Curse — Andrew Neiderman

Magic or Murder?

When miserly landlord Henry Deutch is found dead of an apparent heart attack, no one is happier than Anna Young. It was Henry who evicted Anna's mother from his Catskill tenement, which eventually led to her death. Anna swore a blood oath of vengence, but her alleged attacks were purely metaphysical. Yet, some claim them mortally effective; those who frequent her tiny shop for love charms and protective amulets attest that Anna Young is a master of black magic.

Now a politically ambitious prosecuter has filed first-degree murder charges against Anna, contending that her spell casting litteraly frightened old Henry to death. And though the public remains divided among those who believe in Anna's powers and those who think she's a murderous fraud, one Del Pearson, her court appointed lawyer, is about to discover the truth: whether Anna Young is a harmless charlatan, a cold blooded killer...or quite something else indeed.