Saturn's Child — R.L. Holmes

It has been twenty years since she was last here in Fenton, a small farming town of only 2000. She has changed her identity many times to escape the wrath of her crimes, so far fooling them all. The only one who knows the truth is a pestering ghost from her past, the sweet aroma of roses fill the air every time he visits. But she is determined to take back the life she always wanted, the life she felt she deserved. When she first meets Saracen, a twelve year old girl linked to a love from her past, she is quick to notice the dark rim around her iris, her penetrating stare and the uniqueness of her aura, that signifies a potential apprentice, a potential woman of the craft. Saracen is raised by her gran, a Herbalist and prolific gardener, who gives her the nurturing and stable childhood she needs. But when Saracen's dreams and visions begin to come true, and her 'imaginary friend' Seth - a four foot high, grumpy old man who lives in the back garden, becomes more tangible - they begin to question the strange and sometimes violent events occurring around them. It's unlike Fenton to have so much crime, so much violence. It's as if someone is dictating their lives - a puppet master, a mass manipulator. Someone so clever at disguise no one would suspect a thing. Set over a twelve month period - this book is mixture of mystery, crime, humor, mysticism and humanity. Written through the eyes of Saracen; we see the reaction of the locals after a double homicide, the gathering of women to heal a community and the maturing of a talented young girl.