A thrilling tale that takes the reader back to Slovakia, in the very early 1600’s. The protagonist, Betsy Path, is a Jungian psychoanalyst, as was her father. Daisy Hart is a current teen patient of Dr. Path’s, a haunted Goth with a terrifying tendency to quit breathing when certain memories overcome her. As a Jungian psychoanalyst, Betsy has been taught of the collective subconscious of humanity. Jung believed all people are connected, and the dreams of one person can reveal the past, present and future of another. He partially defined these theories in a book, Liber Novus, written as he descended into madness. Grace and Cesny Path, Betsy’s parents, were connected in many ways to the area in which Erszebet Bathory lived and died. Countess Bathory’s murdering ways are detailed, she is thought of as one the first female serial killers, and was a possible descendant of Vlad the Impaler. The chapters switch between Cachtice castle in 1610 to modern day Colorado. Transitions were smooth and well done, and the characters were so well written, even the most minor character had a distinct and well planned persona. Pschoanalysis never seemed so interesting! I would really like to hear more about Morgan, Daisy’s older half sister, who reveals in just a few sentences how she saved Daisy. Beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and a better than good read, I’m going to get this in hardcover also. The best kind of book is one that leads the readers to others; now, I’ve got to read [ “The Red Book: Liber Novus” by Carl Jung and “The Bloodletter’s Daughter”, also by Linda Lafferty
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