Chris Bohjalian

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant, the enthralling story of a young Puritan woman who marries the wrong man and soon finds herself caught up in the violence and hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials"--

Hour of the Witch

Was anyone else convinced Mary Deerfield was a real person while reading this?! The author really got me, especially choosing to include real "testimony" from various figures to start off each chapter that were all included in the book anyway. This was an incredibly thrilling and heart pounding piece of historical fiction. I listened as an audiobook but did not really like the narrator; it was very difficult at times to differentiate which character was speaking. I also was hoping there would have been an author's note at the end. But I also feel slightly dumb because I believed Mary Deerfield was indeed a real person and didn't learn otherwise until I Googled her once I finished listening. Again, an author's note would have been preferred to learn more about the author's influences and inspirations, as well as any real life history, for this book. I'm not always the biggest fan of male authors having female main characters but it did not seem to be an issue here. I really liked Mary Deerfield; she was strong and smart. This was a good book for the fall/Halloween season. It was a strong, solid work.

Amanda

In 1600s Boston, women aren’t safe. Men can abuse them in the name of discipline. Or accuse them of being witches and kill them.

But Mary Deerfield has had enough of her husband’s abuse. She’s going to divorce him., even though the odds of doing so aren’t in her favor.

This book had the perfect amount of tension and courtroom drama. It bogged down a bit in the middle, but I was invested in seeing what happened to Mary.

Cheri McElroy

In 1600s Boston, women aren’t safe. Men can abuse them in the name of discipline. Or accuse them of being witches and kill them.

But Mary Deerfield has had enough of her husband’s abuse. She’s going to divorce him., even though the odds of doing so aren’t in her favor.

This book had the perfect amount of tension and courtroom drama. It bogged down a bit in the middle, but I was invested in seeing what happened to Mary.

Patricia Nelson

I put off reading this, as the topics were a little close to home with some of my current frustrations and anger at world events, but when I finally sat down with this book, I couldn't put it down. Meals went unprepared, shopping undone, etc. The book is a story of a woman living in Puritan Boston in the early 1620s. The story is well written and crafted in a smart way with two larger events framing it. The characters were what had me hooked, however. Mary is the primary character, and her strength, resilience and confidence made her stand out. Constance is more of an ancillary character, but her perspective and confidence and wisdom made her another memorable character. It is not a spoiler or surprising to say that the Puritan life was hard on women, whose lives and reputations could swing quickly through unfounded accusations and gossip, but unfounded accusations and gossip turned toward a man were unacceptable behavior. I would highly recommend this book for book club discussions. There is a lot to talk about and there would be a great discussion point about what is different today? What is similar if not the same?

Karen Shimek

erin s

Hour of the Witch is a tense, chilling glimpse into a patriarchal Puritan community through the lens of one abusive marriage. Mary Deerfield is a young wife in 1662 Boston, living in fear of her violent husband Thomas. When he stabs a three-pronged fork (referred to as the Devil’s tines by their paranoid Puritan neighbors) through her hand, he shatters her bones but strengthens her resolve to escape from the suffocating confines of their abusive home. She petitions for a divorce, but inadvertently sparks speculation over her faith, morality, and loyalty. Soon a witch hunt begins, and Mary isn’t sure who she can trust — even herself. 

[3/5: An intense historical thriller full of culturally relevant commentary. The dialogue is an adjustment, as the characters all speak with the Puritan ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ and it can read as a little stilted at times, but it adds to the immersive environment.] 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Danica Holdaway

Quite possibly this was only enjoyable as I taught early U.S. history for years 😹 it’s an itchy slow burn but the end is *chef’s kiss*

Devin Mainville

Many thanks to @doubleday for this #gifted #arc! I was intrigued by the description of this book as an historical thriller. I don’t read much as much historical fiction as I used to, but I still have a soft spot for it and I’m always down for a good (or even mediocre) thriller.

Set in Puritanical Boston, Hour of the Witch tells the story of a young woman, Mary Deerfield, attempting to leave her abusive husband and being a labeled a witch because of it. Using a literal witch hunt as the backdrop for an allegorical tale is hardly original, but the comparison to how women were treated and believed (or not) then versus now was still highly effective.

It took a minute for me to get used to all the thous and thines in the dialogue and while I wouldn’t call this an outright thriller, I still raced through it in a matter of days because I needed to see how it ended. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but what it has to say about how women have been treated throughout time, and the recourses they’re forced to take because of that treatment, is hardly revolutionary.

Jan Talkington

Chris Bohjalian did it again - another well written great book! Found myself talking about this book to my husband constantly while reading. Historical fiction at its best.

Shirley Kaleen

Morgan Thompson

Robin M Cabana

A Read It Forward Most Anticipated Book of 2021 A young Puritan woman--faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul--plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant. Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary--a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony--soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows. A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

Hour of the Witch

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