Witch of the Golden Veil

by Maria DeVivo

Long Live the New Flesh!

Alex Deville is stuck in a rut. She's a paranormal journalist from New York City who doesn't believe in the paranormal. This gig was meant to be a stepping stone to real, hard-hitting investigative journalism, but it is looking like a dead end. To make matters worse, her boyfriend is cheating on her.

After receiving a tip from a mysterious stranger called Trent Blackwood, Alex drops everything to travel to a convent in Italy. It’s not the rumor that the nuns of the Golden Veil are performing exorcisms without the Vatican’s approval that intrigues her; it’s the man at the center of the Oskar Klepp, a serial killer Alex has reported on.

Inspired by true events, Witch of the Golden Veil follows Alex as she uncovers a massive conspiracy, one that could change her life forever.

Genres: Horror

191 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

Maria DeVivo writes horror and dark fantasy for both a YA and adult audience. Each of her series has been Amazon best-sellers and have won multiple awards since 2012. A lover of all things dark and demented, the worlds she creates are fantastical and immersive. Get swept away in the lands of elves, zombies, angels, demons, and witches (but not all in the same place). Maria takes great pleasure in warping the comfort factor in her readers’ minds – just when you think you’ve reached a safe space in her stories, she snaps you back into her twisted reality.

Reviews

[Katinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex DeVille is a reporter who got her first break reporting on a murder in the Satanic Panic era. Since then, all of her assignments have involved a paranormal and quite often a satanic connection. She wants to report on bigger stories, preferably some that don’t include satanic, occult, or paranormal elements, but that is what she is currently known and recognized for. When she gets the chance to secretly report on a group of nuns performing unauthorized exorcisms in In Italy, she jumps on it. Using some vacation time, she doesn’t tell her boss what she is up to, hoping that this story will be her big break and allow her to move to bigger stories that are not just more of the same: small occult stories. After all, demon possession isn’t real. It’s just someone who is mentally ill but has not properly been diagnosed as such, right?

I read a review copy of this book, and love how it ties in with the previous stories in this series. This is the 5th book in this series and I do recommend reading the previous books before this one as I think it adds something when you see how each book ties in with the other books in the series. Yes, you would likely still enjoy this one even without having read the previous books, but reading them in order definitely adds to the complexity of the overall story arc.

It was interesting reading this book, and seeing the character be very subtly manipulated, and I’m not entirely certain if she even realized it was happening. This story does involve previous incarnations of several of the characters, and as such, I’m uncertain how much of what I call manipulation was actually the knowledge from their previous lives coming through as they were made aware of who they used to be, and what they saw as their purpose in the world.

This is a great series for those who enjoy dark tales involving occult forces. This book, as it did in book one, takes place in the 1980s, but as the main characters are not high school students, I did not expect there to be references to some of what I remember as a teenager growing up during that era, so I did not miss their exclusion in this book. I did enjoy the reference to phone cords, making it clear that the characters were not using mobile phones (which were only beginning to be available in the late 1980s.) And overall I believe that the author did a very good job of portraying the time period accurately.

If you enjoy horror stories involving the occult, demonic forces, and the paranormal set back in the 1980s, then I believe you will enjoy this book. But be warned, it does contain a fair amount of graphic sex, violence, murder, gore, drugs, alcohol, and even a rape (I call it rape because the while the character appeared to be a partially willing participant, her mind was not under her own control when it happened.) So this is definitely not a book meant for younger readers.

[PlotTwist&Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, buckle up, witches and wine moms, because Witch of the Golden Veil is here to possess your attention like a red lipstick-wearing demon with a journalism degree and absolutely zero time for your nonsense.

Maria DeVivo serves us a paranormal noir cocktail—equal parts vintage New York grit, occult melodrama, and enough dry sarcasm to dehydrate a coven. Our heroine, Alex Deville (née Alessandra, but don’t call her that unless you’re trying to get exorcised), is a chain-smoking, wine-chugging paranormal journalist who can’t decide what’s worse: her boyfriend’s commitment issues or the ghostly whisper that keeps calling her through a static-y landline like it’s 1987 (because, in this book, it is).

This installment is like Sex and the City got exorcised by a nun with a rosary in one hand and a Rolodex full of haunted priests in the other. It’s sexy (in that haunted-New-York-loft-wine-and-regret way), witty, gritty, and gorgeously unhinged. The pacing is brisk—like Alex on her third espresso—and the dialogue? Pure ‘80s power suit sass. Add in rogue exorcists, demonic rock bands, and spiritual trauma disguised as research trips to Italy, and you’ve got a storyline that refuses to be tamed.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 haunted rotary phones
Mood: Gothic girlboss meets horror noir with a hangover
Genre: Paranormal thriller / Occult mystery / Supernatural feminism
Pacing: Fast like you’re late to a séance and your mascara’s still wet

Triggers:
• Psychological instability
• Gaslighting
• Substance use
• Infidelity
• Occult rituals
• Creepy spiritual possession scenes with a vintage flair

Let’s be honest—Alex Deville is the haunted anti-heroine we all need. She’s messy, magnetic, and marching toward a meltdown… or a miracle. Either way, she’s bringing the wine. 🍷

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witch of the Golden Veil was an okay read. That being said, I have not read any of the others in the series, maybe that would have made a difference for me. The beginning few chapters were fine. I was interested in where the story was going and getting to know Alex a bit better. A few chapters in, when Alex and her live-in boyfriend were making love, it lost me. It was very descriptive and graphic, too much for me. I plugged on hoping that was it. It wasn't. The description tags for the book did say steamy but I was not expecting the details to be so much.

My feelings have nothing to do with the author or her writing, it is my personal feeling. I know lots of people enjoy getting lost in stories like this. The story itself wasn't very strong and there was not enough development for me to feel anything for the characters. I did finish the book skipping over the steamy parts to see how it ended.

If you like paranormal suspense with some steamy, detailed scenes this is the book for you!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a strong fifth entry in the Dawn of the Blood Witch series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from the previous four books. The way Maria DeVivo wrote this perfectly and enjoyed the overall feel of this. It had that horror element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting into this world.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Christina Luberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex does not believe in in the paranormal. So why is she going to Italy after a tip from a call from a stranger? Are they really performing exorcisms? I felt this story did not get into the suspense and more the other books did.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[PrettyBookish13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the threads from the other stories have been woven together beautifully in this book, I’m really hoping there will be another in the series as I am loving the ongoing theme of witches, the sexuality of the rituals and the duality of the majority of the characters! I greatly enjoyed this book and feel like I connected to the characters on a new level

[Leslie Twitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wotch of the Gilden Veil is book 5 in Dawn of the Blood Witch. This can be read as a standalone. It was very entertaining. I loved Alex and Laura's friendship. I can't wait to read more from this author.

[Faryn Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found it was strange that Alex is a paranormal reporter but she dosent belive in it. she had to go to italy for a consperacy with nuns. there doing illigle exercisums on people.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[AMBER CLARK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book five in this series however this can be read as a standalone. If you like paranormal suspense with a lot of steam this is the book for you! Alex is a paranormal reporter who doesn't believe in the paranormal so that's a bit odd but ok.

[Kymmie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good recommend couldn't stop reading, good writing, this author knows how to bring in her readers to keep reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Hanna Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great fifth book in the series! Still spooky and romantic and filled with great paranormal elements.

I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.