The Witch Tree

[Tracy Krauss]

The Witch Tree by Karin Kaufman is a Christian novel about a woman who unwittingly gets involved with a group of modern day witches and must protect her reputation and ultimately, her life. Anna Denning  makes her living as a genealogist, researching other people’s family trees. When she shows up at a client’s house with her findings, she discovers the woman dead. Thus begins a tale that takes us into the minds and hearts of modern day witches, wiccans, druids and covens. Unknown to Anna, she was hired by a powerful practicing witch that has set up shop in the small tourist community where Anna lives. She soon finds herself in the witch’s ‘bad books’ as she tries to keep her good name intact and find out who really killed Sarah Muncy. I enjoyed the book for its mystery and the complexity of the tale. There was a lot of information about modern day occultish practices, which was interesting but not really up my alley. It was obvious that the author did her homework, though, so those that are interested in that topic will be pleased. As a Christian novel, it did not come across as preachy. Anna is a woman of faith, but she doesn’t try to convert everyone. Sometimes she seemed a bit headstrong – even foolish – in the way she jumped into the fray, but since this is a series, it is probably a character trait we will see in future instalments. I would recommend this book to Christian readers who are interested in the current culture’s fascination with witchcraft and paganism.