I've been fascinated by the stories of Witch hunters, and most especially Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, for several years now and have half a novel written set in the years he was active. The author has been clever in merging fiction with the known facts and respectful of those victims of Hopkins and the 'gentlemen, with whom he worked.

Initially, I wasn't sure I'd like this novel. It seemed to me to be a slow burner and I felt I was plodding, however, it very cleverly drew me in over forty or fifty pages and became a page-turner which I found compelled to read until done.

Overall this isn't a 5 star read due to the slow start but if I could give 4.5 I would.