What an odd book! In some ways, it was a cozy mystery as our librarian main character, Sherry Pinkwhistle, solves the numerous murders that take place in her small town. To begin with, I was satisfied to go with the flow. After all, we often laugh about how many of these crimes happen in small fictional towns. Why should Winesap be any different? Even when the demon showed up, I didn't take it very seriously. After all, possessing a cat named Sir Thomas Cromwell isn't really very impressively evil, is it?
My opinion changed when Sherry's boyfriend Alan is killed. This is the point when Sherry realizes that she's been treating people's deaths as a game or entertainment, not as the tragedies that they are, and knowing that she has an influential supernatural audience doesn't let her off the hook. The demon tells her in no uncertain terms that she must investigate. Attempts to leave town are thwarted and assistance from outside is deflected.
Waggoner sets Sherry up as a Poirot figure, but she was closer to Jane Marple in my opinion. She's not nearly as nice as everyone around town seems to think. She's actually quite calculating when evaluating those around her. We eventually discover her secret past, however, differentiating her from either Christie detective.
Once the audience is aware that this is a serious matter, things move along briskly. As paranormal crime books go, this one didn't stir up any of my usual reluctance to read after dark. I didn't find it spooky or eerie, despite my tendency to be affected by such things. I took the murders seriously but not the supernatural aspect of the story, I guess. The last bit of the last chapter seems to leave room for another adventure for Sherry in the future and I'd be willing to take it for a spin.
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