Reviews: THE SHAMAN MYSTERY SERIES #1 and #2 by NINA MILTON

REVIEW: IN THE MOORS by Nina Milton

First in the Shaman Mystery Series, featuring plucky heroine Sabbie (Sabrina) Dare, a Shamanic therapist in Bridgwater, England, a mixed-race woman who saw her mother die when only six, was placed in a series of foster homes, then fostered by a loving and supportive Afro-Caribbean couple. Sabbie has a degree in psychology plus years of Shamanic training. As an alternative therapist, she contends with the disbelief of others, including the police detectives who arrest a new client.

Author Nina Milton explores the worlds of alternative healing, as well as relationship issues, both positive and seriously negative (a possessive, stalking, wannabe boyfriend). The novel is enticing and kept my attention throughout.

Second in the Shaman Mystery Series, this novel explores the shady and ugly underside of immigrant life in Britain. There is a fountain of fictional material to be mined in the experience of immigrants, but here Ms. Milton concentrates on a pair of Bulgarian sisters, enticed to England with the promise of good income, only to discover a less-than-livable wage from an employer who withholds pay, "loans" money, and adds unbelievable interest. Bridgwater Shamanic therapist Sabbie Dare encounters the older sister briefly at the annual Bridgwater November 5 carnival (Guy Fawkes Day), but even that momentary encounter is sufficient for the spirit world to entwine Sabbie's destiny with that of the two sisters, in an exciting and thrilling roller coaster ride of a story.