I finished The 5th Witch quite awhile ago. This one was fun, but also disappointing because it fell into Twilight syndrome. It provided a bunch of secondary characters that were far more interesting than the primary characters. I wanted to know more about the three modern "villain" witches, yet we got more of the Salem witch and the "good" witch. I would read backstory novels for those three witches in a second.
A Terrible Beauty (AKA: Katie Maguire) was published in 2002 and Masterton didn't continue the series until 11 years later. This was republished as White Bones and then the series continued with several other volumes (and still continues now). I have 2, 3 and 4 incoming, so I'll get to those eventually, but I figured I'd talk about this one now. Most of what I read by Masterton is horror, but this is crime/horror. It's mostly realistic with one bit where maybe something supernatural happened, but maybe it didn't. The folkloric element is nice and kept me reading. That's what it takes to get me into a crime book. I need a horror or folklore connection. I can't read straight up crime unless it's Stephen King or something. Katie is a strong, complex character and I like seeing a female detective at work. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her series.
I also read five out of six of the main Masterton short story collections. I'll list each collection, its year of publication and my favorite stories.
Fortnight of Fear (1994): Changeling, Saint Joan. Changeling I have read before in one of the Hot Blood series and it's quite good.
Flights of Fear (1995): Probably the strongest overall collection. J.R.E. Ponsford, The Taking of Mr. Bill, Rug, Will, The Heart of Helen Day and The Jajouka Scarab were my faves. Jajouka I've read before in a Hot Blood book. It's great. I love how Masterton uses folklore, mythology and history so creatively. The Taking of Mr. Bill involves Peter Pan. Will is about William Shakespeare and his deal with one of the Elder Gods. Yes, really.
Faces of Fear (1996): This is the one I don't have yet, but it contains The Secret Shih-Tan, which is my fave Masterton thing ever, so I thought I'd mention it.
Feelings of Fear (2000): Another solid collection. Lolicia, Heroine, Saving Grace, Cold Turkey and Picnic at Lac du Sang are my faves. Picnic and Heroine were in Hot Blood books. both are very good. Saving Grace is touching. It bears a slight similarity to J.R.E. Ponsford, but it's better.
Festival of Fear (2012): I used this volume for the picture, because I liked the cover best. Fave stories are The Press, Anka, Reflection of Evil and Son of Beast.
Figures of Fear (2014): Ex-Voto, The Night Hider (the origin of Narnia), Spirits of the Age (Queen Victoria) and Witch-Compass (this should have been a Tales from the Crypt).
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