In The Dagger: The Madigan Chronicles, written by Marieke Lexmond, Bridget tries her best to keep her witch side shut off and out of her life. However, she doesn’t know that she can ever truly shut her witch side off as she finds herself seeing a recent murder. She is thrust into a flashback and finds out who and why they murdered this witch. Bridget can’t believe her eyes. This discovery leads to her reconnecting with her family, which she has kept more than an arm’s length away. Unfortunately, Reconnecting brings up more secrets that her grandmother has hidden for decades. Bridget has many decisions to make, and she must reconnect with her witch side. But is she up for it?

The Dagger is an absolutely marvelous book. Many readers will find this book relatable in some ways. There is a lot of family drama in this exciting story; the Madigan family has many secrets hidden away. All the characters have unique backstories and well-formed personalities. Each unique individual that the author has created brings an essential element into the storyline, giving readers clues to the family’s secrets locked away for so long.

The grandmother, Tara, is a character full of depth; with secrets and desires to protect her family. She plays a vital role in Bridget’s life, and this is shown in interesting ways as the story advances. However, Tara is holding a secret from the family, which impacts how she interacts and how she is perceived by them and readers.

This intriguing book has an excellent pace for the start of a series. The worldbuilding and character development were integrated well into this first book’s plotline, giving readers enough information but not slowing down the action. The author used multiple characters’ points of view for this novel, so readers could see situations from different vantage points to paint a complete picture of things.

The Dagger is the first book in the paranormal series The Madigan Chronicles. Fantasy readers will be taken in by the unique characters and the dynamic plot. This is a fantastic start to the series, and readers will be anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Pages: 271 | ASIN : B08NF9HYY9