The Witchfinder

In a post-apocalyptic world where tyranny and medieval torture reign supreme and witch burnings are an everyday occurrence, a top Witchfinder must confront the very Church he serves when he learns of its dark past and twisted plans for the future. The Church of the Deiparous rules with an iron fist and its rising star, Witchfinder Imperator Malachi Thorne, is committed to leading its cause. Thorne is a man on the fast track to greater things so when a convicted traitor and heretic escapes his grip, he won’t tolerate it marring his perfect record. As he pursues his quarry, he must confront demons, sorcery, and a cult of witches out for his blood. But when Thorne comes face to face with the Church’s dark past and its twisted present, his faith is tested to its limits. Now Thorne must decide who and what he believes in—and what he will do about it.

Massachusetts in the Year of the Lord 1695: Matthew Goodson, eighteen years of age, is apprenticed to a team of experienced witchfinders, who travel from village to village and town to town to uncover witchcraft, examine the evidence, interrogate suspects and stamp out evil. When a wave of mysterious illnesses and deaths hits the town of Redemption, the witchfinders are called in and quickly arrest a suspect, a teenaged girl named Grace Pankhurst. Matthew has long been having his doubts about the witchfinders and the righteousness of their mission. The interrogation of Grace brings those doubts to a flashpoint. But is Grace truly innocent or has Matthew fallen under the spell of a comely witch? This is a historical horror story of 5500 words or approximately 20 print pages by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert.

Something wicked this way comes . . . When fifteen-year-old Nate Watson moves to Windsor to live with his mysterious Aunt Celia, the last things on his mind are witches and magick and ancient vendettas. While Nate focuses on building a new life for himself and his younger brother, making new friends and adjusting to a new high school, he can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t as it seems. Nate’s search for answers leads him to a forbidden, locked door in Aunt Celia’s mansion. Inside, he finds a witch’s workshop full of mystical artifacts, some dating back to the time of the earliest Puritan settlers. It’s no coincidence that Nate is now living in the very same town where, forty-five years before the Salem witch trials, Alse Young was hanged as America’s first witch. Could magick be real? Nate remains skeptical until he picks up the witchfinder’s serpent—a powerful, demonic bracelet that wraps itself around his arm and permanently imbeds itself into his flesh. Now Nate must confront the truth about Aunt Celia’s unlikely ancestry—as well as his own. And with her help, he must find a way to remove the bracelet before the serpent’s previous owner returns—an ancient and powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to get it back.

'The number of women my brother Matthew killed, so far as I can reckon it, is one hundred and six...' THE PAGE-TURNING RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB BESTSELLER 'A compelling debut from a gifted storyteller' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent When Alice Hopkins' husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives. But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women's names. To what lengths will Matthew's obsession drive him? And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan? Winner of the HWA Debut Crown Award 2017, and a Spring 2018 Richard and Judy Book Club pick, this beautiful and haunting historical thriller is perfect for fans of Sarah Waters, The Miniaturist and Burial Rites. 'Vivid and terrifying' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train 'Thumpingly good' Lucy Mangan 'A clever, pacey read that blends truth and fiction...what elevates this book above other historical thrillers are the questions that Underdown asks about the nature of power, fear and how easy it is to become complicit in terrible acts' The Times 'A chilling, creeping novel with very obvious parallels to more modern forms of witch-hints and misogyny, but is still firmly rooted in an England torn apart by civil war and gripped by religious fervour' Red 'A haunting, brooding debut' Psychologies 'At once a feminist parable and an old-fashioned, check-twice-under-the-bed thriller' Patrick Gale 'A richly told and utterly compelling tale, with shades of Hilary Mantel' Kate Hamer, author of The Girl in the Red Coat 'Anyone who liked Cecilia Ekback's Wolf Winter is going to love this' Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street 'Beth Underdown grips us from the outset and won't let go...at once a feminist parable and an old-fashioned, check-twice-under-the-bed thriller' Patrick Gale, author of Notes from an Exhibition 'A tense, surprising and elegantly-crafted novel' Ian McGuire, author of The North Water 'Beth Underdown cleverly creates a compelling atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia... Even from the distance of nearly four hundred years, her Matthew Hopkins is a genuinely frightening monster' Kate Riordan 'Superb: dark, terrifying and utterly compelling' Tracy Borman 'A novel for our times. Beth Underdown's The Witchfinder's Sister explores another time and another place to lay bare the visceral horror of what a witch hunt truly is' New York Times Book Review 'Entertaining and thought-provoking, with a valuable message for our own times' Washington Post

A devilishly dark folk horror novel set during the English Civil War. Samuel Hawke is a charlatan. His lucrative career as a witchfinder is built on fabricated evidence and forced confessions. His guilt grows with each innocent person he condemns and his only remaining motive is the financial rewards his profession offers him. In Beckborn, Lancashire, two girls are accused of witchcraft. Samuel travels to the isolated village for an investigation which may pay enough to be his last. He finds a community torn apart by fear and paranoia. His hopes of a simple examination are dashed when the mystery of the two girls unravels in a deadly way. Rescued by another, actual, witch-finder, Samuel is plunged into a world of the supernatural and the occult. Strange people with immense power lurk on the fringes of society, hiding behind the veil of superstition and belief, causing chaos in war-torn England. Samuel must find the sister witches, before he is hunted down and destroyed, whilst navigating through the violence and suspicion of a country ravaged by war.

Jake Harker is an outsider, a loser whose nose is always in a horror comic. That is until horror stops being fiction and the Pale Man and his demon Mr Pinch stop Jake on a dark, deserted road. That night, under a tree called the demon's dance, Jake will learn the true meaning of terror . . .

By spring 1645, two years of civil war had exacted a dreadful toll upon England. People lived in terror as disease and poverty spread, and the nation grew ever more politically divided. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, exploited the anxiety and lawlessness of the time and initiated a brutal campaign to drive out the presumed evil in their midst. Touring Suffolk and East Anglia on horseback, they detected demons and idolators everywhere. Through torture, they extracted from terrified prisoners confessions of consorting with Satan and demonic spirits. Acclaimed historian Malcolm Gaskill retells the chilling story of the most savage witch-hunt in English history. By the autumn of 1647 at least 250 people--mostly women--had been captured, interrogated, and hauled before the courts. More than a hundred were hanged, causing Hopkins to be dubbed "Witchfinder General" by critics and admirers alike. Though their campaign was never legally sanctioned, they garnered the popular support of local gentry, clergy, and villagers. While Witchfinders tells of a unique and tragic historical moment fueled by religious fervor, today it serves as a reminder of the power of fear and fanaticism to fuel ordinary people's willingness to demonize others.

The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut. Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear. Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake. Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him. But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate. Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.