The Silver Rose

By Susan Carroll

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Good witches, bad witches, thwarted love and dark queens: such is the romantic landscape of the third novel in Susan Carroll’s trilogy featuring the “Sisters of Faire Isle,” three wise women known for their mystical abilities. Set in 16th-century France, The Silver Rose belongs to Miri Cheney, the gentlest of the trio, whose healing skills and ability to see the future label her as a witch – not a good thing when the man who holds Miri’s heart is Simon Aristide, the notorious witch-hunter responsible for the Cheney clan’s exile from Brittany.

But it’s now 1585, and a wiser Simon returns to Brittany seeking Miri’s help: a sinister coven of witches loyal to the mysterious woman known as the Silver Rose means to destroy the queen of France, Catherine de’ Medici. A devotee of the black arts, Catherine is determined to have the so-called Book of Shadows so she might unlock its dangerous secrets.

Highly entertaining, The Silver Rose provides a captivating look at Renaissance France. Intrigued by Carroll’s portrayal of Catherine de’Medici’s interest in necromancy, I turned to the latest biography of the woman history sometimes calls the Black Queen. And yes, Catherine did earn that dark reputation.