.   This whodunit is skilfully written and I pegged everyone from town and beyond as a suspect.  I liked Savannah but I thought her brazen and self-possessed demeanour was over the top.  I also found her difficult to relate to and I’m sure a lot of other female readers would too.

Being familiar with Armstrong’s other books in the series I was expecting a lot more romance but it didn’t happen and this came as something as a disappointment.  Savannah goes on a date with Claire’s brother Michael and believes there may be something between them but Adam is never far from her mind.   This runs the other way too as Adam is constantly checking in on her, just typical concern for a younger co-worker or something more?

Even if you haven’t read the other books in the series, Waking the Witch can be enjoyed as a standalone novel but it will spoil storylines and character developments from previous books.  Fast-paced and fun, and with an ending that sends the reader (me) out to the local bookshop to pick up the next book in the series, I can easily recommend this to fans of the supernatural genre.  ***

Check it out on Amazon HERE