T.L. Schaefer Reviews

Added February 17, 2004

The Brotherhood

Author: T.L. Schaefer
Publisher: Atlantic Bridge Publishing
Available At: www.atlanticbridge.net
Publishing Date: January 2004
Genre: Mystery: Paranormal
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $5.00
ISBN: 1-931761-83-3
Author Email/Website: www.tlschaefer.com
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty

Author Terri Schaefer takes readers back to the small town of Mariposa and into a spine-tingling paranormal mystery.

Doug Brewster normally enjoyed his job as sheriff. However the latest murder in his small town was enough to make him want to resign. Eli Miller had been found in his bed. This wasn't such much a mystery, except for the fact he had been young and severely beaten. Even worse was the fact he had known his killers, evidenced by the lack of restraint bruises. Who would want to kill Miller? He wasn't a threat, just a normal product of Mariposa County. To make matters worse, he had some kind of mark on his chest that couldn't be identified or explained.

Josie Galloway was only one of the practicing witches in Mariposa. Up until her partner had moved away, she had been high priestess of their coven. Now she was a solitary practioner and liked it much better that way. Lately however, she had been experiencing some odd dreams and there was a modified triskele mark on her chest. She knew only she was reliving someone's life in her dreams, but hadn't a clue who it was until Doug came to visit.

Ever since his return to Mariposa ten years before, Doug had been good friends with Josie. Unlike everyone else in town that knew his past, she knew him for the person he was now. Their relationship had never gone beyond friendship, even though at times he might have wondered about it. Hearing about and then seeing the mark on Josie's chest had Doug in knots. Protocol insisted he consider her a suspect, but Josie couldn't have killed Eli. Could their marks be coincidence?

As they talk, Josie realizes Eli Miller is in contact with her for some reason. While hesitant, Doug agrees that she should try to work with Eli and find out who might have killed him as all their clues point to the Brotherhood of Freedom.

A longstanding tradition in Mariposa, the Brotherhood of Freedom was minority-hating church. Doug didn't care what they preached or did as long as they stayed within the confines of the law. As he and his team continued to investigate Miller's death, news of a more extremist wing of the Brotherhood reaches his ears. How can he solve a murder when the only suspects have nothing and everything to hide?

And what of his changing relationship with Josie? Will they be able to move beyond their pasts and find happiness? Can Doug protect her when a powerful enemy from Josie's past finds her?

Another keeper from the talented pen of Terri Schaefer! I completely enjoyed her debut novel The Summerland and began reading The Brotherhood hoping it would live up to its predecessor. It is much better. Doug and Josie have this amazing chemistry that draws the reader to them and enfolds the reader into their lives. This novel really has it all: suspense, danger, intrigue, betrayal, romance, passion and emotion. I highly recommend you don't miss this amazing novel.

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Added September 10,2002

The Summerland

Author: T. L. Schaefer
Publisher: Atlantic Bridge Publishing
Available At: www.atlanticbridge.net
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Mystery
Format: Ebook Download in PDF, CD-Rom & Trade Paperback
Price: $5.00 Download; $8.00 CD-ROM; $15.00 Trade Paperback
ISBN: 0-9706913-0-0
Author Email/Website: www.tlschaefer.com
Reviewer: Ayden Delacroix

Life in Mariposa County was nothing like the big cities. Here everyone knew everyone, distrusted outsiders, and murders weren't everyday occurrences. So when two boys find a body, Sheriff Bill Ashton knows things will quickly become unpleasant.

While investigating the crime scene, officials find four more bodies, bringing the count up to five. All females, they were laid out in the same fashion with the same details. It doesn't take long to decipher the meanings behind the details. These women were sacrificed. Realizing he has a serial killer on the loose, he calls in help. As if that weren't enough, a Samantha Henning has disappeared, the only clues to her presence being a stolen candy-apple red convertible and cell-phone.

Captain Arden Jones couldn't believe her luck: her car had been found. The next bit of news threw her normally sedate life into turmoil. A cell phone belonging to her sister Samantha had been found in the car and there was no sign of her sister. Her decision made, Arden headed to Mariposa. It doesn't matter that hers and Samantha's relationship is practically non-existent; they're sisters.

Her attraction to Ashton is instantaneous and reciprocated. They were meant to be together and under normal circumstances they might have pursued a relationship. However, everything pointed toward Samantha being the next victim. Time was running out and they still had no suspects.

Every day, new evidence turns up, further complicating the case. Why did the killer take such good care of the victims? Why go to the trouble if you were just going to kill them? What was he hoping to accomplish by having consensual sex with the victims beforehand? According to the local High Priestess, the killer had been trained in the Wiccan religion and was now performing his own twisted version.

Ms. Schaefer's debut novel is magnificent. Not a big fan of mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It had everything I love: suspense, action, romance, sensuality & strong characters. From the nail-biting suspense to the passion sparking between Bill and Arden to the vivid descriptions, I was riveted to my seat. Making this novel even more enjoyable was the wonderful portrayal of Wicca as a beautiful earth-based religion and Ms. Schaefer clearly differentiating between the true beliefs of Wicca and the killer's twisted version. Not to be missed!

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