The Bowl of Night: A Bast Mystery

Bast is back, in The Bowl of Night! The one-of-a-kind heroine from Edghill's two previous mysteries, Speak Daggers to Her and Book of Moons, returns in a bewitching new mystery set in the world of today's New Age community. Hallowfest, an outdoor pagan festival held every October in upstate New York, attracts all kinds of people, not to mention a few curious onlookers and the occasional protester. But when a local resident is mysteriously murdered, Bast (a.k.a. Karen Hightower) finds that her suspects include several modern-day witches, an enigmatic magician, a gun-toting survivalist, a dominatrix, and incorrigible ex-boyfriend, and even a few would-be Klingons. Can Bast discover which witch dunit--before the entire festival falls under a cloud of suspicion?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From Publishers Weekly

Those wacky Wiccans return in the third Bast mystery (after Speak Daggers to Her and Book of Moons). Bast (aka Karen Hightower) has to sift through a cast of suspects?mostly witches and assorted neopagans?when murder mars the annual HallowFest, a pagan weekend held at Paradise Lake in upstate New York. Accompanying her is ceremonial magician Julian Fletcher, Bast's "lust-object" and co-worker at The Serpent's Truth, an occult bookstore in New York City. They plan to attend some workshops and sell store merchandise, but all that changes when Bast discovers the body of Reverend Jackson Harm, a universally unpopular anti-pagan fanatic, near the campsite. Harm's murder appears to be part of an ancient ritual. But is one of the pagan attendees responsible or is someone being framed? Edghill relays necessary background on the Wiccans and keeps a smooth pace. But the real entertainment here comes from the characters, including Klingons in full regalia, the knife-selling Ironshadow and local police Lieutenant Wayne, who salutes his famous namesake (think Bruce) by sporting a bat pin. While the murderer is a disappointingly easy pick, Bast's personal dilemmas, from love life to coven choice, give texture to the tale, which rides along on the eccentricities and quirks of the characters and setting. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Ever wonder how Witches feel about the commercialization of Halloween? Surrounded by cheesy costumes and candy corn, New York Witches betake themselves to the annual HallowFest at Paradise Lake Campground in lovely Gotham County, where they share fellowship and spells with other NeoPagans, and where Bast, formerly of Changing Coven, finally enjoys a tender passage with Ceremonial Magician Julian Fletcher. In fact, it would be a perfect weekend if it weren't for the ritual murder of Rev. Jackson Harm, a fanatic who's come to picket the Festival (``Satan's Handmaids!'' read his handouts) and remains, even in death, to threaten its harmony. Bast finds herself at odds with some of her most obvious allies--former swain Lark, Festival organizer Maidjene, and Wyler Pascoe, a local cop's son who wants to be a Witch--before stumbling over the obvious solution. The most tightly focused of Bast's three adventures (Book of Moons, 1995, etc.), though in every way the least mysterious. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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