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viviselphie Avatar

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Trace of Evil gets a solid 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the story but any of the writing elements could be tightened.


I loved the story. I was pulled in from the moment they celebrate Grace's death anniversary. Natalie was a character that didn't hide much so you were able to really get into her head. The story then unfolds with witchcraft, abuse of nature, murder, and lies. How Natalie deals with each of these are shadowed byGrace so I was glad to see here come full circle by the end of the book.

The writing itself needs some work. The biggest issue is the pacing. The author throws in way too much background in places that slows the story keeps the suspense for building up. I skimmed over many paragraphs because I wanted to follow the plot. The other issue was there was a lot of creative freedom that ignored police procedure. A classic example is handling a voodoo without gloves even though Natalie knows better.
Alice Blanchard has a lot of potential. I want to read more of her work and see her grow into an author.