The Sorcerer's Circle (Hardcover)

by Michael Siverling (Author)
Key Phrases: Anna Addison, Elijah Messenger, River City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Set in River City, Calif., this fun follow-up to Siverling's debut, The Sterling Inheritance (2004), finds the peerless mother-and-son PI team of Victoria and Jason Wilder investigating the murder of self-proclaimed psychic Elijah Messenger. Plagued by a premonition that someone is about to kill him, Wilder seeks help from Jason, who turns him down. The next day Wilder is stabbed to death in a cult ritual gone awry. Jason gets a chance to make up for his misplaced skepticism when he and his mom are hired by River City's mayor, Vincent Addison, to locate his daughter, Anna. An acolyte of Elijah's, Anna fled the scene of the crime and is a prime suspect. Propelled by Jason's glib, 20-something voice, the mystery moves at top speed along some great twists and turns as Jason and Victoria seek to uncover Elijah's true identity and the motivations of his faithful followers. (Dec.)
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Review
"[An] engaging first mystery... This look[s] like the start of a promising series." - Publishers Weekly on The Sterling Inheritance"

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (December 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312361920
• ISBN-13: 978-0312361921
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #911,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining well written crime caper, December 16, 2006

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

His mother is the owner of the Midnight Investigation Agency in which Jason is an operative. One day as he is ready to go home, a man appears telling him the River City police sent him there because they couldn't help him. He insists someone is trying to kill him. Jason concludes the man is a flake and gets rid of him. Jason later learns that the potential client died while performing a magical ritual with four other people in attendance.

One of the participants is Anna Addison, a client's daughter and owner of the knife that killed Elijah Messenger. She ran from the scene so her father hires the Midnight Investigation Agency to clear her name as she is the police's prime suspect. While investigating the "mystic", Jason discovers the man is a scam artist, bilking people out of their life savings. Each member of the inner circle had reasons to kill him, but Jason needs to figure out who did the deed.

The more Jason questions people close to the deceased, the more it seems that Anne is guilty; yet he and his mother believe the evidence is too perfect and tidy. The relationship between mother and son is quirky and humorous and it is beautiful to see how close they are to one another, which adds to an entertaining well written crime caper.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great detective story!, December 3, 2007

By	BookNerd "S." (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

"The Sorcerer's Circle' is a story about a P.I. Detective named Jason Wilder, that is part of a team of investigators at the Midnight Investigations Agency.
Jason is closing up the office for the night when a man named Elijah Messenger comes to the office of the Midnight Agency looking for some help. Elijah feels that someone is going to kill him, and he asks Jason to help him. This begins an exciting story that solves the mystery.
This is the first book that I have read from Michael Siverling. I did not read his first book, but I really liked this story. This story is a true 'whodunit' mystery, that kept me reading until the end to find out who did what. I found that this book moved along at a good pace, and I never found it boring. This story is not about witchcraft or sorcery, although he did talk about a few elements. This story is about a murder that was committed in River City.
I liked the style of Micheal's writing, and there were quite a few times that I laughed at some of the witty remarks. I would recommend this book to those that like true mystery stories, and that are looking for something not as lengthy to read. I didn't feel that I had to read the first book to understand this story, which was nice. I liked the characters, and I thought they were portrayed as you might expect.
I would gladly read other stories by Michael Siverling!

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 7, 2007

By	Jeanne "Mystery Lover" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Though not so terrible I had to stop reading, The Sorcerer's Circle left me wondering how Siverling's first book won the PWA award. The characters, except for the murderer who seems like a real person, are like cartoons. I was waiting for Jason to break out the decoder ring and voila, he's got a magnetic ring he wears to be able to fire his gun. Mommy and uncles are portrayed a little too powerfully; I never worried about Jason clearing Anna or surviving his search. I kept reading to see the plot unfold. But I didn't really care about Jason or even Anna, the Mayor's daughter. The novel brought to mind images of Batman, but I gave it 2 stars because I found the mystery of the murder -- the how and why -- intriguing.