The Witch's Orchard

[cornerofmadness]

The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


How great was it to luck into an arc for a story with a female PI that's not done comedically (nothing wrong with that but I am tired of it). Annie Gore is an interesting character, ex military, coming from an abusive household which is relevant later on. She drives a 50 year old Datsun named Honey (who is practically her own character in this) and is always hocking stuff to survive. She gets a job offer by an 18 year old boy, Max, who wants information on his sister's disappearance.

10 years ago three girls went missing in North Carolina's appalachian region and Max's sister was one of them. He wants Annie because she was raised in Appalachia too and feels she'd understand the area, the people. She reluctantly agrees and drives to NC. Ten years ago one little girl went missing but since she was the daughter of an abusive man and his wife, 'trailer trash' no one did anything. But then another girl is taken, Olivia, who is returned because she's a nonverbal autistic child (and the niece of the now sheriff) and a third child is taken. In place of each of them an apple-headed doll is left (non-relevant fact, those things creeped the hell out of me as a kid)

Annie has no shortage of subjects, the preacher and his wife, the abusive dad and his criminal cousins, the wealthy piano teacher, and the witch in the woods (i.e. old mountain woman who reads tarot and makes herbal remedies who I rather identified with).

What I really liked was the folklore aspect of this. There isn't any real witches but rather the story of her. And like oral storytelling traditions go, the story changes with the storyteller. This witch and her crows and her story is important to the story and I loved that.

I am very much looking forward to Annie, especially since we finally get a mystery in which the investigator doesn't do something idiotic to get in danger for the big exciting climax. It's great to see that because so many of them lean so heavy on the crutch of making them do something dumb to get into trouble. This didn't Annie is competent and empathetic. I liked her very much.



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