Back to Salem (A Jessie Mercer Mystery) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "At first, it was so faint, it was barely noticeable, and then the soft whispers intensified..." (more)
Key Phrases: river bags, inner canyon, other rafts, Taylor Andrews, Detective Bradley, Kurk Warner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A POTENT witches' brew of romantic mystery. A NAIL-BITING tale of how love can last through the ages." -- InsightOut Book Club (February 2002)

"Alex's ability to tell a good mystery was as good as any Sue Grafton book ... interesting twists and turns." -- AGLP Newsletter, Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists ( April 2002)

"Back to Salem is one of the most engrossing, imaginative, suspenseful and revealing novels written in the last fifty years!" -- Richard Fuller, Metaphysical Reviews, Summer 2002

"Back to Salem is the perfect combination of metaphysics, mystery, love and adventure." -- Murder on the Woo Woo Express, Summer 2002

"Page-turner of a mystery. SPELLBINDING. Perhaps the recall of a past life doesn't release someone from its influence." -- Venture Inward, Magazine of the A.R.E./The Edgar Cayce Foundation (March/April 2002)

GENDER-BENDING THRILLER. Marcoux is AN EXCEPTIONAL NEW TALENT that definitely should be read in this lifetime. -- Paul J. Willis, Executive Director, Lambda Literary

REFRESHING, FULL OF UNEXPECTED TWISTS . . . guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very end. FILLED WITH INTRIGUE AND SECRET PASSIONS. -- Sherry L. Stinson, Editor, OutLook Press

Product Description

Jessie Mercer has it all—fame, fortune, and a best-selling novel being made into a major motion picture starring the alluring Taylor Andrews. When disturbing, real-life events begin mimicking the movie's plot, Jessie and Taylor find themselves drawn into a cosmic web of passion, treachery, and deception that began centuries ago! As the terror mounts, Jessie realizes she is the target and must go back—all the way back to Salem, where answers to the mystery unfold—before the evil from the past destroys her!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harrington Park Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560232250
• ISBN-13: 978-1560232254
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,592,184 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The past holds the key, September 23, 2001

By	"foxglove" (Washington State USA) - See all my reviews

I couldn't put "Back To Salem" down until I finished reading it! It's a romantic mystery with lots of plot twists and turns. Past lives in Salem, during the witch trials, hold the key to breaking the cycle of evil for Taylor and Jessie. A cliff hanger of a story until the very end! ...

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Treat, May 5, 2002

By	Samantha Harris (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I was expecting the typical lesbian mystery when I bought Back to Salem. Instead, I found a rare treat - a very creative and original story! Although complex in character and plot, the author pulls it off and keeps the pages turning. This one re-established my faith in lesbian fiction. I would recommend this one to anyone (straight or gay), unless you're looking for sex every chapter. Very intimate, romantic, tastefully done, and of course a great whodunit!

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Others have done it better, March 21, 2002

By	Aunt Charlie (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Salem (Hardcover)

After reading Alex Marcoux's Facades, I was really looking forward to her new book. But Back to Salem doesn't live up to the promise of Facades. Marcoux's plot is exciting with lots of twists and most of her characters are realistic. But I just didn't buy some of the elements of Back to Salem. I don't have to like all the characters in any book (disliking a villain, is part of the fun); but, as reviewer MJ Lowe mentioned, I was bothered by Taylor's "I'm not gay, I just love Jessie" thing. In Facades, Marcoux was willing to deal with tough issues about being a closeted lesbian as well as abuse issues. I can't understand why nobody confronts Taylor about it.

Generally, I think Salem does work better as a mystery than as a fantasy. The mystical elements aren't very well done. The "Salem connection" was okay, but I think the Isis connection doesn't fit historically in Salem. If Marcoux meant to imply a third reincarnation cycle, it didn't come across.

Frankly, the reincarnation theme has been done much better, with lesbian characters, by the likes of Laura Adams with the first of her Tunnel of Light novels, Sleight of Hand (the second of this series, Seeds of Fire is due out summer 2002). Or for that matter by Sarah Dreher with her Stoner McTavish mystery series which manages to be much more charming with Stoner as the "closet" psychic wondering through time, incarnations, and realities. None of these are "formula" novels with predetermined sex scenes either.