Flying by Night: Book 1 of the Coven of the Jeweled Dragon

by Lorna Tedder

The last time I saw my two husbands alive, they were standing naked before the Altar of the Goddess. So begins a fast-paced tale of suspense, love, and pagan spirituality as a high priestess is framed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892718448
• ISBN13: 9781892718440
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Spilled Candy Publication
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent story telling

I was intrigued by the opening lines and immediately drawn into the story. Until now I was not aware of what earth based religions are all about. I bought the book for the suspense. Not for the paranormal moments. I learned more about Wiccans than I ever would have through any other medium. The mystery was enjoyable too.

Blessings light and dark

Flying By Night is a gripping story of romance, magick and adventure. Lorna Tedder is a great storyteller and the characters are interesting and compelling. You can't wait to find out what happens next.

One of the best mysteries I've ever read

I bought this book as an ebook when it first came out but did not get around to reading it until my summer vacation. The reviewers here are right when they talk about twists and turns. The first time I read it, I thought it was great. One of the best if not THE best mystery I have ever read. I learned a lot about religion, too, and about what pagans believe. The villain kept me guessing right up until the end and I love it when a book does that. Ironically the villain was my first choice early in the story but the author did a great job of throwing me off. I read the book a second time and it was even better. I didn't catch all the nuances the first time, so I slowed down and enjoyed it the second time. I like the way the story uses the four elements to represent different characters. I didn't see that the first time. I did go back and scan it on my palmtop after reading the review from the reader who obviously wants to be the book's editor, and I must disagree on the implication that the book is lacking in editing. Though you might not can tell from the way I write my on-line posts, I teach college English and hope to have my Ph.D. next spring, but I do understand that it is very hard to stop being an English teacher and simply enjoy the read. To that end, I did find 2 errors when I read the book the first time and that's far less than I find in most bestsellers I've read in the past two or three years. One was wretched used as a verb in one scene and the other was a single use of sites referring to a gun. Both are common mistakes and really did not keep me from enjoying the book. Lay is used incorrectly a total of 3 times out of 28 (yes, I counted in the ebook after I read the reviews) but all 3 times are in Kestral's first-person point of view and they are part of her speech pattern. All other instances of lay are as the past tense of lie and taking no object (LIE, LAY, LAIN). That's part of what I adore about this author. She uses such specific speech patterns for each character that you know who is speaking, even if you take a sentence out of context. Her style is lyrical and suspenseful at the same time. She would nearly sing me to sleep and then scare the wits out of me. Also, I have to say that I didn't think of this book as a romance at all. There are romantic elements and evidence that all was not well in polyamoury-land but the book does not cleanly fit into any genre although it's closest to mystery or suspense. Maybe it is most accurate to call it mainstream. I hope the author makes the next book in the series this exciting and brings back Kestrel and Finn for an encore. Tell her to lay it on me!

WOW! Fascinating and Enlightening

Ms. Tedder kept me up until 2 A.M. reading this gripping tale. The suspense is taut, the plot has more twists than a pretzel, the characters are so real I'm not convinced they aren't living in a house down the street, and I learned more about the Wiccan spirituality than I did in a college course study on the topic. I loved this book! Can't wait for the next installment!!

More twists & turns than Celtic knot work!

From its first line, Flying By Night--the new pagan thriller by Lorna Tedder--draws us into a world where things aren't quite what we expect and yet never falters in its plausibility. Kestrel Firehawk, its Wiccan narrator, is truly happy in a plural marriage to two cherished husbands who themselves love each other like brothers. Even she admits that the situation is less than usual, even among pagans. But her presentation lets us accept it so wholly that we share Kestrel's anguish when both men are brutally, ritually murdered on a holy night--and she is framed for it. At the same time, we are introduced to a homicide detective who knows nothing of Wicca, Dylan "Finn" MacCool. The hard-won dispassion of his point of view gives us needed balance after Kestrel's trauma, even as he struggles to understand what the Firehawks were invovled with, who had cause to so viciously murder them...and why he feels drawn to both the victims and his missing, number-one suspect. But dispassion can bring its own disasters, and even a protector like Dylan is not immune to loss once hatred and religious bigotry enter the picture. Herein lies the greatest strength of this first book in the promised "Coven of the Jeweled Dragon" series. By setting her suspense novel in the variegated world of neo-paganism and real magic, not hocus-pocus fantasy, Tedder draws the reader into worlds and lives that resonate with truth, largely because the author does not shy away from the characters' weakness or pain. The horror of this killing, despite Kestrel's firm belief in reincarnation, is no mere plot device to be glossed over; it is blasphemy the way killing should be seen, an abomination for which we, right along with the characters, cannot help but crave justice. Thus the continued threat to Kestrel, and to future innocents, stays realistically frightening--and the justice that any good thriller delivers, while hard-won, seems doubly sweet.With more twists and turns than Celtic knot work--and just as carefully crafted--Lorna Tedder's thriller Flying By Night illuminates the shadows surrounding modern Witchcraft; chills you with its realistic portrayl of hate; alternately breaks your heart, then heals it; and, most important, keeps you reading until the very end. This is one of those rare books that does more, and more deeply, than I've read in a long time. I'm now anxiously awaiting the next book in Lorna's "Coven of the Jeweled Dragon" series!