Gothic mystery with Pendle Witches, what's not to love?
Sometimes you pick up a book and think you're going to love it, but it turns out to be a big disappointment (that's happened a lot this year!), but not with The Familiars.
First off, the cover is glorious. It looks beautiful on a bookshelf, and I'm not usually one to be impressed by covers, but it is stunning.
The story is quite straightforward - Fleetwood Shuttleworth, mistress of the house, is with child again (after several miscarriages) and in order to try and keep this baby alive she enlists the help of a woman called Alice Grey. Only problem is Alice is an unconventional midwife and is deemed to be a witch. Alice is incarcerated and Fleetwood will do anything to have her released.
I enjoyed the writing style - it's quite self-assured for a debut author. There's little muddling of the plot, it's linear and clean.
I'm looking forward to what Stacey Halls produces next.
First off, the cover is glorious. It looks beautiful on a bookshelf, and I'm not usually one to be impressed by covers, but it is stunning.
The story is quite straightforward - Fleetwood Shuttleworth, mistress of the house, is with child again (after several miscarriages) and in order to try and keep this baby alive she enlists the help of a woman called Alice Grey. Only problem is Alice is an unconventional midwife and is deemed to be a witch. Alice is incarcerated and Fleetwood will do anything to have her released.
I enjoyed the writing style - it's quite self-assured for a debut author. There's little muddling of the plot, it's linear and clean.
I'm looking forward to what Stacey Halls produces next.