Circle of Five

I picked up this book based on a recommendation posted to a reading list, and boy, am I glad I did! Riccio's wonderful & wacky cast of characters eased into my heart as easily as a group of old friends, and the Wiccan aspect of the story integrated seamlessly into the plot itself. A masterful debut by an author I have since added to my "Buy or Die" list. **Highly** recommended.

I have to say that this is the best new author I've read in some time. I enjoyed this book very much. The story was well put together while the personalities are all people that you can easily relate to. Most of us have at least one friend we can see in one of these people. She also does a beautiful job of handling the wicca element. I'm now on the second book of the series with the same characters. PLEASE, keep them coming.

If I could recommend only one book to read this year, Circle of Five would be it. From the beginning introduction to Cass, the main character, this mystery winds its way through a charmed friendship between five women, who dabble in magic and mystical spells. This mutual interest leads them in the direction of the case of a missing boy. Sometimes warm and funny, sometimes suspensful, but always riveting, this is a book you don't want to miss. I'm pleased to see that Ms. Riccio has written another novel that should be published soon.

Riccio's Circle of Five revolves around the main character, Cassandra Shipton, and it's written in the first person, which I always find facinating. Cass is in her early forties, I think, and in the year or so since her divorce joined a women's reading group. This reading group, after some study on myth and religion, turned into a small Wiccan coven. The five women are at different stages in their lives and have such different interests, yet are able to work magick together quite effectively. Cassandra has visions of a sort, and this book follows her way through tracking down a killer of young boys. Besides the search to find and capture this killer, her life is portrayed realistically as she befriends a native american boy, and find love in the arms of a nomadic man.I was immediately drawn to this book. It's Riccio's debut novel. It portrays Wiccans SO realistically, that Riccio MUST be Wiccan herself, or very close to a Wiccan. They cast circles, whitelight people, create amulets, and gave me some new insight and ideas. It's not like, "Charmed," where everything is supernatural and unrealistic. It's very low-key, but realistic. Women leading truly magickal lives. And what's even better, is it looks as though there is a sequel being created...

In Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, Cassandra Sipton belongs to a Wiccan with four other women. Cass sells Earthline Herbal Preparations and Cruelty Free Cosmetics while living with her dog Scruffy. One day while shopping at the supermarket, her cart crashes into that of a guy with a green cap on. Seeing a vision of a dead boy, she senses an evil essence inside of the smiling Green Cap.Cass tells her four friends what she felt and they conduct a séance in which they shock themselves and make contact. While walking with Scruffy in nearby Jenkins Woods, the canine finds a child's key chain with a name on it of that of a boy who vanished without a trace. Cass and her Wiccan friends believe the Green Cap is the serial killer of that child and must be stopped even if it means risking their lives by using their tyro level powers.CIRCLE OF FIVE is figuratively and literally an enchanting relationship crime drama. The magical story line grips the audience from the beginning when the truck driver kills the little boy while whistling a tune from Gypsy. The five women especially Cass are a delightful quintet struggling with their new powers (sort of like the Greatest American Hero) and the impact that has on their friendships. They work through all this while teaming up to try to capture a killer with no one to help them. Dolores Stewart Riccio provides fans with a bewitching tale and the audience will return to see what happens next in CHARMED CIRCLE. Harriet Klausner