666 Park Avenue: A Novel
Rosemary's Baby meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this breezy chick lit thriller about an American in Paris swept off her feet by a rich-and-good-looking New Yorker with some very dangerous secrets. Then again, aspiring architectural designer Jane Boyle has some hidden skeletons of her own, which she discovers when her estranged grandmother Celine leaves a death-note revelation that clueless Jane comes from a long line of witches. What follows as Jane moves with her handsome fianc&eacute; Malcolm Doran to Manhattan's Upper East Side is a frightening cascade of wickedness that forces Jane to match witchy wits with Malcolm's mom-from-hell, Lynne, negotiate a mansion-full of Mean Girls and a Boo Radley-like stalker&mdash;and test drive her own considerable powers. A scary face-off between Jane and Lynne is both hilarious and exciting. And though the frantic and elaborate finale may leave the future of fledgling witch Jane in question, first-time author Pierce neatly leaves open a creaky, spooky door for a slew of sequels for fans of gothic social climbing and the supernatural. (Feb.)