Karen Brooks
Reviewed by Helen
For me this was a book that I found hard to get into at the beginning, but when I did I didn’t want to put it down, the research that went into this book to tell the story of witch hunts in Pittenween back in the 1700’s was amazing and it is based on a true happening with extra characters added that made this one a story that had me getting emotionally involved and so many emotions, sadness, anger and the ending had me smiling.
It is 1703 in the village of Pittenween on the coast of Scotland and Sorcha McIntyre has just returned to her home she is one of the fishwives and widowed and her and her friends Nettie, Nicholas, Janet, Isobel and Beatrix work hard to earn money to put food on the table, they are strong woman and honest and would do anything for each other.
When one of the young men in the village falls ill and witchcraft is suspected Reverend Cowper starts a witch hunt that will change the lives of the fishwives, it will push them to the limits but together no matter what cruel punishment is doled out to them they stay strong.
Captain Aiden Ross is in charge of the soldiers billeted in the village he is a caring man and finds himself drawn to Sorcha and when the fishwives are captured and tortured as witches Aiden does what he can to help and this puts the Reverend off side, the Reverend’ sermons incite the villagers and the incomers that have come to be there while the witches are supposedly put to trial, this caused even more hurt and pain for the women and man accused of being witches.
This story is heart-wrenching and beautiful at the same time and I am sure that MS Brooks would have been emotionally exhausted after the research and then writing this story, that she has done so well, I do highly recommend this book but yes there are very cruel and violent moments throughout but the strength that these woman show lifted the spirits of myself and then the ending was beautiful the joy and happiness. I honestly went through many emotions reading this one, thank you MS Brooks.
4 stars
Published
March 1st 2020
by HQ Fiction
