Mastery of Mystery: A Discovery of Witches If you are anything like me you will have finished reading A Discovery of Witche

s, part supernatural mystery, part intellectual thriller, by debut author, Debor ah Harkness, and turned right round and read it through again. The books that go od, that well written and conceived. You will have then placed it on your books helf and drummed impatient fingers, longing for the sequel. The story concerns a witch, academic Diana Bishop, her subject the history of al chemy. The descendent of two famous witch families, the Proctors and the Bishops , both martyred during the Salem Witch Trials, Dianas parents are dead. Raised b y her aunt Sarah, Diana has tried her best to ignore witchcraft and all things w itchy. But now, in the Bodleian library in Oxford, she calls forth an enchanted book from the stacks. The book is Ashmole 782, and is filled with alchemical s ymbols. The referenced Ashmole refers to Elias Ashmole, antiquarian, politician, astrolo ger, alchemist and wealthy collector of curiosities, who backed the Royals durin g the Civil War, rising to significant power during the Restoration. Ashmole be queathed his collections in 1677 to Oxford, where they reside in the famed Ashmo lean museum. Spellbound, and much desired, Ashmole 782 allows no more than a twinkling glimps e of the alchemical mysteries within its pages before vanishing. Diana is uncer tain how she managed to acquire such a book in the first place. The extent of h er magical prowess remains unknown to her. But Diana hasnt simply called forth a rare treatise on alchemy; her ability to co njure brings out every witch, daemon and vampire for miles, all foregathering in Oxfords most famous library to observe a quite uncommon witch. Chief among these is Matthew Clairmont, a vampire of ancient lineage. Handsome, sexy, an accomplished scientist, Matthew sets about protecting Diana from evils she cannot imagine. Together the pair form an uneasy bond for the supernatural world they inhabit prohibits inter-species alliance. Vampires do not involve t hemselves with witches. Witches do not fall in love with vampires. And nobody trusts the daemons. Diana and Matthew travel together, learning to trust one another, while they hun t for clues to the whereabouts of the missing manuscript. All great good fun, t heir journey takes them to France, to Matthews castle, where Diana begins to lear n magic and vampire lore, all the while falling for a most compelling vamp. We also get to meet Dianas Aunt Sarah, who inhabits the most delightful of haunted h ouses in upstate New York. The only thing better than reading A Discovery of Witches twice through, is comi ng home to discover the sequel, Shadow of Night, awaiting me on the front doorst ep. Really, felt like Id conjured Ashmole 782 myself. (And if youre anything like me youve been wondering what secrets reside in volumes 1 through 781.) Oh, yes, the other great thing is that Shadow of Night is book two of the All So uls Trilogy, which means well be seeing more of Diana, more of Matthew. I, for one, cannot wait.