Alice Hopkins finds herself returning to the town of her birth, Manningtree, after her husband passes away and ends the life they led in London. She returns to live under the watchful eye of her younger brother Matthew, who was mysteriously scarred as a child and carries many secrets. Alice soon finds her town swept up in a wave of witch hunting, a tide that finds Matthew at the center of it all, and she unwillingly is involved in the fervor as well. As she sees the atrocities her brother is committing, she begins to uncover dark family secrets that perhaps would have been better if they'd stayed hidden.

The Witchfinder's Sister is a generally well-written historical novel that is easily read and interesting in its plot. While some parts are a little clumsy in this first-person perspective (some of jumps in the trains of thoughts don't necessarily seem to be intuitive or realistic), the unraveling mysteries of the story are presented well and keep the plot line going at a steady pace. For me, I struggled with the characters somewhat. The main character Alice, from whose perspective the story is told, seemed shapeless and almost a little intangible to me - it was hard to figure out her personality despite having full access to her thoughts. And the characters who there were clearer pictures of were not particularly likeable. Alice's feelings towards these secondary characters also at times did not seem realistic or were not presented particularly well.

The novel itself was overall a well-written work of historical fiction that tackled with a disturbing and violent time without flinching, and it was an easy and interesting read.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

Beth Underdown's The Witchfinder's Sister is a fictional account based on Matthew Hopkins, a witch hunter in 1640s Essex, England. Alice Hopkins returns to Manningtree, widowed and pregnant, reliant on the charity of her younger half-brother Matthew. Matthew, scarred and formerly a wallflower, is now a rising society member, whose disdain of Alice's dead husband colors their relationship. -As Alice resumes life in her old village, she is alarmed to learn that Matthew has taken on the role of a witch hunter, listing names of various women who have come under suspicion of witchcraft for reasons that seem vindictive and personal. As Alice struggles to balance between maintaining her own survival under her brother's charity & trying to get to the truth of the witch hunts, the guilt and innocence of these women, Matthew, and her family's own secrets come to a climax. Is Matthew just a psychotic misogynist or are these women practicing dark magic? Is there anything she can even do? The topic of witchcraft seems secondary to Underdown's presentation of women's rights and options, or lack thereof, during this historic period in England. Men are free to accuse women of witchcraft, and these women often have no way of defending themselves against such accusations. Through Alice, the reader see how few options women have without male guardians; through the stories of her stepmother and mother in law, women can only hope to carry the burdens of abuse for fear of poverty if they leave their abusers. Verdict: if you're seeking a meaty story of witch hunting, this book may disappoint as it's not a dynamic plot, but The Witchhunter's Sister provides a more relevant theme of female oppression and isolation.

This wasn't necessarily a bad book, but it didn't draw me in. I found the characters to be fairly one-dimensional and never felt like the reader truly got to know them, so it was difficult to care too much what was happening to them. I also struggled a bit with the organization of the story, where it was mostly told linearly, but occasionally wasn't, and I didn't love the primary source insertions. The ending also felt a little too cutesy too me ["oh, I escaped a witch hunt in England and now I am going to Salem, MA and everything will be nice!" = major eye roll from me. ] I do think Underdown is a decent writer though and I would imagine her books will improve as she write more!