A Black Magic by Joseph Stone concludes The Haunted Women trilogy, a supernatural mystery set mainly in 1970s New York and Buffalo. College student Fran’s family has been haunted for generations by Daedrian, a dangerous yet charming ghost bound to the women of her bloodline. Fran, together with her sharp-witted cousin, Mary Jane, discovers that touching old family letters with her blood lets her relive the memories of her ancestors. Through the blood visions, the girls travel back to Boston and eighteenth-century Scotland, trying to piece together how the curse originated and find a way to break it. Fran’s relatives are also facing troubles of their own, with Richie dealing with a difficult father and identity crisis, old family wounds resurfacing, and sudden illness shaking everyone.

A Black Magic by Joseph Stone weaves past and present into one long, unsettling family mystery. The diaries, translated letters, and visions strengthen the suspense and are a great reward for readers who enjoy gathering clues. I was enthralled by the chapters on Violet and Máirín, with gripping historical hints. This is a well-written novel about secrecy, generational trauma, and abuse, with characters unlike you will find in any book. They are uniquely imagined and developed with care. Fran grows quickly from a frightened girl into a strategist, and Mary Jane becomes the logical one who also masters procedure, making them the perfect pair. This propulsive book will appeal to fans of occult mysteries, family sagas, and witchcraft stories. It contains graphic and violent sexual scenes, so be warned. It will sit well on the shelf with Deborah Harkness's A Discovery of Witches and Anne Rice's The Witching Hour.

A Black Magic by Joseph Stone introduces Frances “Fran” Tarantino, a Barnard freshman who is haunted by a self-proclaimed angel named Daedrian. Daedrian has been the curse of the women of her bloodline for two centuries. He isolates, controls, and terrorizes them. Fran has inherited the curse, and when she and her cousin, Mary Jane, discover that a drop of Fran’s blood unlocks vivid memories sealed in old letters, they start investigating. They risk vivid blood dreams, seeking to find out where, when, and how the curse started and whether they can break it. The journey will take them to Scotland in 1714 to Máirín, a midwife, and her daughter Violet, a Boston apothecary hiding from a man who refuses to stay dead. In Buffalo, Fran’s siblings face battles of their own, with a brother keeping a dangerous secret and a marriage held together by silence. Yet, Daedrian's grip tightens, and Fran and Mary Jane must decide what price they are willing to pay for freedom.

Joseph Stone’s novel is perfect for readers who enjoy gothic horror and family sagas. The writing is atmospheric, and the elegant prose is punctuated by sparkling dialogue that brings the characters to life. The author creates a memorable, unsettling, and needy villain in Daedrian, who is as vain as he is terrifying. Meanwhile, the notebook conversations between Fran and Mary Jane rank among the book’s top gripping passages. I was fascinated by the magic that feels fresh, built on blood, intention, and light. The twin timelines are cleverly balanced; the 1700s glow with candlelight and Gaelic menace while the 1970s create a vivid domestic terrain where the horror feels even more real. A Black Magic has deliberately slow pacing, but it is gripping; the erotic scenes are graphically written, and every thread of the story leads to a satisfying payoff. It is a haunting portrait of inherited trauma, disturbing and delightful at the same time.

A Black Magic by Joseph Stone is a gothic family saga that takes readers on a journey of dark magic, starting in 1714 Scotland and ending in the 1970s in Buffalo, New York. Fran Tarantino and her loyal cousin Mary Jane are students at Barnard, and their lives reflect the ordinary life of college students. All of that changes when they discover that Fran has inherited not only her great-aunt Aurora’s fortune but also the darkest legacy of her family: Daedrian Crow. He is the result of the fated choices of Máirín, a midwife. Fran discovers her “blood vision” gift, which forces her to relive the memories of her ancestors and their link to the ghost. With Mary Jane, she sets out to discover how the curse on the women of her bloodline started, digging through memories, diaries, and letters, moving toward one desperate, daring plan. Can she break the curse, or will she be consumed by it?

Joseph Stone captured my interest with the magic, the sophisticated characters, and the suspense, and kept me racing through the pages nonstop. The plot is complex, and the author builds the chilling parts carefully, with notebook conversations and a villain rendered with unsettling detail. Daedrian is charming, possessive, but flawed. Fran and Mary Jane are fun to follow; they are brave, believably clever, and funny. The magic is unique and bound by rules of blood, binding, and intention. There are graphic, erotic scenes that might be disturbing to some readers, but the author warns about them in the opening pages. A Black Magic is crafted in gorgeous prose, punctuated by sparkling dialogue, and featuring unforgettable characters who experience trauma and bondage to a creature that is as cunning as it is proud.

A Black Magic is the third book in The Haunted Women trilogy by Joseph Stone. It follows the story of cousins Fran Tarantino and Mary Jane. They are college freshmen at Barnard in 1974, and both are haunted by Daedrian. It is a controlling spirit who insists he's an angel and claims dominion over the women of Fran's bloodline as a twisted form of love. When Fran presses her blood to an old family letter, she's pulled into the memories of Violet Ralston. Violet lived centuries earlier and was murdered by Daedrian himself, back when he was still a mortal man named Daedrian Crow. Fran keeps risking these dangerous blood visions to learn the truth buried in her family's past. Mary Jane and Fran have to fight back in total secrecy, while Fran plays along with Daedrian's expectations at night just to survive him. All the while, Fran is piecing together exactly what Daedrian is and what it will take to finally end him.

Joseph Stone created an incredible world where this dark, twisted story occurs. I loved the world-building, the character development, and the story arcs. It is a scary story indeed, but the author does a phenomenal job of putting together three centuries of family history into one thrilling novel. Fran is a really brave protagonist, and seeing her take all these risks in the blood visions just to find out the truth was gripping. Daedrian is one of the creepiest villains I've come across in a while, and I loved him! He has a twisted belief that his control over these women is actually love, and that makes him so much more unsettling than an outright monster. I loved how the story jumps between the 1974 timeline and the older memories Fran uncovers, especially Violet's story. Mary Jane's loyalty to Fran makes me love them both even more. They were there for each other in every way possible throughout this extremely difficult time. A Black Magic is a truly scary novel and ends just right. I wish I could give this more than 5 stars because it deserves so much more.