Somewhere between fantasy and reality, Dottie finds new life in her relationship with the mysterious girl. But Dottie’s entanglements with Magdalena, a curious centenarian, a compelling stranger, an ex-mobster, and a murder of crows thrusts this once cloistered woman into a frenzy of public scrutiny. To quell the rumors, Dottie keeps returning to pen and paper, the place where only she can distinguish the fiction from what truly happened. In sharing her story, she discovers something as frightening as it is liberating – her voice.

Though her prose has been compared to Shirley Jackson, Sary’s writing stands in a class of its own. MAGDALENA is a swirling and mystical debut, part ghost story, part tender tale of love, loss, and longing, inspired by the author’s personal experiences. Sary’s mesmerizing and haunting debut will keep readers under its spell long after the final page.

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Anytime something is compared to Shirley Jackson I’m intrigued, so I was excited to hear about this one. I would definitely agree with that comparison and thoroughly enjoyed this read. While the story is about Dottie and Magdalena, I really enjoyed the offshoots and additional stories within the town itself. This was my first ready from Candi Sary and I really enjoyed not only the writing style but the overall atmosphere of the read. I will definitely be picking up more from this author!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Candi Sary is an award-winning
writer and graduate from the University of California, Irvine.
Her writing has won Reader Views Literary Award, a
Chanticleer International Book Award, and was First Runner-Up
in the Eric Hoffer Book Award. A mother of two adult children,
Sary lives in Southern California with her husband, a dog, a cat
and several ducks. She can often be found surfing and paddling
boarding in the waters of Newport Beach. She is a proud
steward of a Little Free Library.

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Happy reading!