The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

June 24, 2019June 24, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

This spring I listened to the audiobook of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane via Audible and I loved it! I knew Katherine Howe from her awesome YA novel, Conversion, so I knew I’d enjoy another novel by her. Physick Book is the first in a series about women “witches” and their descendants. It was quite intriguing and well-narrated. And I was thrilled that I could immediately pair it with The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, since that continued the story. That said, I don’t think you need to read one in order to read the other — “Daughters” stands alone as a novel in its own right.

Here’s the overview:

Description

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe returns to the world of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane with a bewitching story of a New England history professor who must race against time to free her family from a curse

Connie Goodwin is an expert on America’s fractured past with witchcraft. A young, tenure-track professor in Boston, she’s earned career success by studying the history of magic in colonial America—especially women’s home recipes and medicines—and by exposing society’s threats against women fluent in those skills. But beyond her studies, Connie harbors a secret: She is the direct descendant of a woman tried as a witch in Salem, an ancestor whose abilities were far more magical than the historical record shows.

When a hint from her mother and clues from her research lead Connie to the shocking realization that her partner’s life is in danger, she must race to solve the mystery behind a hundreds’-years-long deadly curse.

Flashing back through American history to the lives of certain supernaturally gifted women, The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs affectingly reveals not only the special bond that unites one particular matriarchal line, but also explores the many challenges to women’s survival across the decades—and the risks some women are forced to take to protect what they love most.

Now I’m the type of person who LOVES reading about history and Salem and Katherine Howe has a wealth of information and knowledge, and is a gifted writer, so this was a win for me. I actually had the chance to briefly meet Ms. Howe at BEA several years ago and she was quite gracious and lovely and humble.

Thank you, Net Galley and Henry Holt and Co., for my review copy!

Happy June 25th Pub Day to Ms. Howe!

The Witches’ Tree by M.C. Beaton

August 18, 2018August 17, 2018 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

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If you read me, you know I LOVE the MC Beaton “Agatha Raisin” mysteries. Agatha is so cranky and funny and yet brilliant at solving mysteries. Ms. Beaton’s publicist kindly sent me her latest installment: The Witches’ Tree, where poor Agatha is tracking down a murderer while being targeted by a coven of witches. Agatha Raisin is now being made for television in the UK and I’ve seen several of the episodes. I really like how they’ve interpreted the stories – fairly close to the book but with some unique twists on character interpretation. I get them through Acorn TV (which has loads of awesome British shows – so much better than anything on regular US TV!).

Thank you for my review copy! Can’t wait for the next novel — I never grow tired of Agatha!

The Witches’ Tree continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton’s beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series―now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television.

This spells trouble…

Driving home from a dinner party in the village of Sumpton Harcourt, Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, strain to see the road ahead―and then suddenly brake, screeching to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights, a body hangs from a gnarled tree at the edge of town. An elderly spinster has been murdered―and the villagers just can’t fathom who among them could commit such a crime.

Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion (a little glad for the excitement, she must admit, after a long run of lost cats and divorces on the books). But when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation and, since the village happens to have its own coven of witches, her own life. . .

“Once you meet Agatha Raisin, you’ll keep coming back.”―New York Journal of Books

“M. C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery.” ―The New York Times Book Review

THE WITCHFINDER’S SISTER by Beth Underdown

July 5, 2017July 4, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

So — I recently found this novel on Net Galley and since I love historical fiction and things like Salem, I thought it would be a great read.

This book totally haunted me and I was horrified to find out it was based on many real events. It was very well done and well-written but also very disturbing. The characters are well developed and more than once I was thankful that I did not live in those times!

Here’s the overview via Net Galley (I loved the gorgeous cover!):

Description

A thrilling debut novel, a literary historical thriller based on the devastating witch hunts in 1640s England conducted by “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins—for readers of Sarah Waters and Katherine Howe.

Before Salem, there was Manningtree. . . .

“This summer, my brother Matthew set himself to killing women, but without ever once breaking the law.”

Essex, England, 1645. With a heavy heart, Alice Hopkins returns to the small town she grew up in. Widowed, with child, and without prospects, she is forced to find refuge at the house of her younger brother, Matthew. In the five years she has been gone, the boy she knew has become a man of influence and wealth—but more has changed than merely his fortunes. Alice fears that even as the cruel burns of a childhood accident still mark his face, something terrible has scarred Matthew’s soul.

There is a new darkness in the town, too—frightened whispers are stirring in the streets, and Alice’s blood runs cold with dread when she discovers that Matthew is a ruthless hunter of suspected witches. Torn between devotion to her brother and horror at what he’s become, Alice is desperate to intervene—and deathly afraid of the consequences. But as Matthew’s reign of terror spreads, Alice must choose between her safety and her soul.

Alone and surrounded by suspicious eyes, Alice seeks out the fuel firing her brother’s brutal mission—and is drawn into the Hopkins family’s past. There she finds secrets nested within secrets: and at their heart, the poisonous truth. Only by putting her own life and liberty in peril can she defeat this darkest of evils—before more innocent women are forced to the gallows.

Inspired by the real-life story of notorious “Witchfinder General” Matthew Hopkins, Beth Underdown’s thrilling debut novel blends spellbinding history with harrowing storytelling for a truly haunting reading experience.

Thank you for my review copy!

The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry

February 14, 2017February 13, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I really enjoyed The Lace Reader, so I was thrilled to see that Brunonia Barry had a new novel out: The Fifth Petal. This was a suspenseful story of old and current Salem.

Description

Beloved author Brunonia Barry returns to the world of THE LACE READER with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?

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This was one of those hard-to-put-down novels. The unsolved murder, the young woman with no family, the mentally disturbed woman who had witnessed it all — it all combined to make an engaging read.

Now I have to say that I found some of the parts about the nuns (who raised Callie) and their superstitions a bit far-fetched. I’ve known many a nun in my time and none have acted like the nuns in this story, especially as recently as 1989.

On the other hand, I found the whole piece about sound healing fascinating. Callie is a music therapist, of which I have known several, but she also does sound healing. I looked this up online and found it quite fascinating!

If you know me, you know I love history and New England, so tying this story into the Salem Witch trials made it a home run for me!

Thank you, Net Galley and Crown Publishing, for my review e-copy!