The second installment in Sherri L. Dodd’s paranormal mystery series, MOONSET ON DESERT SANDS picks up a year after the harrowing events of the previous book. Even if readers drop into this one first, the author does a good job of clueing everyone in on the previous lore and the conflicts that have led to Arista and her beloved Auntie fleeing to Sedona, Arizona. After a brush with a serial killer, their coven’s family heirloom (a priceless athame with untold power) is missing, and the threat of Arista’s villainous, power-hungry Uncle Fergus still looms. Arista has been left adrift by the sudden change of scenery while she grapples with her role as a prophesied witch who’s just beginning to come into her powers.
As with any paranormal mystery—and this one is on the darker side of cozy—characters are key, and MOONSET ON DESERT SANDS has a whole cast full of eccentric personalities. Some are more likable than others, of course—Arista’s Auntie is a bit of a spitfire, but she’s also a wizened, guiding presence who has acted as Arista’s sole parent for a long time. Her newest co-worker at the coven’s crystal shop, Stevie, lends his boisterous personality to balance out her often even-keeled, reserved demeanor. Even the cats—because it isn’t a witchy story without them—have their own quirks, and Arista either wrangling them or finding solace in their presence is deeply relatable.
The settings themselves become characters, from Sedona’s famous red rock desert vistas to the scrubby desert sands of Flagstaff to the forested Boulder Creek and its towering redwoods. Easy-to-read prose makes these places and characters vivid with descriptions that engage the reader, like this one: “She cracked the window and let her lungs fill with fresh, cool air. Her eyes drank in the lush evergreen upon the rich, dark red bark. Majestic like the monuments of Sedona, yet so full of life, their branches waved at her with the help of the autumn wind in a warm welcome home.” Sometimes there’s a bit too much of them, but they’re often humorous, too, bringing a little levity to the more serious conflicts. The witchy mysticism that suffuses this book, from rituals to teas, is well-researched and explained. Sometimes the story gets a bit carried away with the minutia of the metaphysical taking precedence over Arista’s own emerging powers, but it’s interesting to learn about their witchy practices.
There’s a lot going on in this novel, and while some plot points tie up nicely, the execution of certain aspects is somewhat lacking. A half dozen or so point-of-view characters take valuable page time away from the main story, and some of the transitions between plot points feel choppy. The biggest issue is that Arista is too passive throughout her own narrative and doesn’t go through much character growth. She barely ends up using her powers (or even understanding them), and she only has more trauma piled on her from things that happen either to herself or to those she cares about. With so much build-up between her and her uncle, the actual confrontation is a letdown that’s unsatisfying for Arista’s character development as a witchy “chosen one.”
That said, the book does tease a new conflict on the horizon—so the potential for Arista to finally grow as a witch is there for the next installment.
Through a veil of mysticism and cozy tea-drinking perfect for an autumn night, Sherri L. Dodd’s MOONSET ON DESERT SANDS offers a quirky cast of characters set against dreamy natural landscapes.
~Jessie Thomas for IndieReader