Danielle Devlin

It is 1590 and King James I is out for blood. It was believed that witches were responsible for recent storms, preventing his new bride's arrival from Denmark. Meanwhile pregnant Besse Craw does her best to care for her daughter, Jenny, and tiptoe around her abusive husband Rupert. This hardly pleases her mother Agnes, an independent healer, but Besse accepts her lot in life. That is, until Rupert goes missing and an act of kindness goes terribly wrong. Agnes, Besse and a dear friend Dr. show more Fian go in search of Rupert, only to learn he has been living a double life. As witch hungry townsfolk catch up with them, it becomes a desperate fight to survive.

I was very pleased with how Besse was portrayed. While it may be frustrating for modern readers, women simply did not have the right to divorce. Accused witches were vulnerable, mostly uneducated outliers of society. It's true that Besse "knows her letters" enough, but it would've been unbelievable if she was overly clever or easily outwit her enemies. She's not a doormat though, and her character is balanced out by Agnes' strength. It was refreshing to have an older, leading secondary character.

The only reason this one didn't get a 5 ⭐ is because I felt like Dr. Fian disappeared from the story. I understand that his character exists to represent the male witches who were persecuted, but I wanted more. Also there's a scene where Besse is made to play a Jew's harp for court favorites and somehow she knew all their names and her musical skills weren't mentioned before. That part left me a little confused.

Overall though this was a great read, and I recommend it for folks who can appreciate an author with an eye for historic detail. It has its incredibly dark moments for sure, but then again witchcraft trials were no picnic. It'll definitely keep you glued to the page until the very end! show less