The Late-Night Witches

Wallace (In the Company of Witches) infuses humor, magic, and surprise into this well-crafted suburban fantasy. Prince Edward Island native Cassie Beckett has her hands full with her 15-year-old daughter and eight year-old twins while her husband is away with Doctors Without Borders. And then there’s her sister, Eliza, who’s eight years her junior and whom she treats like her fourth child. When Eliza and Cassie witness their hair dresser, Joanne, biting Eliza’s boyfriend’s neck, it’s a rude awakening that vampires are real. Confronted by the pair, Joanne gurgles a cryptic threat: “He’s awake.... The Thirteenth witch will die.” Cassie learns from her historian neighbor that centuries ago a powerful sea witch fought a vampire, known as the Deliverer, who was decimating the island. He was put into an enchanted sleep, but every 25 years he awakens to kill a descendant of the witch. If he kills 13 descendants, he’ll be freed. Worse: Cassie herself may be number 13. Ever the über mom, with snacks and juice boxes at the ready, she gathers her family, her magical cat, and a town full of friends to help confront the Deliverer. Wallace’s wonderfully realized characters overcome the exasperation of child-rearing, embrace the bonds of family and friendship, and chuckle through their madcap adventures. Readers are sure to be entertained. (Aug.)