--I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
Before reading this book, I knew a lot about the Salem Witch-trials and knew that they were preceded by a witch hunt in England, but I did not know much about them. Thankfully, this book was very well researched and does not require you to know much about it so I learned a lot from it. The book follows Alice, the sister to Matthew Hopkins and it follows Matthew's decent into perceived madness from her eyes. I <i>loved</i> that there was not a set answer as to why Matthew did what he did: be it monetary gain, power, madness, or even a combination of the three, and the author did a fantastic job showing support for all three reasons without compromising what is known about the real-life Matthew Hopkins (which is surprisingly little). Alice is a very strong yet naive character, but she is very human and it is fascinating to see how she responds to the hysteria that seems to befall the rest of the provinces. I truly don't know if the people who declared their neighbors witches actually believed it or if they simply wanted someone to blame (be it miscarriage, a poor crop, or really whatever troubled them).
Everyone in this book is very human and they have their faults as a result of it, which is a major strength of this book. I wish that Matthew was given a few more "human moments", but I understand that we are seeing him through his sister's eyes and she is seeing him as a monster (rightfully so, as he had a hand in 106 deaths) so we will see him as such too. My one major complaint is the ending stinger: it took me out of the book and made me roll my eyes because it seemed just a bit contrived, but it thankfully did not ruin the masterfully crafted tale. I really look forward to seeing the author's other works: she really seems to have a knack for historical fiction!

I will admit when I first received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, the only thing I really knew about the English witch trials was basically that they existed and more than likely were the basis for the infamous Salem witch trials. After reading the book, I am amazed I totally missed something so darkly interesting. I loved how the character of Alice was a very strong female character for the times, and how realistic and human each character was. Even Matthew Hopkins appeared to have some human traits to him, and I thought he was an incredibly sadistic man. I also loved how the author never claimed to have the answer as to why he started the witch trials in the first place, and seamlessly writes each theory in with Alice's attempts at finding his reasons why as well. I also loved how you never know more than what Alice knows; if something seemed like it could be supernatural, there's a good chance it wasn't, but there's still unease in the rest of the book. Overall, I loved this book with the great style and voice, and can't freaking BELIEVE this is her first book, so I'm looking forward to reading more from her!

This was an excellent novel. With brilliant main characters and a wonderful plot, this book is a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book.

(This review was posted on http://literaryweaponry.com on Jan 11 2017)

I remember years ago (far longer than I care to admit) spending an exorbitant amount of time learning about the Salem witch trials in school. It was drummed into our heads as we learned the names of the accused, their supposed crimes, and their punishments. Twenty people were executed for witchcraft and five others died in prison. I recall being appalled of the things that transpired in that Massachusetts town and ashamed that it was part of American history.

Then I picked up this book and learned that the witch trials also occurred in Britain, which was certainly never taught in my history classes. I looked up some history on their witch trials and realized that what had happened in America was small potatoes compared to what had transpired across the Atlantic. Matthew Hopkins, unofficially titled Witchfinder General, was directly responsible for the deaths of around 300 people accused of witchcraft in eastern England between 1644 and 1646. As you may have gleaned from the title, this book is about his sister, Alice.

While Underdown’s work is certainly fiction, it is fiction loosely based around actual events. Those people did die. They were drowned, hanged, starved, tortured, and goodness knows what else. From a literary standpoint I feel like that is important to remember as it gives the book more weight. From a human standpoint, it is horrific. Be that as it may…

We begin with Alice Hopkins. She is traveling to her brother’s home in Manningtree from London after her husband’s accidental death. She is alone, pregnant, and relying on her brother Matthew’s good will to provide her room and board. She and her brother had been close as children, though they had grown apart after her marriage, and she hopes she will still be welcome in the family home. Matthew had never been a warm and kind person and had been terribly scarred by a fire as an infant leaving him disfigured. When his sister arrives she is welcomed back.

As Alice copes with the unexpected loss of her husband and later the miscarriage of her child she begins to learn terrible things about her brother’s life. He is accusing women in their village of witchcraft and imprisoning them. What aggravated me was that Alice saw what Matthew was doing and practically ignored it. She kept telling herself it wouldn’t come to anything even when he and his companions openly spoke of these persecutions in front of her. I understand that during the time period the woman yielded to the man in almost all ways and did not question him, however, how could she just idly stand by and make excuses for him? Oh, he was always a strange child, it will be fine. Oh, mother treated him poorly as a child, nothing will come of this. At what point does unlawful persecution become a big deal?

Eventually Matthew began taking his sister with him village to village to interrogate woman and send them away to prison, trial, and often execution. Still, she does very little to thwart him and mostly just thinks of herself and how she is going to get away from him before he sets his sights on her.

Little does she know that he already had.

After having witnessed multiple hangings ordained by her brother, including one in her own town of people she knew personally, Matthew has her locked away in the attic of their home. Alice is accused of being mentally infirm, much like their mother was, and unsafe to be allowed into the public. While the end of this book is not particularly surprising I don’t want to spoil it.

I will say that this book was very well thought out. The characters had depth and the details really drew you into that world. My only criticism is that it took so long for the story line to progress that it couldn’t hold my attention for long spans. During the first half of the book I didn’t feel like much of anything was happening (outside of some self pity behalf of Alice) while the second half progressed quickly. If that’s my only complaint then it’s still a good book by my count.

Surely one of the best novels of 2017, absolutely beautiful writing a pure pleasure to read.

Wonderful story! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

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!