Customer Reviews

Water Witch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Ms. LeBlanc has a tremendous way with words. Being on the edge of my seat was only one thing I dealt with. It was gruesome at times in detail but reminded myself it was a thriller horror after all. Nothing ever felt like over the top or too much, it all seemed to fit well in the story line. She creates characters that you not only feel but see in a way. The villains are real people not just looking for an end to their means. It didn't make it any easier to read and I didn't empathize but felt more human and not perfect.

Dunny truly wants to help. It is in her entire being yet she doesn't want to be used. She wants to be appreciated for who she is all of her not just the part that has powers. Angelle is scared of what is going on but knows that her sister Dunny can be helpful to the children's disappearance or at least she hopes that will be the case. Angelle is young and wants the best for all. Poochie is a sweet woman who lives with Angelle and her husband Trevor. She is a wise woman that I grew to love throughout the story. She believed and accepted Dunny as she is. That was a huge part of the story.

This book was difficult to read at times but I had to find out if the children were going to be found. The villain in the story was determined to get his mission completed. The power described in this book is one not to touch ever! It always reminds me to be careful of what I do and say in this world. Without warning you can unleash things beyond our comprehension. Ms. LeBlanc does a fantastic job and I may read more of her work eventually.

Water Witch is the story of Dunny, an ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift. She has the power to find things that are lost or hidden....car keys, water, wallets, as well as missing people and animals. The only drawback is that her ability is tied to an extra digit on her left hand, which she feels compelled to keep hidden with the use of gloves. That, and the fact that there are numerous people who ostracize her for her gift or wish to use it for their own gain, like finding oil on their property.

For these very reasons Dunny has hidden herself away in her ancestral home in Texas where she is blessed to work as a freelance writer. The job doesn't pay much but she enjoys what she is doing and is able to live off the interest of a somewhat sizeable account left to her by her grandparents who squirreled away their fortune after having discovered oil on their land, thanks to Dunny, a few years before their deaths.

Having given up on the hope for love, a husband, and a family of her own, Dunny has consigned herself to devoting time to her writing and caring for, in her own way, a strange dog that wanders in and out of her life from time to time. The peculiar thing is that each time Fritter wanders into her life something bad happens. The first time she met him, she discovered a brushfire near her home, the second time she was in a minor car accident. With Fritter's latest appearance, Dunny gets an urgent phone call from her sister, Angelle.

Angelle resides in a small town in Louisiana with her husband, Travis, and earns a living as a school teacher. Not only one, but two of Angelle's students have disappeared and it seems that only Dunny's power of dowsing can bring them back, that is, if it isn't already too late. Dunny's become comfortable with her life and fears being ostracized in yet another town and so she's reluctant to come to her sister's aid. However, she senses that there is more to Angelle's story, and there is, than what she is saying. Eventually, against her and Fritter's better judgment, she goes to Louisiana to attempt to find the children.

What follows is a supernatural tale of good versus evil with not only the lives, but also the souls, of two precious children hanging in the balance. With the support of her sister and insight of Poochie, who has more power than even she knows, Dunny must overcome her own fears and insecurities in order to embrace her special gifts to combat a madman who is perverting the sacred rituals of his ancestors for his own gain and bring those children home safely.

At just under 300 pages, Water Witch is a quick read. The author's easy style makes the story seem to jump off the page. Though we are not privy to a great deal of backstory or history of the characters, they felt like real people to me, their thought processes and actions didn't seem contrived just to move the story along. Leblanc does an excellent job of allowing the reader to think that he or she has discovered the villain's true identity, only to surprise us with an unexpected twist. I especially like the character of Poochie and her interactions with the other characters as the plot unfolds. However, sensitive readers may find the liberal use of the "F" word unsavory, as well as her quoting one of Demi Moore's most famous line from the motion picture GI Jane. Nonetheless, given the circumstances the characters find themselves in you can't fault them for a few profanities. I also found the author's inclusion of folk beliefs native to Louisiana delightful, the feux fo lais for example.

There were a few plot points that I found puzzling such as what happened to the shoes in Poochie's prayer-tree and who exactly were the shadowy beings haunting the villain? Even with these questions somewhat unexplained, it didn't detract from the story and I found myself wanting the story to continue. I would love to have seen Dunny explore the full extent of her powers. Did they begin and end at dowsing, or did she have the potential to be a "witch" in every sense of the word? Given what occurs at the end of the book concerning the source of Dunny's powers, as well as a budding romance, I wonder if a sequel will be forthcoming. If so, I would gladly escape into Dunny's world for a few more hours and would invite you to come along......

Dunny Pollock of Cyler, Texas knew she was different from childhood. She had an extra appendage on one hand that allowed her to see what others could not. Unfortunately, as people tend to do when someone is considered different, they unmercifully harassed her, calling her names such as freak and water witch. She did what most people would probably do and that is remain hidden on her farm. Along the way a dog she named Fritter joined her, a dog who had his own special powers.

Dunny was doing fine until she received a call from her sister Angelle who lived in Louisiana. Angelle asked Dunny to come to the rescue of two missing children. Reluctantly, Dunny joins her sister in the bayous.

The swamps are filled with spirits, ghosts, and danger. Dunny soon realizes that the children didn't disappear on their own, but were kidnapped by an evil man named Olm. She meets many of the local characters and travels deeper than she should into the swamps. How Dunny handles various situations as she attempts to find and rescue the children carries the rest of the story.

Although I was looking forward to reading this book, I was gravely disappointed in how difficult it was to get into the storyline. Having heard about Deborah LaBlanc's novels, I expected much more from the award winning author than I received.

"After soaking his father with three gallons of gasoline, Olm lit a match and tossed it ..." How's that for the very first sentence in Water Witch. Right from the very first page, you know this tale is not for the squeamish.

Tell me, is that not an opening sentence that jolts? But terror and suspense are what Water Witch is all about. As the story begins, Olm is a Pawnee Indian who is offering the body of his dead father to Tirawa in order that this god of the spirit world will instill in him, all the knowledge and particularly the powers of his warrior-like ancestors.

But Olm is mad. In his crazed mind, he stupidly decides to overwhelm Tirawa to make certain the god will grant his wish to become powerful, rich, attractive, and abundant with knowledge.

In addition to the body of his dead father, he will offer Tirawa the life of a young girl and boy by slowly burying them alive. He lures the two into his car then forcibly takes them to a remote area on an island-like plateau deep in the densely tangled swamps of a Louisiana Bayou.

Olm buries the two horrified children in holes up to their waists with their hands shackled behind them. Bit by bit for several days, he fills the two holes with sludge-like swamp mucous so that the terrified children can see what will eventually happen: the slimy goo imprisoning them will eventually cover their faces.

Demented Olm believes that the more the children scream and suffer; the better will be his offering. He must keep them alive for several days to complete what he thinks is his sacred tryst with Tirawa. The children must urinate and defecate in place. Olm gives them only occasional drinks of murky water.

In Water Witch, Dunny Pollock is summoned by her sister to remote Bayou Crow, a tiny town in Louisiana, to help locals find the two missing children. Dunny is extremely intelligent. She has psychic abilities due to a freak of nature. Dunny has always managed to hide a sixth finger on her left hand. She simply folds it inward under her other fingers or wears gloves.

Dunny is nicknamed the "Water Witch" because certain feelings in her sixth finger allow her to find hidden water sources. It also burns, or throbs, or aches, or twitches in some peculiar way, when danger or death is nearby.

Dunny's sister convinces her to set out into the forboden swamps hoping her psychic finger will help locate the two missing young children--a seven year old boy and a girl who is eight. The hazardous swamps are filled with alligators, crocodiles, a variety of snakes and other vile swamp creatures that lurk in the night.

As one might imagine, horriffic incidents happen to these two sleuths. As they draw near a bayou plateau in their aluminum outboard, they see the leg of a gutted dead woman caught on a Cyprus tree root. Their outboard dies as their small craft floats toward the corpse knocking it loose. In a panicked attempt to start their motor, Dunny's sister slips, hits her forehead on the motor housing, and plunges overboard--unconscious.

Although Dunny cannot swim, she jumps into the teeming water. She must save her sister even though the bloated body of the dead woman surfaces beside her and the boat. Dunny gets a mouthful of water, some of which contains the decomposing hair of the dead woman.

Needless to say, I shall go no further in describing the horrifying events authored in Water Witch. If you are a reader who loves ghastly macabre stories involving grotesquely described details that will chill you to the core, read Deborah LeBlanc's latest thriller.

In addition to Dunny and her sister, there are other characters who might have appeared in Michael Jackson's "Thriller." There is elderly Poochie who can never stop talking, but who occasionally shrills out like a bingo caller: "B-6," or "N-37." She tends a purgatory tree in her back yard where tied-together shoes hang over its limbs.

There is preacher Rusty Woodward whom Dunny describes as definitely a "cuckoo," a real "Fruit Loop." This wooden headed idiot claims that the two missing kids are lost in the Bayou, suffering punishment from a wrathful God. There is Beeno, an incompetent police officer; Sook and Vern; and Pork Chop; all characters Dunny met at a grocery/bar aptly named The Bloody Bucket.

Although horror stories are not my usual read, there was something uncanny about this grisly tale that made me keep going and going. It was as if I didn't want to turn the pages, but I had to. I had to find out about the suffering children. My curiosity might have come from many years of teaching kids who, in spite of their oft stated bravado, are really vulnerable at heart.

Imagine being stuck in a hole in which a madman dumps buckets of filthy slime every so many hours. You know your nose and mouth will eventually be covered. As an adult in that situation, I would be crazed, shouting, screaming, probably dead from sheer fright. The terror of these two kids is unbelieveable.

As a result, I would recommend Water Witch to those readers who are looking not only for a very clever read, but also are capable of bearing terrifying descriptions, unimaginable mental torture, and a grotesquely demented human being, Olm.

What happens to him, to the two kids, to Dunny and her sister, and to the other witchy characters in Bayou Crow I will leave to your imagination until you pick up a copy of Water Witch and read it for yourself.

Review written by Regis Schilken

Author of:

Tears of Deceit

Other fascinating stories:

High Order

Voices From the Heart

The Shimmer

You think you had it rough as a kid trying to fit in but try walking in Dunny's shoes. It seems the more she tries to extinguish her powers and live a normal life, something happens and she is the only one who can make things right. When a couple of kids vanish from thin air, Dunny has to decide what is more important, staying under the radar or saving two lives.

Talk about suspense! I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book. Another must-have author.

Water Witch

by Deborah LeBlanc

Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

October 2008

ISBN: 978-0-8439-6039-6

290 pages

Horror

Paperback

Dunny Pollock is a recluse. A woman with a special gift, she was born with an extra finger which finds things. All her life, people have tried to use her to their advantage. Now she must come out of hiding to help her sister.

Something or someone has loosed malevolent spirits upon the small town of Bayou Crow, Louisiana. Her sister is being abused and two children have disappeared. With the help of a strange old Cajun woman, Dunny must overcome her fear of discovery and do what's right. But she's never tried to find ghosts. And how on earth can she hope to save two youngsters from the evil hiding them deep in the ancient swamp?

I always research authors and their books before commenting on their work. The two main reviews I read concerning Water Witch were less than kind. Having read the book from cover to cover, I feel these pieces were both unfair and inaccurate.

One reviewer complained about a quick and unexpected end to the main conflict. Tough! Not all battles must be long and drawn out. In fact, in real life (which fiction should at least mirror), physical confrontations are usually brutal and quick.

There were also complaints about character development and questions left unanswered. Both these criticisms are unfounded. Yes, LeBlanc leaves a whole area of conflict alone when she ends the story, but one of the main characters had already speculated this problem would disappear when the antagonist was taken out of action. Other related issues existed in the realm of the unknown and unknowable: why would a professional explain such mysteries away? As for character development? I think the hack reviewer missed the whole point of the novel!

Water Witch is a realistic look into madness and what makes us individuals. It's also a solid and entertaining horror story. The horror was understated and presented in a believable way. I could see all of the scenes clearly in my mind's eye. I also identified with the characters, even the tortured soul who was the villain.

Believe the review excerpts inside the front book cover, folks. Deborah LeBlanc is a storyteller of high caliber.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Dunny was born with a special gift of an extra finger. This finger is unique because it is like a third eye. You could also say that Dunny's abilities are a curse. She has been called many names and that is why she is pretty much a loner. Two children have been kidnapped. Dunny has been called to help. She travels down to the swampy backwaters of the bayous of Louisiana. Dunny soon learns that the children's kidnapping is connected with an old ancient Indian ritual.

Water Witch is the first book I have read by this author. Readers may not realize it but location or background setting does help play a part in telling a story. In the case of this book, the location of Louisiana really set the mood for this story. I found Dunny's finger to be very creepy in a good way. While the setting and the unique characteristics of Dunny were interesting it wasn't enough to keep my interest the whole way though the book. I am glad I did give this book a try as I will try another Deborah LaBlanc book again maybe in the near future.