A Resistance of Witches
In this accomplished debut set in 1940, outwardly unimpressive Lydia Polk is such a talented young witch that the headmistress of Britain’s Royal Academy of Witches has chosen to mentor her. But Lydia’s world is abruptly shattered when a witch sent by the Third Reich breaches the impregnable barriers of the Academy and brutally murders the headmistress. There is clearly a traitor within the Academy, but Lydia soon discovers that the senior members of the Academy have little interest in tracking her down. The elder witches’ reluctance is arguably justified by the years of persecution they have borne at the hands of the British government, but the murdered headmistress believed it was more important for the witches join in resisting the looming threat of the Third Reich. When Lydia discovers that the assassin also stole a dangerous book, the Grimorium Bellum, she must travel alone to the heart of occupied France, where she finds allies and a touch of romance.
Rebecca Gagne joined the French resistance when the rest of her family was sent to the death camps. Henry Boudreau is a handsome Haitian American curator who also commands supernatural powers. Together, the three must face an evil that is equally supernatural and all too real. Ryan expertly navigates the delicate balance between carefully researched historicity and occult fantasy, and the result is a rousing story as well as a touching exploration of the bonds between mothers and daughters. Highly recommended.
