The shape-shifting Morgans and Haskell witches emerged battered but triumphant from the final showdown against the sorcerer Tupash in 2005's Dragon's Eye
, but something
survived that battle and is back for more blood in this imaginative sequel, set in the contemporary village of Stonefort, Maine. When the corpse of a young woman—the first of several—turns up in the woods, Stonefort cop Kate Rowley mistakes it for her dead teenage daughter, Jackie, whose ghost continues to haunt her. Dan Morgan, who's most comfortable in the shape of a seal, and his brother, Ben, worry that the punk girlfriend of Ben's son, Gary, is connected with the murders. But Kate and her lover, Alice Haskell, with the help of Alice's niece, Caroline, learn that Tupash's dark force has taken over Jackie's body in a bid for power. Hetley's fresh, skillful sequel will whet fans' appetites for more magical episodes in the Morgan and Haskell story. (Nov.)
