Dragon’s Teeth

by James A. Hetley

$14.00, Ace Books, 327pp

James has become one of the writers I watch for. This is his fourth book and the second in this particular world… and as enjoyable as the first three. This series is basically about a small Maine town and the families who have lived there as long as there is history.

The Morgans are descended from real pirates but that’s not all that distinguishes them. Aside from their still piratical leanings, they have otherworldly talents as well. The Morgans enjoy a unique relationship with something that lives in the sea that not even they understand or know. Gary is the last of the Morgans and quite troublesome to his father and his uncle who raised him. Gary has fallen in love with a woman who may rival the Morgans in ruthlessness and may threaten their very existence.

The Haskells have been around longer than any European voyagers that landed in Maine. Their roots are with the Naskeag Indians but they are more than that. They are known as the Haskell witches. They have a House whose main purpose for being seems to be the overall protection of women in general, and the witches in particular. The Haskells and the Morgans have often been at odds over the generations but now they find themselves becoming more interdependent since there is now one who comes from both families – Caroline. Caroline is looking for a special ancient doll that was stolen from an Indian tribe in Arizona – a very dangerous and powerful doll.

There’s another family in town with roots that may be as old and are certainly more obscure – the Rowleys. Alice Rowley is the Haskell Witch’s lover, the town constable and the only one who can talk to rocks and earth. And her own daughter may be responsible for several dead bodies.

There are dead bodies galore and increasing evidence that the nasty Peruvian sorcerer that all believed to be dead may still be in town. And it’s going to take more magic than even the Haskell Witch has to put him down for good. It may take Alice’s connection with the land, Caroline’s doll, and Gary’s volatile and unpredictable new love.

This is not an epic novel but it is a well-rounded and satisfying story. It is always interesting to me when a man attempts to write from a woman’s perspective. I can’t say that James has any unique insight that makes him any different or better in the attempt. I think if a woman wrote this story, it could have become an epic and it really doesn’t need to be. His efforts are satisfactory and not insulting. And there are moments where he really nails it. (and that’s not a pun!) It’s a story that works for me. And he’s left enough loose ends for at least one more story. Another story… right, James?? – Catherine Book