ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke

The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke is published by Harper Collins in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for sending the proof copy.

Four hundred years separate them.

One book binds them.

Glasgow 2024: Clem waits by her daughter’s hospital bed. Erin was found on an idyllic beach in Fynhallow Bay, Orkney with catastrophic burns and only one memory: her name is Nyx.

But how did she get these burns? And how did her boyfriend end up burned alive?

Orkney 1594: accused of witchcraft, Alison Balfour awaits trial. The punishment? To be burned alive.

Separated by four hundred years but bound by the Book of Witching, two women stand imperilled. Can they unlock a centuries-old mystery? And will Fynhallow Bay give up its secrets before someone else dies?

The Book of Witching is another well-plotted dual timeline story from C.J. Cooke. In the current day in Glasgow, Clem’s daughter Erin is found badly burned on a beach on Orkney. When Erin comes round she doesn’t always seem to be herself, personality changes coming and going as her recovery begins. In the other strand of the story, Alison Balfour is imprisoned, awaiting trial for witchcraft at a time when women were pursued, tortured and killed if they were believed to be witches. Linking both timelines is the Book of Witching, a mysterious and magical book.

This book is gripping, alarming and moving. The plight and treatment of women like Alison, those who could heal and use concoctions and spells to do so, is well-documented and yet never fails to shock. I was appalled at the tactics used by cruel and powerful men to ensure a confession to witchcraft and I read with a hand over my mouth at times. The current day storyline is interwoven with Alison’s narrative really well, as the reasons for Erin being on Orkney and why she has ended up in hospital gradually become clear.

The author has clearly done a lot of research to make this story authentic. The settings were full of atmosphere and the characters jumped off the page, particularly Alison and her family. I was fascinated by the Book of Witching and the author’s notes on where her inspiration had come from. I loved the clever ending too, which brought the story full circle. An excellent read.

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other publications as Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Her work has been published in twenty-three languages to date. Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children.