My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Book that will Bewitch

I’m loving CJ Cooke’s work and the Book of Witching is no exception.  A captivating novel  told in two timelines with mystery, witching and history combined.  

As with the other books I’ve read by this author she manages to capture atmosphere aplenty.  Here we have two completely different timelines, one harking back to the late 1500s where a woman is taken into custody and tried for being a witch, the other set in the modern era where a woman has been informed that her daughter has been badly burned and is currently in hospital, one of her friends is dead and the other missing.  

This is a pacy read and utterly compelling.  I practically inhaled this in two sittings.  I loved the mystery elements to the modern day setting.  Clem’s daughter was travelling the remote islands of Scotland when the terrible tragedy occurred.  Initially there’s a sense of horror about the shocking events but when Erin wakes in hospital and seems completely detached, refusing to answer to her name and coming across as less than sympathetic to what has happened to her friends, well, unsurprisingly the police start to take a closer look at her.  Of course her mother Erin and her ex husband are determined to prove her innocence and travel to Orkney to try and uncover some of the mystery – in the process being a bit embroiled with an unusual group of people that initially come across as quite scary.

Meanwhile, flashing back to the events unfolding in the historical storyline, Alison Balfour has been taken into custody and is about to stand trial as a witch.  A trial that is little more than a farce with Alison and her family being tortured until she confesses – after which she will be burned at the stake.  This was a period of unrest, the local inhabitants are being pressed hard and are struggling to live, emotions are running high.  Alison comes from a line of healers, known as hedge witches, people approach her for cures and other types of remedies and yet times are changing and these women that so many have relied on previously will start to be shunned, people afraid to name them friend for fear of the backlash.

I thought both stories were equally intriguing.  I confess I’m a sucker for dual timelines where we jump back and forth and throw in the awful persecution of innocent women that took place during those heinous witch hunts and an equally puzzling mystery on the flip story and I was definitely hooked.

The writing is great, clearly, once again, Cooke has carried out her research and in fact Alison, although with a slightly altered name, is based on a real character who suffered this terrible fate.  

It does take a little while, in fact the link between the two stories doesn’t become apparent until quite late in the tale but I didn’t have any issues with that.

In conclusion a deeply atmospheric read with a perfect combination of history and mystery, both stories clearly demonstrating the love that both these mothers share for their child and the determination to remain true.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars