Water Witch [Mass Market Paperback]

Deborah LeBlanc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2008

Dunny knew from an early age what it meant to be an outsider. Her special abilities earned her many names, like freak and water witch. So she vowed to keep her powers a secret. Now, though, her talents may be the only hope for two missing children. A young boy and girl have vanished, feared lost in the mysterious bayous of Louisiana. But they didnt just disappear; they were taken. By something far more dangerous than the ghosts and spirits living in the swamp. Something with very special plans for the childrenand for anyone who dares to interfere . . .

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the best new voices in modern horror. --Cemetery Dance

It's now official: Deborah LeBlanc has become a master not only of good spooky stories, but also of crafting great characters to fill them. --The Horror Fiction Review --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843960396
• ISBN-13: 978-0843960396
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay story undone by bad ending, October 13, 2008

By 

mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Water Witch (Mass Market Paperback)

When you think of horror and Louisiana, the big name that comes to mind has to be Anne Rice. Now that she's retired more-or-less from the genre, there is room for another person to become the Queen of Louisiana Horror. Deborah LeBlanc has the right background and with her latest book, Water Witch, she continues to try and claim the title.

The title character is Dunny Pollock, a woman with a special gift: she was born with an extra finger that gives her the ability to find certain things: water, oil and living things. It's a power with consequences, primarily being treated as a freak. As an adult, she has kept this ability a secret, but her sister Angelle needs Dunny's help to find two missing children.

The two children have been kidnapped by Olm who is one-third (?) Pawnee and is intent on using ancient Indian lore to invoke spirits and gain great power. Unfortunately, his attempts so far have only resulted in the coming of malicious ghosts who prey on him and the local townspeople, but he feels that if he sacrifices the children, he can set things right. Dunny's powers will be useful, but they might not be enough to stop Olm.

Overall, LeBlanc's writing is decent though not exceptional. She does a good job at bringing Louisiana to life (though compared to the masterful James Lee Burke (who works in a different genre), she's clearly in second place). The big failing in the book, however, is the conclusion. To avoid spoiling anything, it should be enough to say that just when things look like they are going one way, characters appear out of nowhere to reverse the situation. It's actually amazing that LeBlanc - an accomplished author with several other books under her belt - would stoop to such a deus ex machina.

Because of the bad ending, this low-four star book loses a star. There are other flaws in the story as well, but they are minor in comparison. I guess it's a good book until the end, but good conclusions are critical, and this one falls so short, I can't recommend it. Look elsewhere for your horror.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Horror for the 13 and up crew, October 5, 2008

By 

Ravenskya "Princess of Horror" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Water Witch (Mass Market Paperback)

How does a normal woman get along when she has a supernatural ability? Say you have a sixth finger on your left hand and it really likes helping you find things? Things like missing cats or oil hidden underground... suddenly people look at you in a new light, as an object to help them amass their fortunes. So you hide away in your little house in Texas, thinking everything is going to be fine until your sister in Louisiana calls... suddenly you are flying to the bayou to help look for two missing children who are in a lot more trouble than anyone expects.

Water Witch is a very fast read, at just under 300 pages, you will fly through it in only a few hours. Leblanc's prose is clean, crisp, to the point and ridiculously easy to read. Though I wouldn't call this a YA novel, I don't see any reason why the 13 and up crew shouldn't be able to read this apart from a few profanities. This is one of the few Leisure Books that I have read which has not drifted into the realms of sex and gore... not that it felt like Leblanc was holding back... instead her tale was tight enough not to ever need to go there. I won't say that the book ever scared me... because for some reason you feel from the beginning that the characters we are encouraged to love as readers, will all be okay in the end.

I will say that there were some perplexing bits that were left unexplained in the end, but it really didn't bother me. I would have liked a little more explanation on where the shoes were going... but in the end it was still a satisfying read. I would recommend this more to the female reader than the male reader. I'm not 100% sure why I feel this way, I can only say that the prose seems to be the type that will connect more with a female audience.

The characters feel real enough, even though we really don't have the opportunity to really get to know any of them. Even the people down at the local bar/diner/bait and tackle shop seem real enough. The only one that I was never able to get a true handle on was our bad guy. Perhaps we feel that we don't really know them because we don't get a whole lot of history on anyone. I don't believe that the book suffered from this aspect, but it read so fast that perhaps a bit more history would have slowed the reader down a bit.

On the whole this was a very solid and fun book to read, you have the supernatural touch, the unwilling hero, the crazy old grandma who knows more than she's letting on, the swamps, snakes, alligators, kidnapped children, crazy preachers, and the big baddie who has foul plans for the little ones. Though I won't say this was one of my favorite books, this was a fun read that has encouraged me to pick up more books by Leblanc in the future.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genuine, authentic scares, October 31, 2008

By 

John Palisano (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Water Witch (Kindle Edition)

We are transported to a weird place where a man named Olm has called forth truly frightening spirits accidentaly. This story stuck to me and got me jumpy during the day. There is nowhere safe. There are also amazing people populating this story, especially a pair of unnaturally insightful ladies. inspired and enriching.