The Serpent and the Stag by Julie Ann Maahs

The Pagan & The Pen Reviews

Title: The Serpent and the Stag
Author: Julie Ann Maahs

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Publisher: Smashwords

Genre: thriller/mystery/romance

Length: 271 pgs. 
Other: M/F romance/M/F/sexual abuse

Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

About The Book: A serial killer lurks in the Northern California fog, and young women are disappearing. Sarah is 16, pretty and naive. Her beloved mother now dead, Sarah must run away from her hated aunt to search for the father she barely knows. Right into the serpent's den. What she finds horrifies her. Is the strange boy she meets there the real killer? Is her father involved? Can she escape before it's too late?

The Review:

Somewhere in the middle of the third chapter I began to get frustrated. Sure the book was well written, but the sheer righteous piety of the main character was giving me a sugar rush. However, I liked her spunky determination so I stuck around for chapter four. Boy, am I glad that I did! It turns out that the first few chapters served as a pointed contrast between her Fundamentalist Christian childhood and her subsequent experiences in a Unitarian/Pagan hippy commune.

I couldn’t put this down; once I started, I read the entire book in one satisfying session.

The author has an amazing knack for storytelling that allows the reader to know exactly who the bad guy is without losing interest in the story. It’s the interaction between the characters, rather than the mystery itself, that creates that I-don’t-want-to-put-it-down feeling. With a fantastic, rotating third person perspective the reader gets to see through the eyes of many of the main characters, including the antagonist. The characters are well rounded and believable, the scenes are detailed, and the pace of the book is unflagging until the finish. A warning for those with a history of sexual abuse – the scenes between the antagonist and his victims are very well written, and disturbing.

Though there is a romantic element to the story, it is not the overwhelming theme. Rather, it is simply a spice added to the story for additional flavor. I thought the author did a great job of exploring Sarah’s difficulty with falling for a pagan man.

Pagan Elements: The commune where Sarah, the protagonist, winds up is a mix of religious preferences, but predominantly pagan. The members adopt magickal names that reflect their connection to the earth. In one scene, Sarah watches a very well written Beltane ritual.

Cover (Rated 1-10): 4

The misty quality of the book cover is an accurate reflection of the climate and environment in which the characters are interacting. I liked the simplistic nature of the image, but felt that without knowing the story, the cover is too vague.

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