As a hard-knock kid, Sabbie Dare knew she was different – she saw through the veil that hides other planes of existence. Now she lives a simple life, running her shamanic therapy business, but she’s still stepping headlong into trouble – when clients unwittingly bring danger with them.
Sabbie gains the strength to get through life with her pagan beliefs, but still struggles over the memories of her difficult childhood which left her as a very angry young teenager. She has an open heart, and is adept at inviting trouble into her life. As she says in In the Moors, “I’m the sort of person who has to poke their finger into all the holes marked, ‘do not insert’.”
Readers agree that, despite Sabbie Dare’s cheerful demeanor, the Shaman Mystery Series has a dark, atmospheric edge. Sabbie has a mysterious past herself, which she’s only just beginning to unravel. She has recently been working with a goddess who is her guardian in the shamanic spirit world. She first encounters The Lady of the River in Book One. In Book Two, this otherworld spirit proves equally enigmatic, but guides Sabbie carefully along a dangerous path. And in Book Three, she learns the goddesses name…and why she’s looking out for Sabbie.
Here is a rundown of the three books in the series:
In the Moors
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shaman-Mystery-Mysteries-Milton-Paperback/dp/B00JYI43KM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
A body is found buried in the eerie depths of the Somerset Moors. Detective Sergeant Reynard Buckley is sure that shaman Sabbie Dare’s new client, Cliff Houghton—a wounded, broken man—has something to do with the chilling crime, but Sabbie believes Cliff is being set up. Continuing the therapy she’d begun with Cliff, Sabbie uncovers repressed memories hearkening back to a decades-old string of abductions and murders. But after another little boy is abducted, only Sabbie can prove Cliff’s innocence . . . and find the real culprit before any more lives are shattered.
Sabbie Dare is the most compelling protagonist I’ve met this year, and Milton’s tale is riveting. Perhaps readers will figure things out before Sabbie does, but the visceral suspense Milton creates is commendable, not to mention terrifying. I like pairing her work with Elly Griffiths’s atmospheric English mysteries; Library Journal Starred Review
Unraveled Visions
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unraveled-Visions-Mystery-Nina-Milton/dp/0738740055/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8,
The day after shamanic therapist Sabbie Dare receives a palm reading at the Bridgwater Carnival, she learns that a police officer has been killed and the gypsy fortuneteller has gone missing. Sabbie’s newest client—a scared woman with an angry husband—has also disappeared. Despite warnings from Detective Inspector Rey Buckley to stay away from the investigations, Sabbie can’t ignore the messages of danger she’s received through her shamanic journeys. But as close as she comes to the answers, Sabbie discovers there are people who want to keep the truth from public knowledge.
It’s impossible to refrain from rooting for such a plucky protagonist…Nina Milton skillfully integrates the shamanistic elements into her mystery making in this sequel to last year’s In the Moors – an absorbing tale. The return of Sabbie Dare is awaited with interest; Sheila M. Merritt, Mystery Scene Magazine http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/
Beneath the Tor
http://kitchentablewriters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/announcing-third-novel-in-shaman.html
On a Midsummer night at the top of Glastonbury Tor, beautiful Alys Hollingberry dies suddenly after dancing away the night. Sabbie Dare and her friends are in shock and when her shamanic guru, Wolfsbane, confesses that Alys may have unwittingly taken drugs during his ritual, Sabbie’s shock turns to horror.
After receiving sinister, anonymous emails about Alys, her grieving husband, Brice, approaches Sabbie for help. She turns to the spirit world for guidance, but receives only enigmatic replies. She tries seeking some practical help from her boyfriend Detective Inspector Rey Buckley, but he is embroiled in problems of his own. As she heads closer to the truth about Alys’ death, a deranged killer is also heading towards a final victim, and both are closer to Sabbie than she knows.
Nina Milton has created a unique fictional world in her Shaman Mystery Series, featuring Sabbie Dare as a young shaman. They each have a cracking pace and convey the evocative landscapes of Somerset. Always, the depictions of shamanic journeying are vivid and authentic. Reading Unraveled Visions kept me up at night much later that I wanted, because I could not bear to miss the next bit; Ronald Hutton author of ‘The Triumph of the Moon’, ‘Shamans’ and ‘Pagan Britain’
* Beneath the Tor has a USA publication date of December 2015. Further news and details about will be revealed soon. If you’re a Shaman Mystery fan, do subscribe to my blogsite so that you can keep up to date with developments. http://kitchentablewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
The 1st Shaman Mystery, IN THE MOORS –“Sabbie Dare is the most compelling protagonist I’ve met this year…Milton’s tale is riveting.”—Library Journal (starred review)
The 2nd Shaman Mystery, UNRAVELED VISIONS
“[A] thrilling tale.” —RT Book Reviews
About the Author
Nina Milton is well known for her fast-selling crime fiction series The Shaman Mysteries Series, published by Midnight Ink Books (Llewellyn Worldwide). In the Moors and Unravelled Visions were published in 2013 and 2014 and the third in the series, Beneath the Tor is due out later this year. The Shaman Mysteries feature Sabbie Dare, a young British shaman of mixed race, living in Somerset. Milton, a Druid, and says of the series,
Sabbbie Dare came into my head, fully formed. She said; “Every day, people on the edge walk into my therapy room with their problems. Honestly, I could write a book about some of them…”
Milton was born, educated and raised her two children in the City of Bristol but now lives in west Wales with her husband James, where she grows our own veg and keeps chickens. She has been publishing books since 1995, for children, especially 9+ readers, as well as adults. Her short stories have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies. She has an MA in Creative Writing and works for the Open Collage of the Arts, tutoring, assessing and writing coursework. She is a fellow with the Higher Education Academy.
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