4.5 Stars . I really liked this book. I started reading without any expectations and ended up devouring the book, because of the enticing story, the atmophere, the characters and the fast pace. However the end was a bit rushed .

I enjoyed this more than the star rating will show. I rate this at 3.5 stars. I really loved the immersive history, very evocative of the Bow Street runner period in London. The plot was quite an obvious one from quite early on and the villains were numerous. I was disappointed that the Coven played only a small part in this book and feel it was a misnomer for the story.

Thank you net galley and Head of Zeus for allowing me to read this book early as I am a huge Graham Masterton fan, although I'm not sure about the widow scarlet series, the story is set in 1758 two years after the first book (which would be helpful to read but not totally necessary), and it follows on from her leaving America and returning to London to work in a home for ex prostitutes where she is expected to teach the girls how to turn their backs on their previous life, but then seven girls go missing and everyone thinks that they are witches and have summoned up Satan, everyone that is apart from Beatrice. And although I understand that it was a terrible time to be a woman, especially as the main character, Beatrice Scarlet is portrayed as a learned woman, as she was taught by her father to be an apothecary, she can not be recognised as one, as only men could be trained and acknowledged, The biggest issue I find is everyone is so very moral and superstitious but Beatrice in particular is just so darn good, also i found the the dialogue takes some following, thank goodness for kindle dictionary as it really helped with some of the more obscure words. As with all Graham Masterton books, there is an underlying sexual nature and some gory moments although to be fair, not many of his books are for the faint hearted, The plot is a bit basic and it doesn't leave a lot of surprises, but its a good read if you like historical thriller/horror novels.

Widow Scarlet has lost her husband, and her son, and now she must uproot from the New World and return to London. She finds a new purpose with a charity that supports fallen women, but soon there are rumours of witchcraft and devil worship amongst the girls.

I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I nearly DNFed this. The first 70 pages were really hard to get through, for me.
You have a widow, who has been living with her children, and no outside help since her husband's death. At some points she comes across as independent, but for the most part, she goes wherever the wind blows her.
She lives by the edge of the woods, and it opens with her son missing - presumed kidnapped by Indians. She is naturally worried and upset, for all of about 5 minutes.
She is then told that she has to vacate her dead husband's house, and will be sent to work for St Mary Magdalens, to help ex-prostitutes forge new lives. She doesn't want to leave, when her son is still unaccounted for; but after the minimum nudge by a friend and a tarot reading, Beatrice accepts with minimum fuss.
There's also a very unnecessary scene involving a suitor in America. The whole scene is designed to prove that the suitor is unsuitable.
Then it's never mentioned again.

At this point, I will say that I didn't know this was the second in the Beatrice Scarlet series. I have since looked into this author, and there is a book that precedes this one. Perhaps those first 70 pages are supposed to answer outstanding questions; but for a new reader like me, they felt wedged in. They have the sole purpose of cutting Beatrice and her daughter from all ties, so they can be at the scene of the story, in London.

Once they arrived at St Mary's and you have a whole cast of interesting characters with interesting back-stories, I found it a lot more engaging.
The women have a range of attitudes, from grabbing this new life with both hands, to being sceptical and wanting to go back to the steady money of whoring.

The "mystery" of the missing girls and the practises of witchcraft might be glaringly obvious, but the story pulls you along quite pleasantly. There is no great surprise in the end, but I thought it rang true to the concepts of witches and the devil, during that era.

As a historical novel is does an OK job, but overall I found it hard to connect with a woman that is supposedly ahead of her time, but will abandon her son in another country, and really is unable to see the obvious in those around her. Hmm, some rich dude only picks the most beautiful ex-prostitutes to work in his "factory"? Never picks the plain girls? I wonder what could be happening...

It is well-written, so I'd recommend checking it out for yourself. This just wasn't for me, and I don't think I'll be continuing the series.

It was OK.I've not read a graham masterton in years and thought I'd give the new ones a go. He's a decent writer but I didn't fall into this book as much as I'd hoped.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Not the first Graham Masterton book I've read, I was a big fan of his horror when I was younger. This one wasn't a disappointment either for all it's a completely different genre. Will definitely look out for more of the same.

I liked the main character, Beatrice, for the most part. Although why you'd sit and have a cup of tea when you feel you're in terrible danger I don't know. I know we Brits supposedly think a cup of tea will fix everything but that's going a bit far. And her daughter! This is not a normal 18 month old child. Speaking in complete sentences, totally rational, never having tantrums, never being told “please don't lick the dog” or “can you not put your feet in your porridge please” or any of the other things normal toddlers do. If in a moment of great stress I'd asked my 2 year old to pass me something I can pretty much guarantee he'd pretend to be a caterpillar or a spider or something rather than comply and not give up when he couldn't instantly do it.

I thought the overall plot was good though. A bit predictable but I find that about a lot of books to be honest and it was still a very enjoyable read. I found the language a bit difficult at times. It's set in London in the 1700s and presumably some of the words used are from that sort of time. Wasn't too hard to figure most of them out though. Or at least I didn't think so. It was more the sudden pause I got when I came across a word I've not seen before.

No idea whether everything was accurate for the time the book was set in and I can't say I'm overly bothered either, it's fiction and I enjoyed it whether it's accurate or not.

It was hard to decide whether to give this book three or four stars. On the one hand the writing is really good and I really wanted to know how the story would hand, on the other hand I could knew all the plot twists before they happened and the protagonist acted somewhat odd at times.

What annoyed me the most was that Beatrice was really awful at reading people even when the narrative made it especially clear that they were the bad guys. A minor annoyance was Florence's age. How old is she supposed to be exactly? Her age is stated to be 18 months, but she is still teething and she can talk in full sentences and goes for long walks? It was just a little strange.

Overall, the mystery itself is interesting enough with some shocking scenes but the protagonist and some of the twists fell flat for me.

Be warned: this is not for the faint hearted! I liked the first book and was pleased to receive an advance copy of the next installment. It didn't disappoint. The plot sucks you in from the very beginning, though it is not what you may think it's about. The "coven" from the title is nothing but a ploy to distract Beatrice's attention away from what is really going on. The book is rich in authentic period detail and gives the reader a taste of what the life of poor Londoners would have been like in those days. Dire conditions, especially for women. Clever plot, good writing, maybe a bit too much violence for some, but if you like the genre, this is good stuff.

*2.5/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

When I first saw this cover I was sold, it has that mysterious creepy vibe, and it seemed like something I’d enjoy, then I read the synopsis and said “sign me in”. I don’t know where it fell down hill for me.

I was hoping for some witchcraft that did not happen, for the blurb or even the name, because when I first heard “The Coven” I immediately thought of witches, so for that reason it can be considered misleading. However it’s not a bad book, I honestly think a lot of people will enjoy it, if they don’t go in expecting the same things I did.

This book takes place in the 18th century, New Hampshire, where Beatrice Scarlettis mourning the disappearance of her son, at this time she finds out she’s going to loose her house, so she’s forced to accept this job in a institution . Then one group of girls disappear. It’s a nice mystery that will keep you guessing what happened to those girls. The writing was good, and easy to get into.

Personally the downfall for this book was the misleading synopsis and my association of the tittle to the actual synopsis and hoping for something that wasn’t given.

Masterton takes readers to 18th century New Hampshire where widow Bea Scarlett is mourning the disappearance of her son, presumed kidnapped by local Indians. When she finds out she will lose her home, Bea has no choice but to accept a position in a London charitable institution for soiled doves. She and her young daughter are at first impressed by the care given the prostitutes, who are given the chance to change their lives. But when one group of girls disappears under the guise of witchcraft, the widow Scarlett knows something is amiss.
Readers will guess what happened to the girls early on, but they might be surprised at the lengths Masterton will go to to put his characters in serious mortal harm. No character is spared in some of the books grisliest scenes. I was fascinated with the portions of the book that dealt with herbal and early pharmaceutical healing.