This tale is a great big bundle of historical fiction, mystery, unresolved sibling rivalry, sexual tension circa mid-1600s, and some spooky stuff thrown in for good measure. The general misogyny that resulted in witch mayhem is well described in this book. Enter our Witchfinder, the strangely disfigured brother, Matthew, of our heroine Alice. Once unbelievably close, they have been separated for five years and now rejoined upon the death of Alice's husband. She has nowhere else to go and is pregnant. In the interim, Matthew has become wealthier but distant and strangely odd. As our tale begins, Alice is locked in a room, without food for three days and begins to describe how her brother has murdered 106 women. There is a sense of foreboding and dread that seeps into this tale in ways that are scary and creepy. There are just the right amounts of historical information to whet your appetite for more details as the tale progresses (and for Google searches on your own.) There are secrets within secrets that keep you reading much longer than you planned and possibly keep you up late at night. This is a big, juicy book that I loved. –Suzanne R.