Book: The "Jason Crane Sleepy Hollow" Trilogy by Richard Gleaves

The Witch Trial:
Richard Gleaves uses the basis of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to mould this trilogy, with the characters of Richard's books being the descendants of the main characters from Irving's "Legend" story.  How well does he achieve this premise we will find out below...

Who:
Author: Richard Gleaves (with a little help of course from Washington Irving)
What:
Horror/Mystery
Why:
Normally I would let you know here if the book is a standalone book or part of a series.  However I am covering all three books in the series as it stands now (hopefully we get more in the future).
"Rise Headless and Ride" introduces our main hero Jason Crane, with "Bridge of Bones" continuing the saga and "General of the Dead" concluding the trilogy.
When:
Set in the present day
Where:
Based in the small village of Sleepy Hollow

The Case For:
I came across the book "Rise Headless and Ride" from a BookBub recommendation (a website that all avid book readers should use).  Having read Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" a few times, as well as having the audio book too, you could say I was already a fan of the original source.
So when I read the blurb for "Rise Headless and Ride" and saw that it contained the Headless Horseman and was set in Sleepy Hollow it is safe to say that I was keen to explore this novel.
Richard Gleaves uses this haunted location for the setting of his story, crafting his tale around the original "Legend" short story.  The way he has incorporated the "Legend" in to his own trilogy is a remarkable achievement.  His love of the original text and the village itself really shows through in his work.
Our hero is Jason Crane, a teenager who tragically lost his parents in a motoring accident.  He moves to Sleepy Hollow with his grandmother, who has guardianship.  Her motive for moving to the region, unbeknown to Jason, is that he is a direct descendant of Ichabod Crane.  This will have a bearing on the future of himself and everyone else around him.
We are soon introduced to Hadewych Van Brunt who, without wanting to spoil it too much, appears to be one of the villains of the piece.  But impressions can be mistaken and there are a few surprises in store for both protagonist and villain.
The story arc of Hadewych is done in such a way that from one chapter to the next you are unsure as to whether you want to hate him or wish for his redemption.  The same goes for Hadewych's son Zef who experiences many emotional shifts.
That is one of the main strengths of these books; the depth of character development that takes place is excellent.  Not just for our hero but nearly every person we get to meet grows in some way throughout the series.  You find yourself disliking a person at the beginning and then further along hoping that they survive the tale.
Seeing as how this story has a supernatural element to it we are soon introduced to special "Gifts" that certain people have.  I was a bit sceptical when these abilities were first introduced into the story but as more details came to light about their nature they did add to the overall enjoyment.
Each Gift is well thought out and helps to move the narrative along whilst also providing some of the materials more light hearted moments.  Also the reasons given as to why regular people have no knowledge about the gifted, is done in a believable and satisfying way.
I'll admit I wasn't aware that Sleepy Hollow is an actual place in New York.  I thought it was somewhere made up for the original "Legend" story.  To find out it is a real village was a pleasant surprise.  So much of this trilogy is featured around real places, or events that happened, or people that truly existed.
There are layers upon layers of references and clues to these along the way, that only pay off as you get to certain points.  Once you reach these sections it makes you want to go back and re-read bits to see how you missed them.  There are probably other references that I didn't pick up on that would jump out or be clearer on a second read.
The Salem Witch Trials, along with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" are a couple of things hinted at throughout the narrative.  Also the way the Tarot is used throughout the plot is superbly done and once it gets to "General of the Dead" you will wonder at the ingenuity of it all.
There is just so much attention to detail and planning that must have gone into the development of this story that makes me really appreciate the efforts of the author.  The way things have been integrated into the story makes the world building that is taking place here appear to be only a small part of a much larger universe.
We could be reading only a portion of what has the potential to be an epic work of fiction.  That is what excites me the most about this saga.  There is so much more that can be explored further and I for one hope for plenty more to come from the Jason Crane world.

The Case Against:
There weren't too many issues I had with this trilogy overall.
The back stories of Dylan and Agathe Van Brunt did take you out of the main story, but were imperative to get the bigger picture.  So whilst they did feel like you were being given a lot of extensive exposition in one hit, it was important to the overall structure of this tale.
Agathe's reading of her diary did feel a little forced for where and when it takes place in the third book but I struggled to think of a better place for this part to have unfolded.
It's unusual to have such large back stories told in full and in such detail when the wider drama is still continuing.  From some of the reader reviews I have seen, not everyone bothered to read these parts until after they had completed reading the main adventure.
The alternative of having them appear as appendices would have spoilt the overall effect.  Agathe in particular would have suffered if her diary wasn't included in the body of the book.  As much as you probably don't want to, you can find some sympathy for the life she missed out on and the person she could have become once you find out her history.
One of the major plot points throughout the novels are the "Gifts" that a person can have.  There does seem to be an abundance of secondary characters that all of a sudden are revealed as gifted people.  So many that you wonder if being a normal human is in the minority.  Now I fully understand why so many people need to have these abilities but at various parts you do think "Not them too," as yet another person is revealed to be gifted.
A lot of these extras that have powers however do help move the mystery along.  It is also a neat trick too, if you view their reveals in the context of the story and why being a gifted person is kept a secret from the wider public.
Out of all of our main characters the one person whose story does come across as slightly underdeveloped is Kate Usher.  Don't get me wrong, she is far more than a love interest for our hero but she definitely didn't have as large a story arc as the rest of the cast members.  I do hope that this is a deliberate ploy with the exploits of the Usher family being explored in future story lines.
Some might also consider Jason's best friend, Joey, to be a bit of a stereotypical gay character whose main role is to provide a bit of levity to proceedings.  He may well be at first but he definitely has a lot more depth to him and like everyone else in the story, he does grow throughout the series.
Both "Rise Headless and Ride" and "Bridge of Bones" do finish without having full closure, the ending of the latter being far more of a cliffhanger than the former.  Cliffhangers can be quite disconcerting for a lot of readers.  There are enough threads concluded in the first book and just the perfect amount of tease to make you want to explore the second book.
The way "Bridge of Bones" finishes makes me think that this second act is "The Empire Strikes Back" section of the saga.  There are so many unresolved plot points that leave you feeling frustrated because you want to know how they end.  Thankfully with the release of "General of the Dead" everything comes to a satisfying conclusion.
As I am sure you can gather from this overall trial that I loved this series.  My one concern is that Richard Gleaves has such a love of the source material and location; will he also have the same feelings for other settings and scenarios?
If he can maintain the high standard he has set himself in future instalments then we are in for a Treat, and that will be the Trick!

Verdict:
Whilst this series contains a lot of Witch action, there is no need for any of these novels to be burnt at the stake.  This trilogy is as hot as one of the Headless Horseman's flaming Jack O' Lanterns.

Evidence:
www.facebook.com/TheJasonCraneSeries
www.goodreads.com/author/show/1693533.Richard_Gleaves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow