Book Review: The Witchfinder’s Sister

1645.
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.

Based on the true story of the witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins, this novel propels you back to a time where women were hunted down and accused of witch-craft. Alice Hopkins is an entirely fictional character as there’s little known about Matthew Hopkins’ personal life but it provides a great perspective on history coming from a woman’s point of view and I’d like to think if he’d had a sister she’d have been just like Alice.

I’ll start off by saying I found this novel a slow burner, it seemed to take a while to get going and even though I was enjoying it, nothing much happened in the beginning. Please don’t give up or let that put you off though because once this book gets going, it REALLY gets going. I was completely hooked and after weeks of only reading a couple of pages here and there, I eventually finished the book in just two days. And I’m a very slow reader! 

I found it so interesting to read about the kinds of things the women were accused of and how life was completely different for women then. Men like Matthew Hopkins had complete control of the lives and the fates of women and they fully played up to that. All of which is perfectly demonstrated in this book.

In all I’d highly recommend The Witchfinder’s Sister. The only reason it hasn’t got 5 stars is for the very slow start but otherwise this is an absolutely brilliant novel. 

Rating: ★★★★☆