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A Hollystone Mystery #2

To Sleep with Stones

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" Estrada scrutinized the tats, wondering how far the ink extended beneath the worn leather kilt, and just how painful it would be to have your genitals tattooed. He knew about ink-wore the black lacy wings of an angel on his back. Her feathers extended across his shoulders and down his glutes. That ink had broken more than his skin. " When a renegade archaeologist discovers an ancient Egyptian artifact in Scotland, Dylan McBride's world implodes. Imprisoned for murder, he summons his friend, the Wicca Priest, Estrada, to solve the crime and set him free. Unable to turn down Dylan's cry for help, Estrada abandons his melancholy lover in Canada where he gets targeted by a vicious vampire.

Estrada faces his inner demons. After playing vampire for years, Michael Stryker confronts a real vampire in a life-changing showdown. And, sweet, virginal, Dylan McBride, faces his greatest fears in one of Scotland's most terrifying prisons. Who will survive?

A fast-paced murder mystery spiked with edgy urban fantasy, that opens portals into the realm of witches, faeries, and vampires.

294 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2017

7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read

About the author

W.L. Hawkin

7 books25 followers
W. L. Hawkin writes myth, magic, and mayhem designed to inspire and entertain. Described as “intoxicating, lush, magically-edgy, page-turners,” her Hollystone Mysteries series features a coven of witches who solve murders using their wits and ritual magic with a little help from the gods. Wendy is also a published blogger, book reviewer, Indie publisher, and poet, with a background in Indigenous Studies and English literature. She loves myth and magic, so when she’s not writing, she’s studying Druidry, shamanism, and mediumship. Although she is an introvert, in each book, her characters go on a journey where she has traveled herself.

She defies genre by writing character-driven fast-paced mysteries and thrillers that involve fantastical characters. See her four book series: To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, and To Kill a King.

Her latest book, Lure, is set on a Chippewa Reservation in the American Midwest and tells the story of Jesse & Hawk.

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
29 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2022
Kept Me Enthralled and Guessing

The book started a little slow but then heated up in more ways than one and was mysterious, mystical and yet down and dirty as well. Not "airy-faery" at all - it's mortals meet gods and mix it up.
Profile Image for Grady.
Author 51 books1,822 followers
November 5, 2021
‘Awakened, the summer god within his soul was desperate to dance.’

Canadian author WL Hawkin earned her degree in Indigenous Studies from Trent University, Ontario, and in the Art and Humanities from Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. She has taught high school, published poetry and Native rights articles, is a book reviewer and a published blogger. Her novels to date – the Hollystone Mysteries: TO CHARM A KILLER, TO SLEEP WITH STONES, TO RENDER A RAVEN and TO KILL A KING. She lives in British Columbia.

The author’s interest in prehistory, archeology, myths and magic is evident in her Hollystone mysteries – Hollystone is the name of a coven of witches who use their wits and ritual magic to solve murders! Adding time travel to her prehistoric thrillers creates a series with a flight of fancy built so solidly that the odysseys related become credible adventures. She graciously supplies a pronunciation guide of terms and places to enhance the readers’ experience.

Having established a fine set of character and locales in the initial volume, Hawkin sets this story in flight with moody Summer Solstice: ‘Sorcha found it in the mud. A green-tinged, tangled mess. Pried it from beneath a thin flat stone with tenderness and a trowel while Dylan watched, so entranced he couldn’t breathe. When she popped the tool back in the faded caddy tied at her waist, he inhaled at last. Peeling off one glove and then the other, she let them fall. As Sorcha cradled the object in her palm, her green eyes flickered as if it were speaking to her, and Dylan’s mind flared again. Did Sorcha share his gift? When he touched a stone it revealed its secrets. Perhaps, Sorcha had a talent for psychometry?...’ Imagery and tone established, the odyssey begins.

The provided summary outlines the story well: " When a renegade archaeologist discovers an ancient Egyptian artifact in Scotland, Dylan McBride’s world implodes. Imprisoned for murder, he summons his friend, the Wicca Priest, Estrada, to solve the crime and set him free. Unable to turn down Dylan’s cry for help, Estrada abandons his melancholy lover in Canada where he gets targeted by a vicious vampire. Estrada faces his inner demons. After playing vampire for years, Michael Stryker confronts a real vampire in a life-changing showdown. And, sweet, virginal, Dylan McBride, faces his greatest fears in one of Scotland’s most terrifying prisons. Who will survive?’

This is another sparkling and successful journey in reading that brings involving pleasure to all readers - not just for Hawkin's many established fans! Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Anthony.
Author 29 books199 followers
November 21, 2021
The Review

I absolutely and truly love this series! It speaks to me on so many levels, from my fascination and interest in Wicca and my passion for mythology and history to the chilling fantasy and murder-mystery elements of the narrative. The suspense and corruption within the police department that Estrada faces early on in the narrative adds a human threat element into the more magical and historical nature of the narrative, keeping the story balanced between grounded realism and magical and historical fiction.

The characters were so enjoyable to watch grow and develop on the page. The whole narrative plays out like an HBO show waiting to be developed, combining elements of LGBTQ+ and adult storytelling into a complex character study of those who seek the answers hidden within the most complex systems of our universe, from historians and archeologists to Wiccans and Pagans. Estrada is a complex character, and readers won’t be able to help getting invested in his story as he balances his desire to protect and help his friends and the innocent with his personal romance and personality developments.

The Verdict

A memorable, fantastic, and action-fueled fantasy murder mystery, author W.L. Hawkins’s “To Sleep with Stones” is the perfect second book in the Hollystone Mystery series. The story’s inclusion of everything from faeries and corrupt cops to magick practitioners and the gods themselves, the brilliant mythos that the author incorporates into the narrative, and the cliffhanger ending with particular characters will have readers eager to learn more and get into the rest of this amazing series.
Profile Image for L.P. Kirkbride.
Author 2 books1 follower
August 10, 2017
In this second adult fiction novel in W.L. Hawkin's Hollystone mysteries To Sleep With Stones, she weaves her magic yet again in another great Wicca murder mystery, with plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right to the end of the story. It is very suspenseful but entertaining too. It is also clever how she uses the Wicca magic in the plot. Some of the characters in the coven from her first novel in the series, To Charm a Killer aren't in this installment and I felt they were missed, but some of the main ones appear again, such as Estrada, the magician and the Scotsman Dylan McBride; and great new ones are introduced: the tattooed Magus Dubh, feisty archaelogist, Sorcha and sassy police detective Rachel Steele. This time she takes us from Vancouver, Canada to Scotland with lots of great historical and local detail, which really sets the scene. Dyland Mcbride on an archaelogical dig is accused of murder and his fellow coven member, Estrada must prove his innocence along with Magus, Sorcha and Rachel Steele. Is Dylan innocent? Will Estrada and the others be able to clear his name? I highly recommend you read To Sleep With Stones to find out! As it will be sure to keep you spell bound until the end.
Profile Image for Romuald Dzemo.
Author 2 books16 followers
March 19, 2023
To Sleep with Stones (Hollystone Mysteries Book 2) by W. L. Hawkin is a fascinating book brimming with tension. It is a twisty tale in which a Wicca Priest must hurry to save the life of a friend, in a dangerous prison for murder. There are confrontations between vampires and an ancient Egyptian artifact— just like the turquoise beads that adorned the golden collar of King Tut. With these elements, Hawkin weaves a compelling narrative that brims with mystery and intrigue, writing expertly for fans of urban fantasy and readers who enjoy sophisticated characters.

Dylan McBride, Estrada, and the vampire Michael Stryker are among the unforgettable characters that readers will get to know in this briskly-paced, immersive adventure. This author writes in gorgeous prose and creates dialogues that sparkle. The author makes a world of a fantasy feel real to readers, thanks to the imaginative world-building and the realistic characters, and while this is the second entry in a series, it reads like a standalone novel. Can’t wait to read the next book.
Profile Image for Debra.
Author 12 books115 followers
July 2, 2018
This book takes an original approach to both mystery and fantasy genres. While the story is part whodunit, it’s also linked to mythology, ancient history, and a variety of interesting people and creatures. It’s not often I read a book that contains both vampires, faeries, ghosts, some of which are helping the protagonist solve a crime. Add LGBTQ issues into the mix, and you can see why this is a unique story.

Aside from the amazing Scottish setting, I really liked the characters. They’re gifted, flawed, intelligent, and fall in love easily, which adds to the drama and intrigue. The killer’s identity wasn’t a complete surprise for me, but it was great fun to see how that individual was identified and eventually caught. If you’re looking for a unique blend of mystery and fantasy, then To Sleep with Stones is a great choice.
Profile Image for Theresa.
8,299 reviews134 followers
October 3, 2021
To sleep with stones
By W.L. Hawkins

The second book in a world traveling mystery fantasy series. Young wiccan Dylan is back home in Scotland. He crosses tracks with a very dangerous group when he was participating in an archeological dig. He is accused of murder, at the sudden death of a thrill seeking reporter. The Coven leader Estrada comes to Scotland to clear him. The book has a lot of twists and regretful turns they find the source of their problems and bring peace to a little corner of Scottish history. Two mythologies compete for the readers attention intertwined in the mystery. The old pic Legends and the vampire Mythology over lap at the characters not only fight for truth and justice, but real love. Very enchanting story, with great characters and entwined mysteries. The book shows a lot of cultural understanding, and LGBT support and understanding.
Profile Image for Juniper.
3,398 reviews24 followers
November 25, 2020
This book is unlike anything else I've ever read. It's a fascinating blend of genres: there are elements of crime solving and mystery, with an almost noir-like focus on psychology and the inner workings of complex characters. There are elements of fantasy, mixed with anthropology and mythology to weave a rich supernatural thread through the story. Estrada is a complicated character, with many different facets that make it hard to know (or even sometimes to like) him. This series as a whole and this book in particular are hard to describe, but extremely rewarding to read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Gail.
Author 4 books2 followers
May 13, 2020
Reviewed on Ottawa Review of Books and Blank Spaces Literary Magazine and author has my reviews on her website/blog.

To Sleep with Stones by WL Hawkin as reviewed by Gail M. Murray

To Sleep with Stones is an edgy, urban fantasy. For the uninitiated “urban fantasy is a hybrid genre that lives at the crossroads between fantasy, horror, hard-boiled thriller and romance….Every urban fantasy involves supernatural beings and/or beings with magical abilities yet it’s rooted in reality.” (A. J.Blakemont)
To Sleep with Stones, a virtual smorgasbord has something for everyone: an archaeological dig in Scotland, action, suspense, an intense anti-hero, and a murder mystery to solve. Hawkin’s first chapter explodes with the promise of perilous adventure. From the discovery of the priceless Egyptian artifact to the Wiccan solstice; she had me at “Aye”.
To Sleep with Stones is True Blood meets Outlander. Not surprisingly, Hawkin has not only read Diana Gabaldon but studied with the author on how to write sex scenes. It shows from the unbridled eroticism of the Wiccan solstice to flame haired Sorcha’s seduction of Dylan Mc Bride, “the sweet peach”, to the escapades of sensuous free spirit Estrada. This novel should come with a warning – rated 18A, contains scenes with graphic violence, coarse language and nudity; reader discretion is advised.
Set in Argyll along the south west coast of Scotland near Glasgow, it opens with a brilliant find, a jewelled broad collar, worn by the daughter of Queen Nefertiti. After site boss and head archeologist, Sorcha, discovers the gold broad collar she deems her ticket to fame, she takes her crew to an Oban pub to celebrate. On the upstairs pub patio, the feisty beauty seduces young archaeology student Dylan Mc Bride. He is later accosted by Glasgow journalist, Alastair Steele, who had caught them in the act on his cell.
Later that night of summer solstice, Dylan goes out to commune with the standing stones.
…..he leaned back against the cool three-thousand-year old rock…… For thousands of years, humans had worshipped, as he did now, on this sacred landscape……When Dylan McBride leaned his palm against a stone it revealed its secrets. Sometimes he heard voices, sometimes he saw visions. (p.15)

Dylan can sense memories of people who worshipped there and he sees Egyptian princess, Meritaten, in her gold broad collar. Next he is arrested, cuffed and dragged from the field at Ballymeanoch; jailed for the murder of Alastair Steele. His grandfather contacts Estrada.
Hawkin has introduced Sandolino Estrada in To Charm a Killer. Estrada – performer, magician, and high priest of Hollystone coven flies to Scotland in aid of his friend, Dylan. In leathers astride his Harley we witness the black avenging angel. The image of the angel wings tattooed across his back serves as a brilliant metaphor.
In evocative mystical scenes, our high priest becomes the horned god – Cernunnos (fertility god/adorned in antlers - spirit of the hunt) and the Celtic Oak King engaged in the life and death struggle. In the Taynish woods on a quest for an oak branch he reconnects with Primrose his faerie love and we glimpse his tenderness.
Sorcerer. The voice was faint at first, evanescent, a lilting on the breeze, and he thought he’d imagined it .Sorcerer. He heard it again: higher, louder, clearer, the tone teasing and he whirled around, searching for her. There was only one woman who called him by that name, whose cadences were flecked with old Irish. (p. 96)

Though the second book in the series; this novel stands alone. Hawkin has flawlessly woven in essential background and characters from her first novel as well as introducing new ones: a female detective (Rachel Steele), a half fey Druid dwarf, who deals in antiquities (Magus Dubh), and a rough Viking (Kai Roskilde) – a rival for Dylan and possible suspect or red herring?. Though her characters are fictional, her settings are authentic: Argyll, Kilmartin Glen (rife with cairns and stone circles), Ballymeanoch (megaliths), and Her Majesty’s prison Greenock.
Hawkin’s tight and well-paced writing, knowledge of Celtic myths (Robert Graves – The White Goddess) combined with multi-layered characters, lush language and plot twists and turns, draw the reader in. No spoiler alert – the ending is surprising and satisfying. In fact, the hallmark of this novel is the author’s seamless interweaving of myth and reality. She appeals to our intellect and our desire for vicarious adventure.










Profile Image for Sionnach Wintergreen.
Author 28 books48 followers
November 26, 2019
Puppy-cute and totally innocent Dylan McBride is arrested for murder. His friend and Coven-mate from Canada, Estrada flies to Scotland, where Dylan has been working on an archaeological dig, to help. The hot bisexual, polyamorous magician vows to save his friend by finding the real killer.

Estrada finds himself in a foreign land with an eclectic cast of suspects. His pursuit of the true killer requires his magic--both theatrical and Wiccan. He has to make peace with his past and forge new alliances while facing danger at every turn.

This beautifully written, sexy mystery takes many twists and turns. Fans of the first book's befanged vampire wannabe Michael Stryker will be pleased to hear he has his own adventure in this book. The entire book is alive with myth and magic. Hawkins delivers a paranormal treasure trove of ghosts, faeries, vampires, and gods. It's an incredible escape into a lush, mysterious world.
Profile Image for Shannon Bayless.
35 reviews1 follower
November 26, 2019
This is the second in the Hollystone Mysteries series. If you enjoy books with beautiful prose, twisting plots, magical locations, and complicated LGBTQ characters, you really need to check out this series.

This second book draws Estrada, the High Priest of Holystone Coven, away from his Canadian home to magical Ireland to save a young member of his coven. His gay lover Michael goes off on a supernatural adventure on his own. In Ireland, we meet interesting new characters, and the action-packed plot takes several exciting turns as Estrada finds himself in ever-increasing danger.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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