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Water Witch
People are disappearing in the mysterious bayous of Louisiana and it's up to a "water witch", a woman with powers of divination, to try to find them before more people disappear.
290 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2008
7 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Leblanc
38 books746 followersDeborah LeBlanc is an award-winning, best-selling author and business owner from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is also a licensed death scene investigator, a licensed private investigator and has been a paranormal investigator for over twenty years. Deborah is currently the house ‘clairsendium’ for the upcoming paranormal investigation television show, Through the Veil.
She served four years as president of the Horror Writers Association, eight years as president of the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, and two years as president of Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter. In 2007, Deborah founded Literacy Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America’s teens.
For more information, visit www.deborahleblanc.com and www.literacyinc.com
To support Deborah please visit https://www.patreon.com/deborahleblanc
She served four years as president of the Horror Writers Association, eight years as president of the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, and two years as president of Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter. In 2007, Deborah founded Literacy Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America’s teens.
For more information, visit www.deborahleblanc.com and www.literacyinc.com
To support Deborah please visit https://www.patreon.com/deborahleblanc
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
September 24, 2016
Note, Sept. 24, 2016: I've tweaked this much-amended review once again, to remove language critical of the Federal disclosure requirements for free review copies. Though I originally resented these as insulting to reviewers, I've come to recognize that readers of reviews are entitled to that kind of above-board disclosure. (I know a bit more about abuses in the book trade now than I did back then!)
Note, Aug. 20, 2013: After reflecting on this book in the four or so years since I've read it, and comparing it to other fiction I've read, it's grown in my estimation (as sometimes happens with other books, too), and I've decided to raise my rating to four stars. The negatives are still there, but I've decided not to weight them as heavily (partly because my reaction was based to a degree on guesses about authorial intent, which is unfair because they aren't founded on anything solid), and to give fairer weight to the significant positives that I also noted.
[Note: this review was updated and tweaked slightly on March 3, 2012]
After an attention-grabbing prologue, this novel introduces us to Dunny Pollack, a 30-something native of rural Texas, born with a extra left pinkie which apparently channels psychic power for finding things ("water witch" was one epithet other kids gave her when, as a child, it proved to have water-dowsing ability). When her sister, who's now a schoolteacher in the bayous of Louisiana, summons her to locate two missing children, Dunny learns that there's more going on here than kidnapping. A villain (who's part Skidi Pawnee, and all sociopath) has conjured dark entities from Native American mythology, and supernatural manifestations of a very nasty sort are making themselves felt in tiny Bayou Crow.
This proved to be a difficult book to rate, because there were a number of aspects of it I really liked and a few I really didn't. The quandry was compounded by the fact that the author is a Goodreads friend of mine --which, if this were a court case, would get me excluded from the jury in a heartbeat! (In the interests of full disclosure, I'll report that my copy of the book was a gracious gift from the lady herself.) I settled on three stars because, on balance, I did like it, to a point --but not as well as I'd hoped to, and could have if some things had been done differently.
There are a lot of good features here. LeBlanc grips the reader's attention immediately and doesn't let go; her plotting is original, as is the supernatural menace here (it's drawn from Pawnee traditions of human sacrifice which I'd read about before in nonfiction contexts --and the author doesn't fall into the PC trap of re-writing history and anthropology to reduce all Indian spiritual traditions to a clone of the beliefs of yuppie New Agers; rather, she's fully aware of their dark side) and the characterizations are very round and vivid --Poochie Blackledge, nee' Babineau, is like someone Dickens might have created, had he spent time in Cajun country. :-) Despite her foul mouth (see below), Dunny herself is an essentially likable protagonist, who has a genuinely kind heart, guts, and a desire to do the right thing. The Louisiana setting is brought to life vividly (it's LeBlanc's home state), and the reproduction of Cajun dialect is wonderfully done. For the most part, LeBlanc is a really gifted wordsmith, and adept as well at plotting and pacing (she's very good at ending chapters on pivots or cliffhangers that draw you on to move forward --and she's also good at switching focus from one group of characters to another when interest in the first group is high, a technique Edgar Rice Burroughs perfected). Her evocation of the physical and mental challenges of the climactic ordeal isn't rushed through --it's drawn out exactly the way the character(s) would experience it, and you fully feel the intensity of fear and tension, and the physical stress. The climax also throws two curveball surprise developments I did not expect for an instant, though the clues to one of them were hidden in plain sight in a manner that would do credit to Agatha Christie. :-) Best of all, you have more than one character here who makes decisions to do something for someone else that involves sacrifice or risk of some kind, because it's right and because he/she cares; this is genuinely moral fiction, in the best sense. And unlike many modern novels, the book has no sexual content (licit or illicit).
On the negative side, it's clear that the harmful poltergeist-like manifestations, and probably the personality change in Dunny's brother-in-law, are the result of the villain's attempt to conjure pagan gods; but how this works is never explained, and it never has any explicit resolution. More importantly, there's a very high level of gratuitous bad language here (including obscenity --I lost count of the f-words, for instance). We'd expect it from the villain; but both Pollack sisters also swear like troopers, and other characters add to the problem. The amount and kind of bad language, and the way it's used --almost as if it were meant to desensitize the reader-- quickly becomes grating and offensive. Finally, the only evangelical Protestant character here (a Pentecostal preacher) is a demeaning caricature, with no qualities except bad ones; the implication here comes across not simply as saying that these are bad qualities, but that these are the inherent qualities of all evangelical Protestants. (That may not be LeBlanc's intention; but it's much like the portrayal of a lone black character as stupid, shiftless and cowardly. It conveys a stereotypical picture of a group of people in a way that puts down and dehumanizes them, and I didn't appreciate it.)
In balance, the book kept me reading; I cared enough about the missing kids to want to finish the story, and don't regret doing so. When I first finished it, I wasn't in the mood for other novels by LeBlanc; but in the years I've reflected on it since, I've come to feel that there are enough positives here that her other work deserves a look --if it has the same positives, and fewer of the negatives, I could imagine another Leblanc novel as possibly reaching four-star territory.
Note, Aug. 20, 2013: After reflecting on this book in the four or so years since I've read it, and comparing it to other fiction I've read, it's grown in my estimation (as sometimes happens with other books, too), and I've decided to raise my rating to four stars. The negatives are still there, but I've decided not to weight them as heavily (partly because my reaction was based to a degree on guesses about authorial intent, which is unfair because they aren't founded on anything solid), and to give fairer weight to the significant positives that I also noted.
[Note: this review was updated and tweaked slightly on March 3, 2012]
After an attention-grabbing prologue, this novel introduces us to Dunny Pollack, a 30-something native of rural Texas, born with a extra left pinkie which apparently channels psychic power for finding things ("water witch" was one epithet other kids gave her when, as a child, it proved to have water-dowsing ability). When her sister, who's now a schoolteacher in the bayous of Louisiana, summons her to locate two missing children, Dunny learns that there's more going on here than kidnapping. A villain (who's part Skidi Pawnee, and all sociopath) has conjured dark entities from Native American mythology, and supernatural manifestations of a very nasty sort are making themselves felt in tiny Bayou Crow.
This proved to be a difficult book to rate, because there were a number of aspects of it I really liked and a few I really didn't. The quandry was compounded by the fact that the author is a Goodreads friend of mine --which, if this were a court case, would get me excluded from the jury in a heartbeat! (In the interests of full disclosure, I'll report that my copy of the book was a gracious gift from the lady herself.) I settled on three stars because, on balance, I did like it, to a point --but not as well as I'd hoped to, and could have if some things had been done differently.
There are a lot of good features here. LeBlanc grips the reader's attention immediately and doesn't let go; her plotting is original, as is the supernatural menace here (it's drawn from Pawnee traditions of human sacrifice which I'd read about before in nonfiction contexts --and the author doesn't fall into the PC trap of re-writing history and anthropology to reduce all Indian spiritual traditions to a clone of the beliefs of yuppie New Agers; rather, she's fully aware of their dark side) and the characterizations are very round and vivid --Poochie Blackledge, nee' Babineau, is like someone Dickens might have created, had he spent time in Cajun country. :-) Despite her foul mouth (see below), Dunny herself is an essentially likable protagonist, who has a genuinely kind heart, guts, and a desire to do the right thing. The Louisiana setting is brought to life vividly (it's LeBlanc's home state), and the reproduction of Cajun dialect is wonderfully done. For the most part, LeBlanc is a really gifted wordsmith, and adept as well at plotting and pacing (she's very good at ending chapters on pivots or cliffhangers that draw you on to move forward --and she's also good at switching focus from one group of characters to another when interest in the first group is high, a technique Edgar Rice Burroughs perfected). Her evocation of the physical and mental challenges of the climactic ordeal isn't rushed through --it's drawn out exactly the way the character(s) would experience it, and you fully feel the intensity of fear and tension, and the physical stress. The climax also throws two curveball surprise developments I did not expect for an instant, though the clues to one of them were hidden in plain sight in a manner that would do credit to Agatha Christie. :-) Best of all, you have more than one character here who makes decisions to do something for someone else that involves sacrifice or risk of some kind, because it's right and because he/she cares; this is genuinely moral fiction, in the best sense. And unlike many modern novels, the book has no sexual content (licit or illicit).
On the negative side, it's clear that the harmful poltergeist-like manifestations, and probably the personality change in Dunny's brother-in-law, are the result of the villain's attempt to conjure pagan gods; but how this works is never explained, and it never has any explicit resolution. More importantly, there's a very high level of gratuitous bad language here (including obscenity --I lost count of the f-words, for instance). We'd expect it from the villain; but both Pollack sisters also swear like troopers, and other characters add to the problem. The amount and kind of bad language, and the way it's used --almost as if it were meant to desensitize the reader-- quickly becomes grating and offensive. Finally, the only evangelical Protestant character here (a Pentecostal preacher) is a demeaning caricature, with no qualities except bad ones; the implication here comes across not simply as saying that these are bad qualities, but that these are the inherent qualities of all evangelical Protestants. (That may not be LeBlanc's intention; but it's much like the portrayal of a lone black character as stupid, shiftless and cowardly. It conveys a stereotypical picture of a group of people in a way that puts down and dehumanizes them, and I didn't appreciate it.)
In balance, the book kept me reading; I cared enough about the missing kids to want to finish the story, and don't regret doing so. When I first finished it, I wasn't in the mood for other novels by LeBlanc; but in the years I've reflected on it since, I've come to feel that there are enough positives here that her other work deserves a look --if it has the same positives, and fewer of the negatives, I could imagine another Leblanc novel as possibly reaching four-star territory.
April 12, 2015
Deborah Leblanc uses her unique talents and gothic Bayou style in creating a tale filled with terror and suspense. In Water Witch, the protagonist Dunny Pollock has a special talent, she has an extra digit, which allows her to find things. In the old days this was used for finding water, but Dunny can find other things such as people. Her sister Angelle enlists her help in finding two missing children who have been abducted by a man who is trying to invoke ancient Indian spirits in order to attain greater power for himself.
Deborah Leblanc has a creepy, smooth style which she uses expertly in this novel. The concept of the novel was cool, and her use of the Bayou and legends associated with it make this almost another character in the novel. The tension in the novel builds to a nice crescendo. Leblanc uses the time tested race against the clock to build that tension. Dunny has to act quickly and use all of her resources to save the children before they are sacrificed. Leblanc does a nice job with the characters. Her expert mastery of prose makes this an enjoyable read. A must read novel.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
Deborah Leblanc has a creepy, smooth style which she uses expertly in this novel. The concept of the novel was cool, and her use of the Bayou and legends associated with it make this almost another character in the novel. The tension in the novel builds to a nice crescendo. Leblanc uses the time tested race against the clock to build that tension. Dunny has to act quickly and use all of her resources to save the children before they are sacrificed. Leblanc does a nice job with the characters. Her expert mastery of prose makes this an enjoyable read. A must read novel.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
March 16, 2009
A woman with a supernatural ability to find lost things is called to the swamps of Louisiana by her sister to help find two missing children. I would have really liked this book if it hadn't ended with so many loose ends. I was very intrigued by some of the ideas in the book such as the teeaunt and the prayer tree. The Poochie character is awesome as well. But other elements of the story just don't get explained well.
August 16, 2009
Dunny was born with a special gift of an extra finger. This finger is unique because it is like a third eye. You could also say that Dunny’s abilities are a curse. She has been called many names and that is why she is pretty much a loner. Two children have been kidnapped. Dunny has been called to help. She travels down to the swampy backwaters of the bayous of Louisiana. Dunny soon learns that the children’s kidnapping is connected with an old ancient Indian ritual.
Water Witch is the first book I have read by this author. Readers may not realize it but location or background setting does help play a part in telling a story. In the case of this book, the location of Louisiana really set the mood for this story. I found Dunny’s finger to be very creepy in a good way. While the setting and the unique characteristics of Dunny were interesting it wasn’t enough to keep my interest the whole way though the book. I am glad I did give this book a try as I will try another Deborah LaBlanc book again maybe in the near future.
Water Witch is the first book I have read by this author. Readers may not realize it but location or background setting does help play a part in telling a story. In the case of this book, the location of Louisiana really set the mood for this story. I found Dunny’s finger to be very creepy in a good way. While the setting and the unique characteristics of Dunny were interesting it wasn’t enough to keep my interest the whole way though the book. I am glad I did give this book a try as I will try another Deborah LaBlanc book again maybe in the near future.
May 18, 2016
This was a good paranormal mystery. Dunny is a water witch a human diviner she has an extra finger that works as a divining rod which can find anything from water to oil to people. I’ve seen some people call this horror but I didn’t feel that way about it. It was more a mystery with ghosts & paranormal activity.
When 2 kids go missing in the Louisiana bayou Dunny’s sister Angelle calls her and asks her to come help find the kids. But where these kids are and what they are going through is more than anyone could imagine. This book kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. My favorite character would have to be Poochie, Angelle’s husband’s grandmother; she was a hoot which was a neat addition to this dark story.
All the way through this book I wondered if there would be a sequel but with the shocking ending I see that there won’t be, but would sure love another book with Poochie in it!
I listened to this on audio narrated by Xe Sands who did a great job at the narration.
3 ½ Stars
When 2 kids go missing in the Louisiana bayou Dunny’s sister Angelle calls her and asks her to come help find the kids. But where these kids are and what they are going through is more than anyone could imagine. This book kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. My favorite character would have to be Poochie, Angelle’s husband’s grandmother; she was a hoot which was a neat addition to this dark story.
All the way through this book I wondered if there would be a sequel but with the shocking ending I see that there won’t be, but would sure love another book with Poochie in it!
I listened to this on audio narrated by Xe Sands who did a great job at the narration.
3 ½ Stars
October 28, 2008
Deborah LeBlanc is an inspiring speaker as well as a devastatingly riveting writer. I've heard her a couple of times at Society of Southwestern Authors meetings -- she was a keynote speaker at the SSA's 2008 conference, Wrangling with Writing. The back-cover quotes about what a brilliant writer of horror stories she is are not at all exaggerated. She's not a one-trick pony, either. Her settings do tend to the Louisiana areas she's most familiar with, but her cast of characters is wide-ranging and they all seem like real people; even the minor ones are three-dimensional.
These are books that I'm compelled to bring in the house to read a little more of or finish, rather than leaving them in the car for the next time I go to exercise.
These are books that I'm compelled to bring in the house to read a little more of or finish, rather than leaving them in the car for the next time I go to exercise.
March 29, 2009
I found this book on Goodreads and was very excited to read it, as it sounded very different. Where else can you get a book about a girl with a sixth finger that can help find things?
I think the plot is original and some of the characters are too, but I have some questions left after finishing the book: what were the dark 'spirits' and what happened to the missing shoes. I think I wanted to hear those stories as much as the main plot.
I think the plot is original and some of the characters are too, but I have some questions left after finishing the book: what were the dark 'spirits' and what happened to the missing shoes. I think I wanted to hear those stories as much as the main plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2021
This was a fun read. A woman who can find things because of a sixth finger on one of her hands is enlisted by her sister to find two lost children in a Louisiana bayou. Unfortunately the two kids were kidnapped by a man who plans to sacrifice them to his Native American god in order to be granted superpowers. That's just the surface. At first I groaned at the evil Native American trope, but it was handled pretty well in the long run. Some of the scenes with Olm dragged on for a long time, and the book meanders at times, but I had a lot of fun with it.
March 23, 2021
Dunny has six fingers on her left hand and a gift of finding lost things. Her sister Angelle calls her to please come to Louisiana to help find 2 missing children. Although Dunny doesn't want people to know of her gift, she goes to help.
A good plot but it seemed to move so slowly. They were in a hurry to find the children and yet no one is doing anything. I loved the Poochie character in the book, she was the grandmother in law an quite a hoot.
A good plot but it seemed to move so slowly. They were in a hurry to find the children and yet no one is doing anything. I loved the Poochie character in the book, she was the grandmother in law an quite a hoot.
March 7, 2019
I enjoyed this first novel, but I do wish it had had a trigger warning, as it got a little intense for me at one point. Would love to see this turn into a series, but since one thing that would've made that very interesting is not possible, that’s a bit disappointing. I would like to read more of her work in the future.
September 4, 2019
I liked the beginning and the middle part of the story, but the last half of story left me feeling a little disappointed . What happened to the ghosts ? Who took the shoes off the prayer tree? I don't know ,maybe it's me , but I believe Trevor died so Angelle and Aunt Poochie could move to Texas and live with Dunny . Really!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2023
There was no indication in the back cover about the villain of the book being an Indigenous man (and using Native American stereotypes to boot). It’s just hugely racist. I honestly can’t imagine what made the author think of the plot of having an Indigenous man torturing children in the name of his god. What a crock of sh*t. I’m frankly disgusted.
October 24, 2021
This was OK, but somehow it didn't really grab me the way I hoped it would. Should have been a great, very tense story about finding missing children, before it was too late, but it didn't feel that tense. It just felt like it needed a final rewrite...
March 21, 2025
A southern mystery with swamp magic. I loved this book. It was a gift from a friend that gave me a good warm feeling being a southern girl transplanted in the north. I loved the characters and the writing.
March 18, 2021
Interesting, kind of disturbing. I liked the characters though
December 1, 2024
A good plot with unique and interesting characters. However, the bad part of the writing is the ending never explains some of the things that happened during the story.
June 9, 2011
Water Witch is the story of Dunny, an ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift. She has the power to find things that are lost or hidden….car keys, water, wallets, as well as missing people and animals. The only drawback is that her ability is tied to an extra digit on her left hand, which she feels compelled to keep hidden with the use of gloves. That, and the fact that there are numerous people who ostracize her for her gift or wish to use it for their own gain, like finding oil on their property.
For these very reasons Dunny has hidden herself away in her ancestral home in Texas where she is blessed to work as a freelance writer. The job doesn’t pay much but she enjoys what she is doing and is able to live off the interest of a somewhat sizeable account left to her by her grandparents who squirreled away their fortune after having discovered oil on their land, thanks to Dunny, a few years before their deaths.
Having given up on the hope for love, a husband, and a family of her own, Dunny has consigned herself to devoting time to her writing and caring for, in her own way, a strange dog that wanders in and out of her life from time to time. The peculiar thing is that each time Fritter wanders into her life something bad happens. The first time she met him, she discovered a brush-fire near her home, the second time she was in a minor car accident. With Fritter’s latest appearance, Dunny gets an urgent phone call from her sister, Angelle.
Angelle resides in a small town in Louisiana with her husband, Travis, and earns a living as a school teacher. Not only one, but two of Angelle’s students have disappeared and it seems that only Dunny’s power of dowsing can bring them back, that is, if it isn’t already too late. Dunny’s become comfortable with her life and fears being ostracized in yet another town and so she’s reluctant to come to her sister’s aid. However, she senses that there is more to Angelle’s story, and there is, than what she is saying. Eventually, against her and Fritter’s better judgment, she goes to Louisiana to attempt to find the children.
What follows is a supernatural tale of good versus evil with not only the lives, but also the souls, of two precious children hanging in the balance. With the support of her sister and insight of Poochie, who has more power than even she knows, Dunny must overcome her own fears and insecurities in order to embrace her special gifts to combat a madman who is perverting the sacred rituals of his ancestors for his own gain and bring those children home safely.
At just under 300 pages, Water Witch is a quick read. The author’s easy style makes the story seem to jump off the page. Though we are not privy to a great deal of backstory or history of the characters, they felt like real people to me, their thought processes and actions didn’t seem contrived just to move the story along. Leblanc does an excellent job of allowing the reader to think that he or she has discovered the villain’s true identity, only to surprise us with an unexpected twist. I especially like the character of Poochie and her interactions with the other characters as the plot unfolds. However, sensitive readers may find the liberal use of the “F” word unsavory, as well as her quoting one of Demi Moore’s most famous line from the motion picture GI Jane. Nonetheless, given the circumstances the characters find themselves in you can’t fault them for a few profanities. I also found the author’s inclusion of folk beliefs native to Louisiana delightful, the feux fo lais for example.
There were a few plot points that I found puzzling such as what happened to the shoes in Poochie’s prayer-tree and who exactly were the shadowy beings haunting the villain? Even with these questions somewhat unexplained, it didn’t detract from the story and I found myself wanting the story to continue. I would love to have seen Dunny explore the full extent of her powers. Did they begin and end at dowsing, or did she have the potential to be a “witch” in every sense of the word? Given what occurs at the end of the book concerning the source of Dunny’s powers, as well as a budding romance, I wonder if a sequel will be forthcoming. If so, I would gladly escape into Dunny’s world for a few more hours and would invite you to come along……
For these very reasons Dunny has hidden herself away in her ancestral home in Texas where she is blessed to work as a freelance writer. The job doesn’t pay much but she enjoys what she is doing and is able to live off the interest of a somewhat sizeable account left to her by her grandparents who squirreled away their fortune after having discovered oil on their land, thanks to Dunny, a few years before their deaths.
Having given up on the hope for love, a husband, and a family of her own, Dunny has consigned herself to devoting time to her writing and caring for, in her own way, a strange dog that wanders in and out of her life from time to time. The peculiar thing is that each time Fritter wanders into her life something bad happens. The first time she met him, she discovered a brush-fire near her home, the second time she was in a minor car accident. With Fritter’s latest appearance, Dunny gets an urgent phone call from her sister, Angelle.
Angelle resides in a small town in Louisiana with her husband, Travis, and earns a living as a school teacher. Not only one, but two of Angelle’s students have disappeared and it seems that only Dunny’s power of dowsing can bring them back, that is, if it isn’t already too late. Dunny’s become comfortable with her life and fears being ostracized in yet another town and so she’s reluctant to come to her sister’s aid. However, she senses that there is more to Angelle’s story, and there is, than what she is saying. Eventually, against her and Fritter’s better judgment, she goes to Louisiana to attempt to find the children.
What follows is a supernatural tale of good versus evil with not only the lives, but also the souls, of two precious children hanging in the balance. With the support of her sister and insight of Poochie, who has more power than even she knows, Dunny must overcome her own fears and insecurities in order to embrace her special gifts to combat a madman who is perverting the sacred rituals of his ancestors for his own gain and bring those children home safely.
At just under 300 pages, Water Witch is a quick read. The author’s easy style makes the story seem to jump off the page. Though we are not privy to a great deal of backstory or history of the characters, they felt like real people to me, their thought processes and actions didn’t seem contrived just to move the story along. Leblanc does an excellent job of allowing the reader to think that he or she has discovered the villain’s true identity, only to surprise us with an unexpected twist. I especially like the character of Poochie and her interactions with the other characters as the plot unfolds. However, sensitive readers may find the liberal use of the “F” word unsavory, as well as her quoting one of Demi Moore’s most famous line from the motion picture GI Jane. Nonetheless, given the circumstances the characters find themselves in you can’t fault them for a few profanities. I also found the author’s inclusion of folk beliefs native to Louisiana delightful, the feux fo lais for example.
There were a few plot points that I found puzzling such as what happened to the shoes in Poochie’s prayer-tree and who exactly were the shadowy beings haunting the villain? Even with these questions somewhat unexplained, it didn’t detract from the story and I found myself wanting the story to continue. I would love to have seen Dunny explore the full extent of her powers. Did they begin and end at dowsing, or did she have the potential to be a “witch” in every sense of the word? Given what occurs at the end of the book concerning the source of Dunny’s powers, as well as a budding romance, I wonder if a sequel will be forthcoming. If so, I would gladly escape into Dunny’s world for a few more hours and would invite you to come along……
October 12, 2016
Not sure how this found it's way onto my reading list. Not sure why I even bothered to finish it.
October 5, 2008
How does a normal woman get along when she has a supernatural ability? Say you have a sixth finger on your left hand and it really likes helping you find things? Things like missing cats or oil hidden underground... suddenly people look at you in a new light, as an object to help them amass their fortunes. So you hide away in your little house in Texas, thinking everything is going to be fine until your sister in Louisiana calls... suddenly you are flying to the bayou to help look for two missing children who are in a lot more trouble than anyone expects.
Water Witch is a very fast read, at just under 300 pages, you will fly through it in only a few hours. Leblanc's prose is clean, crisp, to the point and ridiculously easy to read. Though I wouldn't call this a YA novel, I don't see any reason why the 13 and up crew shouldn't be able to read this apart from a few profanities. This is one of the few Leisure Books that I have read which has not drifted into the realms of sex and gore... not that it felt like Leblanc was holding back... instead her tale was tight enough not to ever need to go there. I won't say that the book ever scared me... because for some reason you feel from the beginning that the characters we are encouraged to love as readers, will all be okay in the end.
I will say that there were some perplexing bits that were left unexplained in the end, but it really didn't bother me. I would have liked a little more explanation on where the shoes were going... but in the end it was still a satisfying read. I would recommend this more to the female reader than the male reader. I'm not 100% sure why I feel this way, I can only say that the prose seems to be the type that will connect more with a female audience.
The characters feel real enough, even though we really don't have the opportunity to really get to know any of them. Even the people down at the local bar/diner/bait and tackle shop seem real enough. The only one that I was never able to get a true handle on was our bad guy. Perhaps we feel that we don't really know them because we don't get a whole lot of history on anyone. I don't believe that the book suffered from this aspect, but it read so fast that perhaps a bit more history would have slowed the reader down a bit.
On the whole this was a very solid and fun book to read, you have the supernatural touch, the unwilling hero, the crazy old grandma who knows more than she's letting on, the swamps, snakes, alligators, kidnapped children, crazy preachers, and the big baddie who has foul plans for the little ones. Though I won't say this was one of my favorite books, this was a fun read that has encouraged me to pick up more books by Leblanc in the future.
Water Witch is a very fast read, at just under 300 pages, you will fly through it in only a few hours. Leblanc's prose is clean, crisp, to the point and ridiculously easy to read. Though I wouldn't call this a YA novel, I don't see any reason why the 13 and up crew shouldn't be able to read this apart from a few profanities. This is one of the few Leisure Books that I have read which has not drifted into the realms of sex and gore... not that it felt like Leblanc was holding back... instead her tale was tight enough not to ever need to go there. I won't say that the book ever scared me... because for some reason you feel from the beginning that the characters we are encouraged to love as readers, will all be okay in the end.
I will say that there were some perplexing bits that were left unexplained in the end, but it really didn't bother me. I would have liked a little more explanation on where the shoes were going... but in the end it was still a satisfying read. I would recommend this more to the female reader than the male reader. I'm not 100% sure why I feel this way, I can only say that the prose seems to be the type that will connect more with a female audience.
The characters feel real enough, even though we really don't have the opportunity to really get to know any of them. Even the people down at the local bar/diner/bait and tackle shop seem real enough. The only one that I was never able to get a true handle on was our bad guy. Perhaps we feel that we don't really know them because we don't get a whole lot of history on anyone. I don't believe that the book suffered from this aspect, but it read so fast that perhaps a bit more history would have slowed the reader down a bit.
On the whole this was a very solid and fun book to read, you have the supernatural touch, the unwilling hero, the crazy old grandma who knows more than she's letting on, the swamps, snakes, alligators, kidnapped children, crazy preachers, and the big baddie who has foul plans for the little ones. Though I won't say this was one of my favorite books, this was a fun read that has encouraged me to pick up more books by Leblanc in the future.
September 20, 2009
Dunny Pollock is a pretty normal gal. She's stresses about paying her bills and dealing with her deadlines at work as a freelance writer. She has a stray dog that keeps scratching at her door and she doesn't have the heart to shoo it away. So instead, she feeds the scraggly thing and even gives the little moocher a name. But there is something different about Dunny. Because of an extra finger on her left hand, she has been given many names in her younger years - like freak and water witch. How can an extra finger cause so much grief?
Well, Dunny's little finger has given her strange abilities. If she concentrates hard enough the extra appendage allows her to find things. It's helped her find water, oil, keys and even her sister's cat. Most of the time her finger gets warm and points Dunny in the right direction. Except when it came to her sister's cat the finger turned ice cold because it turned out the cat was dead.
So ever since that episode Dunny has tried to keep her secret to herself. But she'll have to use her ability when her sister calls on her for help. Angelle is a school teacher in a small Lousiana town. She's worried about two of her children that have dissapeared into the swamp. Dunny may be the only one that can help. But no one knows what's really going on deep in the swamp. A shaman-like ritual gone wrong produces an evil supernatural presence that permeates the town.
The premise itself is alright, but I really enjoyed LeBlanc's characters. Dunny has a very laid back personality. Despite her problems, I feel like she knows how to handle things. After arriving in Louisana, she meets Angelle's mother-in-law, Poochie. Now this lady sure is a character. At first I found her quite annoying, a batty old woman that was a little off her hinges. But her Cajun accent and quirky outbursts really grew on me. Her character development was particularly well-done because towards the end the reader can see a glimpse of who Poochie is despite her old age.
This is my first LeBlanc novel and I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed her simple story telling and the way she wove horror elements with paranomral thrills. I'll definitely be picking up some of her other books.
Well, Dunny's little finger has given her strange abilities. If she concentrates hard enough the extra appendage allows her to find things. It's helped her find water, oil, keys and even her sister's cat. Most of the time her finger gets warm and points Dunny in the right direction. Except when it came to her sister's cat the finger turned ice cold because it turned out the cat was dead.
So ever since that episode Dunny has tried to keep her secret to herself. But she'll have to use her ability when her sister calls on her for help. Angelle is a school teacher in a small Lousiana town. She's worried about two of her children that have dissapeared into the swamp. Dunny may be the only one that can help. But no one knows what's really going on deep in the swamp. A shaman-like ritual gone wrong produces an evil supernatural presence that permeates the town.
The premise itself is alright, but I really enjoyed LeBlanc's characters. Dunny has a very laid back personality. Despite her problems, I feel like she knows how to handle things. After arriving in Louisana, she meets Angelle's mother-in-law, Poochie. Now this lady sure is a character. At first I found her quite annoying, a batty old woman that was a little off her hinges. But her Cajun accent and quirky outbursts really grew on me. Her character development was particularly well-done because towards the end the reader can see a glimpse of who Poochie is despite her old age.
This is my first LeBlanc novel and I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed her simple story telling and the way she wove horror elements with paranomral thrills. I'll definitely be picking up some of her other books.
January 13, 2012
I liked the general plot and characters of this book, but there were a couple of critical problems that made it quite unsatisfying.
The first was that a 7 year old girl and 8 year old boy were missing and yet it was very low key in the scenes set in the town/bar. The first couple of days two children were missing would have the town humming and totally dominate everything. There was a sentence or two about people being out looking, and the sheriff went out to look again, and we were told the police in the neighboring town couldn’t help because there was going to be an NAACP rally. With two kids missing the FBI would have been called in. Frankly, I found the NAACP rally excuse offensive. Not only would the organization understand and want the police to go hunt for the missing kids instead of crowd control for their rally – members from the rally would probably want to be out searching.
And it was unnecessary. Given the vastness of the swamp, the story could have been written with a multitude of searchers with the main characters going the opposite direction of “the experts” because of the main character’s finding gift. The other thing was that while I liked the main character, I was stunned by her stupidity. She and her sister didn’t know the swamps, couldn’t swim, and only one sister knew how to run the boat. Apparently hiding her "finding gift" was more important than anything else. Plus, there was no thought or preparation about what they would do once they found the kids if someone had taken them (like the evidence suggested).
There was a "ghost" subplot in the first half of the book that was totally ignored in the second half with no resolution. I felt the torture inflicted on the kids was way too gruesome. And to make it all worse, most of the resolution was explained in an epilogue. Even worse, a major player in said epilogue played an incredibly minor role in the body of the story. He was only in a few scenes, had only a couple of lines of dialogue and we knew virtually nothing about him.
The first was that a 7 year old girl and 8 year old boy were missing and yet it was very low key in the scenes set in the town/bar. The first couple of days two children were missing would have the town humming and totally dominate everything. There was a sentence or two about people being out looking, and the sheriff went out to look again, and we were told the police in the neighboring town couldn’t help because there was going to be an NAACP rally. With two kids missing the FBI would have been called in. Frankly, I found the NAACP rally excuse offensive. Not only would the organization understand and want the police to go hunt for the missing kids instead of crowd control for their rally – members from the rally would probably want to be out searching.
And it was unnecessary. Given the vastness of the swamp, the story could have been written with a multitude of searchers with the main characters going the opposite direction of “the experts” because of the main character’s finding gift. The other thing was that while I liked the main character, I was stunned by her stupidity. She and her sister didn’t know the swamps, couldn’t swim, and only one sister knew how to run the boat. Apparently hiding her "finding gift" was more important than anything else. Plus, there was no thought or preparation about what they would do once they found the kids if someone had taken them (like the evidence suggested).
There was a "ghost" subplot in the first half of the book that was totally ignored in the second half with no resolution. I felt the torture inflicted on the kids was way too gruesome. And to make it all worse, most of the resolution was explained in an epilogue. Even worse, a major player in said epilogue played an incredibly minor role in the body of the story. He was only in a few scenes, had only a couple of lines of dialogue and we knew virtually nothing about him.
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August 11, 2011Huh. This was unusual...I was expecting a set-up for like, a series, and this is not. The characters were pretty strong, one in particular kinds runs away with the book so to speak, leaves the main character a little pale and washed out. I did find it a tad unsettling in some way, but can't figure out why...not sure if I was unsettled in the way the author intended. The ghosts could have had even more time, and I could have used more of them there, but really only because they were so well written and developed. I guess any book with kids at risk makes me a tad stressed, and I did invest in both kids, so I almost want to know about happens to them later...and maybe that's it. I started to care about some of the characters, and the unsettled feeling is that since the book is over, I won't know what happens to them all next. Although...I also think that I can live without knowing. If it were not for this app., I would probably not think about the book that much again, although it certainly was a diversion on my recent vacation. I dunno...I would like to read the books about the main character's life before this book...or...really, I was just not as satisfied as I had hoped to be. Maybe that was intentional? In any case, it served it's purpose, and was certainly a lil hard to put down.
August 6, 2013
I was underwhelmed with Leblanc's 'A House Divided' and didn't have very high hopes going into 'Water Witch.' I was surprised and actually glad to have underestimated the experience I would have with this book. I picked it up yesterday and just a few short hours later, I was closing the back cover and recommending it to my husband. It had an interesting premise with unique elements that aren't overdone and haven't been seen a dozen times before. There are certain core concepts and elements of alchemy, dowsing, magic, and energy that are repeated from one story to another, but the author found a way to incorporate a few small details that changed the story enough to hold my interest and wonder how the ending would unfold. The characters were developed to an above average level, and I could picture the characters easily. This is a good, quick read for anyone looking for a short escape, lovers of magic, suspense, and those with an appreciation for character development.
January 17, 2009
Another GREAT book I got from the goodreads site. I am about halfway through this book. It came autographed, so I definitely will be keeping it since I like the book. The author writes horrors I guess, but so far this is more mystery to me.
The main character Dunny Pollock, is a woman with a gift. She was born with an extra small pinky that was never removed. Early on she learned that her finger could find such things as water, oil, missing pets. Having been treated as a freak and sought after in her youth to find money and all sorts of things, she has kept this a secret and wears gloves out in public. Her sister Angelle has called and needs her help to find some missing childen in the Louisiana Bayou. Will Denny help and is that all that is really going on here? An interesting and compelling read.
A keeper, now I have to find her other books
The main character Dunny Pollock, is a woman with a gift. She was born with an extra small pinky that was never removed. Early on she learned that her finger could find such things as water, oil, missing pets. Having been treated as a freak and sought after in her youth to find money and all sorts of things, she has kept this a secret and wears gloves out in public. Her sister Angelle has called and needs her help to find some missing childen in the Louisiana Bayou. Will Denny help and is that all that is really going on here? An interesting and compelling read.
A keeper, now I have to find her other books
February 6, 2017
3.75. Good read start to finish, well written, grabs your attention right away. Skips some of the little things that can bog a book down or have nothing to do with the main story, granted some things were passed over that maybe more explanation could have been used. Fun all around though. Girl with an extra pinky (which she hid, but honestly who looks at someones hands? found that a bit odd that she was so self conscious of it.) that can find things and uses it to help her sister and crazy grandmother-in-law, find some missing kids in Louisiana (love the way granny talks). Would have been higher rated if some of the things skipped weren't, but over all enjoyed it, fast read.
October 18, 2010
A fast-paced and entertaining read if a little light weight (as far as horror/adventure books go). It starts and finishes strong and the author is very good at creating suspense and sustaining momentum. She also draws interesting colorful adult characters (particularly the bayou locals) but her children don't ring true and she has tendency to pull her punches--ie a chapter ends or the focus switches right before something bad happens. This is a relief, of course, because the author has created likeable characters, but as it continues to happen you get the sense that nothing really bad is going to happen to anyone.
February 14, 2015
Dunny was born with a special gift of an extra finger. Dunny’s abilities can also be a curse. She's been called several names and that is why she's a loner. Two children were kidnapped. Dunny's sister called her to help. She travels to the swamps of Louisiana. Dunny soon learns that the children’s kidnapping is connected with an ancient Indian ritual.
I finished this book in two days. I was hooked, and it did keep me on edge. Poochie was my favorite character. She reminds me of a great-great uncle of mine who can make me laugh until I cry. I also loved the paranormal elements to the story. Nicely written!
I finished this book in two days. I was hooked, and it did keep me on edge. Poochie was my favorite character. She reminds me of a great-great uncle of mine who can make me laugh until I cry. I also loved the paranormal elements to the story. Nicely written!
September 24, 2009
You think you had it rough as a kid trying to fit in but try walking in Dunny's shoes. It seems the more she tries to extinguish her powers and live a normal life, something happens and she is the only one who can make things right. When a couple of kids vanish from thin air, Dunny has to decide what is more important, staying under the radar or saving two lives.
Talk about suspense! I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book. Another must-have author.
Talk about suspense! I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book. Another must-have author.
July 21, 2011
I did like this book, for the most part. I was a bit weirded out by the psychic sixth finger, though. The ending was a bit odd, too. Like when Trevor and his friend, and then Vern, turned up dead. That seemed a bit out of the blue, even if we already knew they were going out there. Also, I felt like the whole book was a big build-up for when they finally went to find the kids, and at the very end it fizzled. It wasn't that it was a bad ending, just that it could have been a lot more exciting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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