I've mentioned similar thoughts before but Masterton is kind of underappreciated. Or maybe more accurately, he doesn't get mentioned or included in as many lists of horror authors as I would expect. He's written a significant number of books but somehow he still gets skipped over. Maybe it's just my library though as I don't have as many books by him as I would expect. THE 5TH WITCH is another strong book by him. Not great but still good and very much in the vein of a good '80s horror book.

The book starts incredibly strong and jumps straight into the action. A trio of witches have come to Los Angeles and teamed up with three different mob gangs. Immediately the witches make their presence known by killing detectives and civilians, by strong-arming the Chief of Police and by making Homicide Detective Dan Fisher spit up thirty dollars worth of quarters. As Detective Fisher gets pulled into the weird happenings, he's fortunate to have Annie, a good witch, as a downstairs neighbor. She convinces him of the reality of the magic and then helps him to thwart the trio of witches and the additional witch who is assisting the trio.

First the good. The characters were all interesting and enjoyable. I could picture the events as they happened and they made me cringe, smile and wince. The story moved quickly and kept me engaged. Several of the times that I stopped reading for the day was because I was too tired or I had to do something else. In other words, I didn't want to stop but had to. Now, not really the bad but the convenient. It struck me as a tad convenient that the main character needed a witch to help fight the evil witches and that he happened to live right upstairs from one. Sure, that's the nature of books like this but it was a tad convenient. The same was true that she had enough power to fight the witches. Yes, it was part of the suspension of disbelief for the book but it also struck me as a tad easy. I was hoping for a bit more confrontation for the final act of the book. Something a bit more dramatic. Masterton kept it within the reality of the book and there was even some mystery that wasn't resolved until the end but I was hoping for a tad more. Still, I wouldn't ding the book based on that. I was pulled into the book enough that I started creating my own storylines and ideas. That's got to be a good sign. ( )

The 5th Witch is a bit of a departure from some of Graham Masterton’s other work. It’s slick and stylish and highly engaging. The novel starts off with a group of crime czars attempting to take over Los Angeles with the aid of an ancient witch. She is aided by three other witches who support the crime lords in their quest to conquer the city. Standing opposed to them is Homicide detective Dan Fisher, and his neighbor Annie Conjure, who is a good witch. Dan is haunted by his wife who had died three years earlier. Dan faces a monumental challenge in taking on both the crime bosses and the witches.

This is a highly enjoyable, fast paced novel. Although it is ostensibly a horror novel, there are strong thriller elements to it as well. Graham Masterton weaves through both of these worlds with a high skill level. My only quibble was that Annie’s role in the story was telegraphed and pretty easy to see, so when the reveal came there was no real surprise to it. The story is well-plotted, well-written and thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend reading it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

Detective Dan Fisher is convinced that the recent deaths and strange occurances in Los Angeles are being cause by black magic. Specifically, but 4 women that are working with the worst of the organized crime bosses to control the city by fear. Along with his partner Eddie and witchy friend, Annie, he takes on the task of destroying these witches and their control over his city.

I liked this book. It was ickier than I like, a lot of blood and maggots. However, it is very readable and I was interested enough to ignore the gore. This is straight action horror, nothing is left to the imagination. ( )