Review: White Witch Authored By Larry D. Thompson

Title: White Witch

Author: Larry D. Thompson

Publisher: Story Merchant Books

ISBN: 978-0-09991621-5-6

Larry D. Thompson's most recent novel, White Witch is set in Jamaica, West Indies, and opens with a prologue where readers learn about Annie Palmer owner of the Rose Hall plantation who thought very little of inflicting a painful death on her slaves for their disobedience particularly if they attempted to escape.

Annie was known as the White Witch as well as an Obeah priestess and we are told that she met her death at the hands of one of her slaves who buried her with a snake dagger that supposedly had magical powers. If you are curious as to what is Obeah, Oliver Senior's Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage states:“it is the word used to denote witchcraft, evil magic or sorcery by which supernatural power is invoked to achieve personal protection or the destruction of enemies.”

Fast forward three hundred years later when an American company, Global American Metals is about to launch a new bauxite mine in Jamaica, which is to be the biggest one in the hemisphere. Alexa Pritchard, the President of the company orders four of her employees to her office in Baltimore to find out how the operation is progressing. The make of the team comprises Kaven Tillman, who is originally from Jamaica and who is in charge of public relations, Manny Rodriguez, the company's engineer who designed the mine, Will Taylor, a former Navy Seal, who looks after security and Rodney Gore, the company's computer geek.

As we discover, Pritchard is a ruthless businesswoman who will not let anything get in her way to make sure that the mine is up and running even if it means resorting to all kinds of criminal activities including hiring of mercenaries to murder her opponents, and paying off government officials.

Kaven is informed by Alexa that he is to return to his native Jamaica to present a positive slant on the company's activities and the opening of the new mine. He is hesitant and is concerned about the location of the mine as it is situated in the rain forests of Jamaica, known as Cockpit Country that apparently is Maroon territory. The Maroons do not take too well to the intrusion in their lives and their land. They are descendants of Africans who fought the Spaniards for a hundred and fifty years and when the British took over Jamaica they made peace with the Maroons. A treaty of peace and friendship was signed in 1739 recognizing the Maroons and granting them extensive lands and it was agreed they would govern themselves and in return would support the British government against foreign invasion. The authenticity and recognition of this treaty is given a great deal of ink in the novel's yarn and its ultimate outcome.

Another character that will play an important role in the yarn is Vertise Broderick, an American educated journalist, who at one time worked for the New York Times. As it turns out, she is a Maroon and the daughter of Colonel Broderick, the leader of the Maroons and is now writing a column for a local Jamaican newspaper concerning the hazards of permitting Global American Metals to mine in Maroon territory.

Thompson amply shows his skill as an excellent storyteller and his expertly voiced narration masterly evokes time and place. There is action aplenty in this yarn as he melds a powerful intricately plotted narrative imbuing it with voodooism, murder, corruption, Jamaican history, and legendary snake knives with unexplained powers, and court room drama which all makes for an informative, stimulating and entertaining read. In addition, he effectively explores the harsh world of abhorrent stripping of the rain forests as well as the disrespect of the natives historical rights to these valuable lands.

FOLLOW HERE TO READ NORM'S INTERVIEW WITH LARRY D. THOMPSON