A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES - Deborah Harkness
All Souls Trilogy, Book 1
Viking Press
ISBN: 978-0-670-02241-0
February 2011
Paranormal Fantasy

Oxford, England - Present Day

Scholar Diana Bishop is doing what she does and loves best, research for her next paper. Deep in the Oxford Bodleian Library, Diana sits amidst the books and history and revels in the available knowledge. In the course of her research Diana requests a manuscript called Ashmole 782,and her world turns upside down. What Diana's colleagues don't know is that she comes from a long line of powerful witches, a legacy she has denied since the senseless deaths of her parents. But the manuscript brings that ancestry to the forefront when Diana touches it and immediately realizes that it is a magical item. Unfortunately for her, one touch is all that's necessary to set in motion a future she never expected.

Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist and a vampire, is drawn to Diana once she touches the book that has stirred the underworld with its reappearance. Determined to get access to the artifact that has been lost for eons, Matthew watches Diana for his chance and soon realizes that the book is not all he want.

But Matthew is not the only one who wants the book. A whole host of daemons, witches, and vampires start appearing on campus, and some don't intend to play nicely. Diana has to quickly decide whom she trusts as she becomes the center of underworld attention. A vampire and a
witch might be forbidden, but love will never be denied.

A wonderful treasure of adventure, romance and mystery, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is an exciting page-turner. Diana Bishop desperately wants to ignore a large part of her ancestry, but fate isn't about to let her. A strong woman who will need to discover the depth of her courage, Diana has started on a path that was set years before, but the future is her own to write. Love figures heavily in this tale—romance, friendship and familial. It adds a lightness to balance out the dark undertones of the mystery. Matthew is the perfect foil for Diana. He has his own baggage to deal with, but knows almost immediately that Diana is his future.

Secondary characters add background and complexity to the story, and readers will definitely be breathlessly waiting for the second book in the All Souls Trilogy. To enjoy an entertaining addition to the paranormal genre, pick up your copy of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES today.

Kathy