I absolutely adore Chris Bohjalian's writing and have devoured all of his books. This was a fantastic read, as I finished it in one weekend. Bohjalian does it again with another great historical fiction book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

A fascinating update of the Salem Witch Trials, in which a strong-willed protagonist is slandered by her enemies as a witch or a bitch - one possessed and the other self-possessed -- both equally considered as hanging offenses by a court composed entirely of the forebears of Senator Josh Hawley. Chris Bohjalian manages to keep the pot boiling, the noose dangling and the reader on edge for most of this novel. Sometimes plot suffers for prose, other times it is the reverse. But this books melds them well.

Lots of juiciness with Hour of the Witch.

1600s scandal...two times over. We see two trials take place and both are equally suspenseful. This is a historical thriller done very well!

This was my first by the author and it will definitely not be my last. It starts off slow (hence the 1/4 deduction) but picks up once the stage is set. There is very important character development that needs to happen before the "thrilling" portions can begin. The best part of this book was MARY. What a fabulous character she is.

She comes across as meek and bland at first, even hard to connect to, but her arc and development is one of the most interesting I've read. In fact, when we got to part 2 and I read the part title (don't look ahead), I literally CHEERED for Mary because I was ready for her "coming of age" so to speak.

I loved this story. On to the next of his!

4.75/5

Excellent and intense story about a woman accused of witchery in puritcanical times. Well developed characters, great plot twists with an authentic feel of the time period. I feel the message is still relevant today as woman continue to fight for equality and to be heard. I highly reccomend trhis one.

I can’t lie, as I was reading this book, I kept imagining who would play the leads in the movie or mini series that has to follow the latest publication by author of The Flight Attendant. It’s not your standard domestic thriller with an abusive husband and a wife trying to escape the awful man who has all the power. Well, it might actually be the original as the novel is set in 1600’s Puritan New England. A highly descriptive but easy to read prose that keeps you riveted while the wife, Mary Deerfield, is suspected of being a witch, the easiest way to deal with a disruptive women, not too much different from today. A historical domestic noir, a whole new genre for me.

Mary Deerfield is married to an abusive man and after he stabs her hand with a fork she decides to divorce him but this is 1622 and there are few divorces. With no witnesses to his abuse the court sends her back home and suspects her of being a witch.

Mary dost be a fool. I thought she brought a lot of trouble to herself. She had to know that this divorce petition wasn't going to go well and then afterwards seeking out a woman that was suspected to be a witch didn't seem wise. Actually I didn't like anybody. Her husband, Thomas, was cruel and calculating and all the men really had no respect for the woman and I just wanted to strangle someone whenever they referred to a fork as the deveil's tines.

I found the last half of the book hard to read and feel it could have been shorter. I didn't need to know what kind of upholstery was on the chair in her scrivener's office. Sometimes I just ended up skimming. The language was off putting with all the thee's and thou's and prithee.

I have read other books by this author that were more mystery/thriller and this wasn't what I expected. Bottom line was it wasn't a horrible book but probably just not a book for me. Even though I felt it could have been shorter and the language was distracting it was well written. There is a good sense of place. I could picture the Boston of 1622 and the homes that Mary and her parents lived in. The author obviously did his research.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Doubleday for providing me with this book.

Bewitchingly beautiful with delft blue eyes, porcelain skin and blonde hair, Mary Deerfield has a handsome, wealthy husband, a lovely house, and bruises on her face that she tries to hide under her linen cap. Thomas, her husband, is almost twice her age and given to drunken rages, particularly as time goes on and Mary does not become pregnant.

Mary’s parents are respected and well-to-do but can’t protect their daughter. There are no organizations to help battered women, no social workers or psychologists to dispense advice, nor can Mary just leave her home, move to another city and get a job. After all, this is Boston in 1662, and women have few, if any, rights. Ironically, Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the 21st century, was back then the kind of place where they burned women as witches.

“Hour of the Witch,” Chris Bohjalian’s well-researched and chilling new novel, takes us into a past where, just by trying to exercise her independence and desire to lead her own life, a woman could be castigated as a witch.

“When we think of New England’s history of hanging people for witchcraft, we beeline straight to Salem in 1692,” said Bohjalian, a New York Times bestselling author of 22 books whose works have been translated into 35 languages and three times made into movies. “But in 1656, the governor of Massachusetts had his own sister-in-law hanged as a witch. And the first real witch hunt was Hartford in 1662 — three full decades before Salem. One thing many of the women executed as witches had in common was that they were smart, opinionated, and viewed as outsiders; sometimes, they saw through the patriarchal hypocrisy that marked a lot of New England Puritanism.”

Mary puts up with a lot; after all, she has little choice. But when Thomas drives a three-tined fork into her hand, she’s had it and files for divorce. Bohjalian said he was looking for a way into writing a suspense novel about the 17th century and found it when he came across the records of a woman named Nanny Naylor in the 1600s who successfully sued for divorce and won.

“I was off and running,” he said.

Bohjalian enjoyed studying Puritan theology at Amherst College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude.

“Puritans lived with anxiety and dread — just like me,” he said. “Of course, for them, Satan was as real as your neighbor and they fretted constantly over whether they were saved or damned. My anxieties were more of the 1980s 'Breakfast Club' sort.

“I think 'Hour of the Witch' is very timely for a novel set in 1662,” he said. “And that was by design. When a magistrate on Boston’s all-male Court of Assistants calls my heroine, Mary Deerfield, ‘a nasty woman,’ I knew the reference would not be lost on my readers. Now, I never want to write polemics, but yes, there is a political undercurrent to the novel that will resonate.”

Bohjalian said it wasn’t difficult getting into the Puritan mindset.

“If you’re the sort of person who always questions your motives and has a healthy dollop of self-loathing, it’s actually rather easy,” he said.

What, of all the research he did, surprised him the most?

“The fact the Puritans didn’t use forks and drank beer like they were at fraternity parties in 1978,” said Bohjalian. “Their table manners must have been atrocious." #hourofthewitch #chrisbohjalian

First line: It was always possible that the Devil was present.

Summary: Mary Deerfield, a young married woman in 1662 Boston, has been hiding a secret from her friends and family. In the years that she has been married her husband has hit her numerous times while drunk for imagined slights against him. But then one day he takes his cruelty one step further. He drives a three-tined fork, the Devil’s tines, into her hand. With a strong conviction of finally divorcing her abusive husband she also faces suspicion from the Puritan community. She finds that she is suspected of things that could lead her to a death on the gallows.

My Thoughts: This book started very slowly for me. Much of it dealt with the time period, life and getting to know the characters and their history. I felt that story finally picked up after the divorce trial. The pace seemed to be faster and the story more intriguing. But once the story picked up I was completely enthralled but disgusted by everything.

It is hard sometimes to read historical books, especially if the author writes them accurately. I feel like the author brought to life the true sense of the ridiculousness of Puritan Boston. Their views on women, the Devil and anything that was different. I rolled my eyes so many times during the trials because of the hearsay, circumstantial evidence and belief system of the time. Reading these types of books we see how far society has come but we still have a long way to go as well.

I enjoyed Mary’s story. She was a strong woman in a very restrictive society. She endures a lot throughout the book and much of it at no fault of her own. I was definitely rooting for her the whole time. I wanted things to be better for her with every disappointment and injury. But her husband and many of the other characters were awful people that I could not wait to see the end of.

I do not know how I feel about the ending. It almost seemed like a cop-out. Too easy of an ending but at the same time I liked aspects of it. Rating this was difficult but I think that it was worth the read.

FYI: Wonderful historical fiction. Perfect if you are interested in colonial America and the Salem Witch Trials.

I like that I can read books by Chris Bohjalian and really have no idea what I'm getting into. He can be all over the place and I enjoy that. This one was just way to tedious a read for me. You have to get halfway through the book before it really even starts to grab you.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

I've read a ton of Chris Bohjalian's books and I love how versatile of a writer he is- you never know what you're going to get. I enjoyed Hour of the Witch, but it definitely wasn't my favorite of his and there were a few things I didn't love about it.

I grew up in Boston visiting Salem all the time, so I have a penchant for historical fiction about the witch trials and life during that time. I was excited that this book focused on the time period and was set in New England. I guess my problem is that I didn't find it totally unique and feel like I've read a million similar stories before. If you haven't read a lot about the witch trials, chances are you will love this book- I just wanted a little bit more uniqueness. While I can see why the author included quotes from trials at the beginning of each chapter, I felt like they spoiled parts of the book for me because they made it pretty clear what was going to happen as the book went on.

However, there are definitely things I enjoyed about Hour of the Witch. First of all, it made me very thankfulI wasn't living in American in the 1600s as a woman! When Mary Deerfield wants to divorce her husband after undergoing abuse from him (including him stabbing her in the hand with a fork), she has to petition for the divorce and go on trial. Which basically means trying to convince a panel of religious men that you should be allowed to get a divorce from your abusive husband. Eek. I think it's important to learn about these parts of history to appreciate how far we've come. I also had no idea that the fork was once considered an instrument of the devil and really enjoyed learning more about that.

Overall, I'm happy that I read this book and I did enjoy it. I don't know that I would call it a historical "thriller." If you consider spousal abuse and accusations of witchcraft to be the content of a thriller, I guess so, but I wouldn't say that typical thriller readers would categorize this as so. It's worth a read if you're interested in the time period, especially if you don't know a lot about it!

We’ve come a long way, baby! Seventeenth century Boston looks and acts nothing like today’s societal norms and behaviors which makes this such an interesting read. Told in detail, the characters speak in Old English reminiscent of The Scarlet Letter, but it’s a witch hunt of the most realistic order that Bohjalian takes us on. An intelligently written plot that has enough twists to keep you reading while wanting to take some revenge upon 17th century oppressive behavior.

I've been a fan of Bohjalian's for years and have read most of his previous books. Recent years have especially shown his versatility as an author and this latest is no exception. Set in 1662-63 Boston, MA, Mary Deerfield narrates this story, as the much younger wife of Thomas, a cruel and drunken hypocrite of a Puritan. After an especially violent incident, Mary decides to pursue a divorce. But as the title indicates, a pall of witchcraft hangs over the whole novel. Parts of the plot are easier to see coming, which does at times make this one feel a little overly drawn out. Still, it feels well-researched and the characters all come to life. I wish that there had been some more surprises to the plot, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this one! The law aspect is fascinating and I think this would be an interesting discussion starter amongst readers. As ever, I am curious to see what Bohjalian will write next!

Bohjalian's newest book, Hour of the Witch, published earlier this month, takes place in 1662 Boston, where strong-willed women like main protagonist young Mary Deerfield--especially if they have not yet borne children--are suspicious and frequently considered dangerous.

Hour of the Witch is a thoroughly researched historical thriller with fantastic details of the time that focuses on the character of a twenty-four-year-old, faithful Puritan wife trying to escape her violent, often drunk husband, who is a widower twice her age--and the witch trial that followed.

Bohjalian traces infuriating injustices perpetuated against the female characters--who like the real-life women of the time, are largely powerless and often not considered autonomous beings. Mary's foul treatment by her husband--and the community's unwillingness to protect her--may have you roiling with rage, but just know that Mary has a fiery spirit and some tricks up her sleeve, and she doesn't intend to go quietly.

The community's collective suspicion builds and grows into panic and paranoia, twisting Mary up in its grasp as those around her swarm and snarl, eager to condemn her to death for imagined, feared dark forces. Bohjalian's protagonist Mary straddles the line between meek and mild helpmeet and spirited, strong woman, and I was cheering for her every step of the way--even as I had to resort to deep breathing to read about all she endured as a woman subject to her cruel husband's whims.

I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of Doubleday Books and NetGalley.

If you like stories about witches, you might like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm You.

Bohjalian is also the author of a fantastic book about World War II, Skeletons at the Feast, the difficult but riveting story The Guest Room, and a book about the Armenian genocide that is personal to Bohjalian himself, The Sandcastle Girls, as well as Midwives, The

I recieved an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. I see that most people so far have given this 5 stars but I just cant see that this merits that. Im struggling to review it because I didnt love it or hate it. It was just kinda there, not good, not bad. Kinda predictable but interesting for its historical research - though honestly it doesnt really add much to the Witch Trials time period that hasnt already been contributed. It has a feminist bent to it, which I appreciated but could have been stronger, I believe, if written by a woman. In his acknowledgements, the author states hes always been fascinated by the Puritan mind. Perhaps Im not the right audience then, because I find the Puritan mind mainly repulsive.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
The characters are well developed and interesting. It is 17th century colonial Boston and women have no rights. Women are being hanged as witches. The plot was unremarkable and predictable until the end which totally changed things up. Interesting read.
3.5 stars

This is a well written and researched book. Unfortunately I felt the story dragged along too much. It is the story of a woman who seeks to divorce her abusive husband in Puritan New England. I had heard great things about the book and wanted to like it. But I didn’t.

Chris Bohjalian has become one of my must-read authors over the last few years. From the suspenseful The Flight Attendant to the heartbreaking Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, to the pervasive creeping sense of dread of The Night Strangers, his books are always entertaining and thought-provoking. Hour of the Witch is no different - it's a meticulously researched historical fiction that keeps you wondering what is going on until the last minute. Mary Deerfield's story was a bit slow to start - it takes a minute to switch your brain into 17th century speech mode - but once it got going, it was difficult to put the book down. I highly recommend this book to fans of Bohjalian and anyone who loves to read about the early history of the Puritans in New England - particularly those interested in the early treatment of women and persecution of suspected witches in this country.

I’m judging the L.A. Times 2020 and 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“Because they knew. They knew what was out there in the wilds, and what was inside them that was, arguably, wilder still.” (5)

Absolutely fascinating historical fiction story of a woman in the 1600s who decides to divorce her abusive husband. This fast-paced books reads like a thriller. Another must read title from Chris Bohjalian.

Boston in the 1660s was a horrible time to be a woman. Because of the Puritan beliefs, your life and even your thoughts were not your own. This novel really makes the time period come to life with strong female characters and openly exposes the double standard between men and women. (And how much has changed in 460 years?) I loved that Mr. Bohjalian wrote this with all of the “thee’s” and “thou’s” intact—it greatly contributed to the feeling of time and place.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Publishing for the ARC to read and review.