Overall I really enjoyed Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard. The main character, Natalie Lockhart, is strong, brave, independent and overall very likable. The plot was interesting and fast paced. The twist at the end (because there's always a twist) was not predictable and really elevated the story. My only criticism was that there was a little too much witchcraft going on in the town of Burning Lake, New York. It seemed that every female character dabbled in the dark arts at some point during their teenage years. One could say that the plot was The Craft meets popular cop/detective show... which isn't necessarily a bad thing. With that said, I was very entertained while reading this novel, the story was solid, the cover is beautiful (love the colors and typography) and I would definitely recommend this book.