Traitor to the Crown: The Patriot Witch

This spellbinding historical fantasy, first of a series, takes Proctor Brown, ready minuteman and reluctant witch, through the opening battles of the American Revolution. Caught between the demands of a loyalist girlfriend and the needs of his aged parents, Proctor is eager to join the American cause and put his hidden abilities to good use. As he learns more about witchcraft, he finds it employed by both rebels and Royal Marines, and he struggles to master his talents without being exposed. Finlay (The Prodigal Troll ) provides enough well-researched minutiae of daily life in colonial America to make this a fine historical novel, while offering a magic-tinged view of the happenings at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill that impressively restores suspense and uncertainty to long-settled events. (May)