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Charmed #28
Mystic Knoll
The Charmed Ones are long overdue for a holiday and in an effort to combine both playtime with a chance to learn about witch heritage, Paige wants to explore their roots in Salem, Massachusetts. Her sisters aren't that keen on the idea, so it's decided that after a quick pass through Salem, they'll spend the rest of the time at the beach. But things don't quite go according to plan and late flights and bad directions land them in a town that desperately needs their help. Of course, there's no such thing as a relaxing holiday when you're a Charmed One!
217 pages
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Diana G. Gallagher
158 books57 followersDiana G. Gallagher was an American author who wrote books for children and young adults. She also wrote the space opera The Alien Dark (1990), but was best known for her tie-in work for television properties including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, Star Trek and The Secret World of Alex Mack, among others.
She was also a prolific filk creator, winning Pegasus Awards in 1986 and ’94. Gallagher won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1988 under the name Diana Gallagher Wu. She sometimes also wrote under the name Diana Burke.
Born in 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, she lived in Florida with her husband, the writer Martin R. Burke, who predeceased her in 2011. Gallagher was married four times; her third marriage was to author William F. Wu (divorced 1990).
Gallagher died December 2, 2021 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75 years of age.
She was also a prolific filk creator, winning Pegasus Awards in 1986 and ’94. Gallagher won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1988 under the name Diana Gallagher Wu. She sometimes also wrote under the name Diana Burke.
Born in 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, she lived in Florida with her husband, the writer Martin R. Burke, who predeceased her in 2011. Gallagher was married four times; her third marriage was to author William F. Wu (divorced 1990).
Gallagher died December 2, 2021 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75 years of age.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 7, 2017
The whole idea behind this book was interesting. Making a combination of more different myths and so on. However that information part as in the thriller part (thriller is to big a word tho) was interesting until the moment they have to save their innocent people. I dislike Nathaniel (but I love the name) but most of all I was happy to see Wyatt and to notice that there is finally no more talk about Paige recently becoming their sisters and all that nonsense. The timeline of the books take much more time than the series does.
January 22, 2023
While on vacation, the Charmed Ones (plus Leo and baby Wyatt), end up off-track, and in a little town at a little bed and breakfast, run by a grandmother and her "cursed" granddaughter. .
This book easily has the most compelling plot out of all of the Charmed novels I've read. During the most suspenseful scene in the book, I couldn't put it down and had to read until I found out how it ended. The characters are generally well written, including the new characters written for this book. Overall, this is one of the better of the Charmed tie-ins.
This book easily has the most compelling plot out of all of the Charmed novels I've read. During the most suspenseful scene in the book, I couldn't put it down and had to read until I found out how it ended. The characters are generally well written, including the new characters written for this book. Overall, this is one of the better of the Charmed tie-ins.
August 30, 2019
I liked how this book took the sisters out of San Fransisco, which is something that doesn't happen much. I wasn't sure what was causing the strange happenings at Mystic Knoll and with Harriett, but I had many suspicions and guesses. Some of the behaviors of the sisters seemed off, mostly with Piper, but on the whole it was pretty well done. I think fans of Charmed would enjoy reading this book.
October 13, 2013
3 stars
By reading the book series, it relived the memory when I was once loved the Charmed TV show. And this book, it was a good read. I'm looking forward hunting for the rest that I have yet read.
Read on your own peril.
By reading the book series, it relived the memory when I was once loved the Charmed TV show. And this book, it was a good read. I'm looking forward hunting for the rest that I have yet read.
Read on your own peril.
March 7, 2024
2,5/5
J’ai bien aimé ce tome, ça changeait un peu, être dans un environnement différemment avec de nouveaux personnages.
Et j’avais vraiment envie de connaître le fin mot de l’histoire.
J’ai bien aimé ce tome, ça changeait un peu, être dans un environnement différemment avec de nouveaux personnages.
Et j’avais vraiment envie de connaître le fin mot de l’histoire.
August 8, 2025
Finally, into season five/season six.
Baby Wyatt is here!!
Paige is working temp jobs, but Phoebe is not an empath just yet, but this book has subtle hints that it is coming around the corner. Leo is still a Whitelighter and no Chris appearance.
Paige thinks the family needs a vacation, but Piper wants to stay close to home just in case there is an emergency at P3 while she is on maternity leave. Also, Piper knows that being Charmed Ones they can never really be on vacation. Another factor is her very powerful son who can turn rubber ducks into real ones and summon doggies from baby books.
Phoebe wants to be there to give advice to her readers but her boss, Elise, thinks she needs to recharge as her last few columns have been lackluster.
Leo is all for it as long as it is something Wyatt can enjoy but Paige is wanting to hit Salem and learn about witchcraft. For the others not so much a thrill but they agree to hit the beaches on the cape after Paige has her fill.
Doesn't start out great as their flight is late and it causes their reservations to be given away since they were not pre-paid. Trying to drive to Salem, Leo gets lost and is not one to backtrack and drives forward to look for a route to get the family back on the road to Salem. Wyatt falls asleep and Piper wants her baby to get some rest, so they find the closest town on the map.
Cairn, New Hampshire is a very small town with one place to provide lodging, the Yankee Bear Inn.
Phoebe and Paige go inside to see if there is a vacancy and meet the owner, an older woman named Ida Thornwood, and her handyman, a young man named Nathaniel Coffey. Ida is a very grouchy old lady who insists they are closed but seems resigned when they mention a baby. She allows them to stay for one night. As Phoebe signs in, a woman in her early twenties comes from the back and is shocked to find people here.
Dressed in a long skirt, flannel shirt and hair up in a bun the girl is named Harriet, and she is Ida's granddaughter. The woman treats her as if she were a child and Phoebe's teeth are set on edge at how cantankerous this woman is to her own family. Later in the evening, Paige comes downstairs to find anything to read and bumps into Nathaniel who has returned to get his backpack.
Paige learns he doesn't live at the inn and that Nathaniel is a grad student in college working on his thesis for a PhD in American Cultural Folklore. Paige notices a pamphlet for a place called Mystic Knoll and he informs her that the people in town believe it has powers as its structure is similar to Stonehenge. Nathaniel doesn't believe in magic but there seems to be some between him and Paige but what could they have once they leave tomorrow?
That night, swarms of bugs hurl themselves against the building and the windows and Paige thinks she heard Harriet scream.
Piper and Leo take Wyatt to go antiquing while Paige plans to take the tour of Mystic Knoll while Phoebe plans to stay behind. A part of her wants to get to know Harriet better but the young woman doesn't get very far out of her shell before Ida is telling Phoebe that parts of the inn are closed to guests. Later in the day, Harriet runs off and Phoebe goes with Nathaniel to find her.
Phoebe learns from Nathaniel that people in the town regard Harriet as the town weirdo as she is prone to erratic behavior. Ida inherited the inn from her late husband and is too old and prideful to take any other job that would have them leaving Cairn. Nathaniel thinks that electromagnetic waves are what cause the behavior and that it comes from Mystic Knoll but from a science standpoint and not supernatural.
In town, Piper and Leo hear gossip that Harriet's mother Abigail died giving birth to her shortly after she "bewitched" her father into killing himself. They say the girl had always been evil with a red birthmark across the side of her face and had earned her father's scorn at birth. Ida was left to raise Harriet all on her own and hasn't had the girl have contact with anyone in six years.
At the park, toads appear and at the inn, Phoebe witnesses a flock of birds hurl themselves against the house and down the chimney inside to swarm about Harriet. Ida beats them away from her frightened granddaughter with a broom and rudely declines any help from Phoebe. On the tour at Mystic Knoll, Paige and others come across hundreds of snakes shedding their skin along the ground of the caves.
It seems the Charmed Ones really can't get away on a vacation because it seems clear that the town has its share of dark secrets. Mystic Knoll is an interesting book and to tell you anything else would be a spoiler but if you like stories of small towns and strange phenomena, this is the perfect book for you.
Baby Wyatt is here!!
Paige is working temp jobs, but Phoebe is not an empath just yet, but this book has subtle hints that it is coming around the corner. Leo is still a Whitelighter and no Chris appearance.
Paige thinks the family needs a vacation, but Piper wants to stay close to home just in case there is an emergency at P3 while she is on maternity leave. Also, Piper knows that being Charmed Ones they can never really be on vacation. Another factor is her very powerful son who can turn rubber ducks into real ones and summon doggies from baby books.
Phoebe wants to be there to give advice to her readers but her boss, Elise, thinks she needs to recharge as her last few columns have been lackluster.
Leo is all for it as long as it is something Wyatt can enjoy but Paige is wanting to hit Salem and learn about witchcraft. For the others not so much a thrill but they agree to hit the beaches on the cape after Paige has her fill.
Doesn't start out great as their flight is late and it causes their reservations to be given away since they were not pre-paid. Trying to drive to Salem, Leo gets lost and is not one to backtrack and drives forward to look for a route to get the family back on the road to Salem. Wyatt falls asleep and Piper wants her baby to get some rest, so they find the closest town on the map.
Cairn, New Hampshire is a very small town with one place to provide lodging, the Yankee Bear Inn.
Phoebe and Paige go inside to see if there is a vacancy and meet the owner, an older woman named Ida Thornwood, and her handyman, a young man named Nathaniel Coffey. Ida is a very grouchy old lady who insists they are closed but seems resigned when they mention a baby. She allows them to stay for one night. As Phoebe signs in, a woman in her early twenties comes from the back and is shocked to find people here.
Dressed in a long skirt, flannel shirt and hair up in a bun the girl is named Harriet, and she is Ida's granddaughter. The woman treats her as if she were a child and Phoebe's teeth are set on edge at how cantankerous this woman is to her own family. Later in the evening, Paige comes downstairs to find anything to read and bumps into Nathaniel who has returned to get his backpack.
Paige learns he doesn't live at the inn and that Nathaniel is a grad student in college working on his thesis for a PhD in American Cultural Folklore. Paige notices a pamphlet for a place called Mystic Knoll and he informs her that the people in town believe it has powers as its structure is similar to Stonehenge. Nathaniel doesn't believe in magic but there seems to be some between him and Paige but what could they have once they leave tomorrow?
That night, swarms of bugs hurl themselves against the building and the windows and Paige thinks she heard Harriet scream.
Piper and Leo take Wyatt to go antiquing while Paige plans to take the tour of Mystic Knoll while Phoebe plans to stay behind. A part of her wants to get to know Harriet better but the young woman doesn't get very far out of her shell before Ida is telling Phoebe that parts of the inn are closed to guests. Later in the day, Harriet runs off and Phoebe goes with Nathaniel to find her.
Phoebe learns from Nathaniel that people in the town regard Harriet as the town weirdo as she is prone to erratic behavior. Ida inherited the inn from her late husband and is too old and prideful to take any other job that would have them leaving Cairn. Nathaniel thinks that electromagnetic waves are what cause the behavior and that it comes from Mystic Knoll but from a science standpoint and not supernatural.
In town, Piper and Leo hear gossip that Harriet's mother Abigail died giving birth to her shortly after she "bewitched" her father into killing himself. They say the girl had always been evil with a red birthmark across the side of her face and had earned her father's scorn at birth. Ida was left to raise Harriet all on her own and hasn't had the girl have contact with anyone in six years.
At the park, toads appear and at the inn, Phoebe witnesses a flock of birds hurl themselves against the house and down the chimney inside to swarm about Harriet. Ida beats them away from her frightened granddaughter with a broom and rudely declines any help from Phoebe. On the tour at Mystic Knoll, Paige and others come across hundreds of snakes shedding their skin along the ground of the caves.
It seems the Charmed Ones really can't get away on a vacation because it seems clear that the town has its share of dark secrets. Mystic Knoll is an interesting book and to tell you anything else would be a spoiler but if you like stories of small towns and strange phenomena, this is the perfect book for you.
August 29, 2022
I always like the ones that take them away from home when they’re on vacation etc. This story was really interesting and definitely out of the box thinking. New characters brought in were great and an unexpected little twist in the final battle too. I also liked how they introduced the psychological side to people believing whatever they need to accept what’s going on in front of them, even sometimes ignoring facts.
November 5, 2023
Not my favorite Charmed book but still quite interesting. I'm kinda conflicted about using the towns innocents as bait for the monster. But the idea of the innocents not being true innocents as they were the ones that originally tormented Abigail and pushed her over the edge, but were still victims of Abigail's magic was interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2017
What an adventure, and what an ending! Action, magic, mystery all rolled into one. The ending, in particular, was one of the most dramatic I have read in these books.
June 3, 2017
Great new adventure for the Charmed ones. It felt like watching an episode of the show. :)
July 19, 2018
The second half fell a little flat for me but I did enjoy the story.
May 10, 2022
This was a weird one, but I think Gallagher pulled it off.
August 1, 2024
Another exciting read by the Charmed team.
January 14, 2025
It’s Charmed ~*PERFECT!*~
December 4, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. It was first charmed one I read. I wasn't sure whether to read the books because I like the tv show and wasn't sure if I would get on with the book version. I am glad I tried it and have read several charmed books since :)
January 2, 2015
Like all the other Charmed novels, a great book, and just as good as the actual show.
Read
March 22, 2010F CHA
Fantasy
Fantasy
Read
July 27, 2011Good it was a little twisted but i enjoyed it
Read
August 9, 2013I think the episodes are a lot better than the books
November 28, 2015
I enjoyed this one :) well done!
August 10, 2018
All Charmed books are good, some better than others
July 17, 2012
i like charmed
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews