Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Last year I read another book by Laurie Faria Stolarz known as Project 17 (October 2007) and felt she did an excellent job with a continued level of suspense. Blue is for Nightmare, which is the beginning of an older series, is another example of how Stolarz creates an enjoyable mystery.

Stacey, a practicing witch, is a junior at a boarding school with an overall normal life besides terrifying nightmares that cause her to wet the bed. What's worse than the bed wetting, however, is the fact that she keeps having dreams about someone trying to hurt/kill her roommate/best friend Drea. After dream spells fail to provide further insight and a card reading confirms the immenent danger/death of Drea, Stacey fights to save her friend, especially since Stacey had been unable to save another friend years ago. Things become complicated by the fact that Drea keeps getting creepy phone calls from a man and then a package of white lillies (the flower for death) shows up with a threatening message. When another student encounters similar situations, Stacey knows this is no game and the stakes are exteremly high. Will she save her friend in time? Or will she have to live with another failure?

Although I'm not a big wiccan fan, this was an extremely enjoyable novel. Stacey only does spells when absolutely necessary and it added to the novel because the magic wasn't crammed down your throat. There were no bubbling cauldrons or apparitions from the beyond. It was very basic and I liked that. In reality, you could probably take away all of the magic (do premonitions really count as magic?) and still have a great novel. The suspense worked throughout, never being overdone or underdeveloped. Once again Stolarz created the perfect balance. I wouldn't say that the killer was obvious but if you really put the extra thought in it and consider the main suspects, it doesn't come as too big of a surprise. But, then again, even the story says after the fact that, "No one seemed suprised it was *** stalking Drea" (277). Does that detract from the story? Not at all! If you go along for the ride, it's definitely worth the trip.

Blue is for Nightmares is a book worth reading if you like mysteries, suspense, and a little supernatural activity. Even if you're not a big fan of witches and spells, this novel is enjoyable. I know that I look forward to reading the other three books in the series.
MMK