" WITCH 13 is a bloody buzzsaw of a fairy tale, ripe with magic and mayhem and not shy to bring the pain. Delaney sets up a small-town microcosm only to slowly obliterate it over the course of the novel with a gleeful hammer in the form of a monstrous witch, a classic trope reimagined for the modern world and overlaid with a thick black coat of cosmic horror. A violent gut-punch of a novel not to be missed." — Philip Fracassi, author of BENEATH A PALE SKY "Delaney ( Silver's Hollow , 2021) returns with a tribute to the Grimms' darker fairy tales mixed with the grit of Stephen King’s The Stand . After the disturbing chain of events that sets off the narrative, the reader is introduced to Sterling, a female officer tasked with investigating a missing-person case. Although starting off with linearity and a straightforward plot progression, the story fragments as it goes on, switching points of view between characters. Delaney highlights all the pockets of Sterling's life: the things she holds dear, all her regrets, and most of all, the mysterious supernatural attacks that keep happening to her. As the story continues, more murders occur under bizarre circumstances. Sterling has to deal with an enemy 10 steps ahead of her. She must work harder than she ever has to save those dearest to her from this witch entity—if that is, in fact, what it is—even as her sanity hangs on by a thread. With supernatural twists to enhance the psychological horror and stunning artwork throughout, Witch 13 is a great choice for public-library collections." — Booklist On the eve of her resignation, Sheriff Sterling Marsh prepares for a bleak winter in Drybell, Connecticut, after a string of bad decisions leaves her life in shambles. Two weeks before Christmas and expecting a long night of paperwork and quiet celebration with the friends she’s grown to know and love, she’s surprised when an unnerving stranger appears in the form of a witch. A silent, menacing figure, the witch appears to be ripped straight out of a fairytale, complete with a tall, pointed hat, and black clothing. But when strange things begin happening all over town, Sterling begins to suspect that there may be more to the witch than meets the eye. As she works to maintain order as the world crumbles around her, the witch’s mysterious presence throws her world into a frenzy, threatening to send the sleepy town spiraling face-first into the darkest night it’s ever seen. WITNESS THE BIRTH OF A NEW HORROR ICON " WITCH 13 is a bloody buzzsaw of a fairy tale, ripe with magic and mayhem and not shy to bring the pain. Delaney sets up a small-town microcosm only to slowly obliterate it over the course of the novel with a gleeful hammer in the form of a monstrous witch, a classic trope reimagined for the modern world and overlaid with a thick black coat of cosmic horror. A violent gut-punch of a novel not to be missed." - Philip Fracassi, author of BENEATH A PALE SKY