In 1662 Boston, Mary Deerfield tries to escape her physically abusive husband by filing for divorce after he stabs her hand with a fork. Divorce is not unheard of, but Mary is soon fighting against the accusation of witchcraft. Someone buried the "devil's tines," forks imported by Mary's merchant father, in her yard and Mary is determined to find out who did it. Is it someone looking to frame her for witchcraft or someone casting their own evil spell. Was it her husband? Could it have been their servant girl? Every move she makes brings her closer to the truth and the noose. It is a dangerous world wherein a strong outspoken woman in trying to escape domestic abuse may find herself hung as a witch. The historical details and setting ratchet up the suspense until the very end. Highly recommended!

This started off slow for me, but picked up nicely and ended excellently. As a fan of witchy reads and historical fiction, I sometimes find Witch Trial books to be a little too text book and factual, but Chris Bohjalian created an fast-paced, relatable, and accurate novel in Hour of the Witch that I’d certainly recommend to readers hoping to dip their feet into the witchy waters and avid witch readers alike. The dialogue is easy to understand and Mary, the main character, is so likeable with her youthful innocence and (potentially troublesome) curiosity that I couldn’t wait to find out her fate. A witchy, soon-to-be classic and a must read by fall!

4.5 bewitching stars
“Thou believest too much in thine intellect as a woman.”
Throughout time, one of the most dangerous of creatures has been a woman able to think freely and intelligently. Bohjalian has delivered a spell-binding, often maddening look at the turmoil caused by gossip and fear in 17th century Puritan Boston.

Mary’s circumstances matter not in her Puritan community. She is married to a dangerous man, prone to drink and ready with a fist. But because he is a needed and profitable businessman, she is expected to lie about the bruises upon her cheek. When at last, she can no longer continue with the ruse, she seeks divorce. But logic and reason are overtaken by town gossip, harsh scrutinization, and ludicrous accusations.

Bohjalian has masterfully created a slow burn mixture of historical fiction and mystery that I couldn’t put down. The time period and Puritan lifestyle are skillfully portrayed, as is the intricate development of the characters. This adept execution creates mounting tension in anticipation of Mary’s fate.

The message of this book is timeless, thought provoking, and important. It also reminded me, from history until today, that fear has often overwhelmed reason.

Thank you Chris Bohjalian, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book

Chris Bojhalian is one of my favorite authors.
I wrote about him for Thrive Global
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/escape-into-fiction-this-fall/

Thank you for sharing this book with me!
Lisa

The Hour of the Witch is one of those books that I really enjoyed, but also dragged on and on. It felt like I had already read 400 pages, when I was only 54% done.

It is a good book nevertheless, so 3 stars it is!

Mary Deerfield is a clever and beautiful young woman in Boston in 1662, but she's married to a monster. Her husband, Thomas, physically and emotionally abuses her. She doesn't love him and convinced she is barren after five years of marriage without any children. The abuse continued quietly for years before one night a drunken Thomas impales Mary in the hand with a three-tined fork, pushing her to finally leave her husband before he grows even more dangerous.
But, by chance, their servant catches Mary in a compromising position and accuses her of being a witch. Mary must face her divorce trial and prove she was abused by Thomas without any physical evidence while also weighed down with accusations of witchcraft.
The story focuses heavily on the treatment of women during the 1600s and circles loosely around the witchcraft hysteria associated with the time. As a result, "Hour of the Witch" is a bit of a depressing read, but realistic. It's clear author Chris Bohjalian did his research. It's a dark domestic period piece that moves along quickly. My only gripe is that some of the trial scenes drag along a bit.
Overall, a great read.

“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 finds 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 thriller from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying novel of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.”

I first read Chris Bohjalian’s The Flight Attendant a few years ago, and love the the twist and turns. Even thought I don’t typically read historical fiction, I knew I HAD to read this one. While this is a story set in the 1600’s, the premise of a woman fighting for justice and to be free of her abuser, while her status as a woman is undermined is a story that resonates today. Mary fights to protect herself and to be believed against those determined to prove she is a witch sends her on a fight for her life.
Hour of the Witch releases May 4, 2021. I highly recommend you check it out!

Hour of the Witch
By Chris Bohjalian
On Sale May 4, 2021
Published by Doubleday

Who knew a fork could be such an instrument of evil? Evil appears in many forms just as cruelty takes even more forms. I was pleasantly surprised by this books take on the Boston’s patriarchal society in 1662. The story is not just another falsely accused woman unable to overcome evil. Mary Deerfield is a strong, smart woman. Her family owns a successful importing business. Mary marries Thomas Deerfield, a widower twice her age. He’s evil and his methods of inflicting pain range from well hidden physical abuse, mental abuse and sexual abuse. To escape she files for divorce. But her conniving maid and a few nosy neighbors make matters worse. The trial focuses more on Mary’s not becoming pregnant than on Thomas’s physical marks he left on Mary. She has her allies though. Mary evaluates all strategies to no longer endure Thomas. The story was so well played that the twist ending had me rethinking all of my preconceived notions about several of the main characters. This story is a great new spell for the age old witch trials.

‘ We separated and came here to this wilderness, and so far we have shown only that we are as flawed and mortal here as we were across the ocean. There is no act of horror or violence of which man is not capable.’

Bohjalian’s historical fiction novels have become a favorite of mine and he has created another well written novel with The Hour of the Witch. The dialogue took a bit of time to get used to, but once I found its rhythm I was hooked. Mary was such an easy character to sympathize with. She trapped in a time when women had very few options and were considered a ‘witch’ if they defied what the community considered appropriate behavior. Our country may not be perfect but we have come a long way from our beginnings. Wonder what Mary’s thoughts would be on where we, as women, are today. 4 stars.

Hour of the Witch follows a young Puritan wife, Mary, living in Boston in an abusive and barren relationship with her terrible husband and a housemaid who lusts after said terrible husband. She happens to be an educated, free-thinking woman who's also terrified of witchcraft, the colony's growing fear of witchcraft, and the devil--and they see the devil EVERYWHERE. One night her husband stabs her in the hand with a fork and she vows to get divorced.

I really loved this book, but I can't write this review without also mentioning that the tldr of this novel is definitely "forks are agents of Satan." I could have finished this a lot faster if I'd spent less time googling how Puritans felt about forks. However, with that said, this was a very, very well done historical fiction novel (I would not call it a thriller) that handles the topics at hand very gracefully. I have never read a fiction book where it was so easy to sympathize with why there was such a huge witch hysteria but Mr. Bohjalian made it so easy to put yourself in Mary's shoes that I was looking at forks with suspicion before I even realized it!

Overall very well written and engaging and I'm very glad to have read it!
Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A historical novel looks into domestic violence, rights of women, and the witch hunts. Mary is a young wife in Boston in the mid 1600s. Married off to a widowed man double her age, all she was hoping for was a child of her own one day. Instead, her husband is violent and cruel to her when no one is looking, particularly their indentured servant who seems to have a crush on him. When her husband Thomas finally drives a newly imported fork into her hand, Mary decides she has had enough and goes back to her parents and wants to divorce him. But it is hard for a woman to divorce a husband, even for cruelty at this time, and when the servant girl starts up witch talk, Mary may need to avoid both abuse from her husband's hand and/or the gallows of the witch trials. But when Mary's back is against the wall, how far will she go to escape?

This is a really well done novel that looks at domestic violence and women's rights, and at the same time, produces a thriller of a story that comes with a satisfying conclusion.

Fantastic book!! It's full of twists and turns. It's a well written book that builds from page one and ends in an unexpected twist that I never saw coming.
The book was well researched and seems completely genuine. I wouldn't call this a thriller but evokes many of the same emotions that thrillers do

I have been a reader of Bohjalian novels for years. I feel the early books contain more suspense and originality. While I enjoyed Hour of the Witch, I found the character of Mary Deerfield to be rather cold and I could not sink into her shoes and enjoy her story.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of HOUR OF THE WITCH by Chris Bohjalian in exchange for my honest review.***

Set in New England during the puritanical days of the mid 1660s, Mary Deerfield has the audacity to object to her husband’s physical and emotional abuse. She wants to divorce him, but must has just cause according to men in her community. Women, in those times, were property of their parents first and then their husband, expected to endure what society considered justified discipline. Abuse was considered justified punishment.

I spent most of my time reading HOUR OF THE WITCH feeling angry for Mary and for all women. Imagining myself in her situation would have been a foregone conclusion. I wouldn’t have fit in. Fortunately, Mary’s parents believed her and supported her desire not to be mistreated, which to me is a low bar for decent parenting, but those were different times.

Faulting townspeople would be overly simplistic, as they were raised to believe in good vs evil and Satan as a real source of evil with a capital E, not merely synonymous with bad. Part of their beliefs stemmed from predetermination, that humans were destined to be good or evil, very few shades of gray existed. Speaking out against injustice could result in public flogging, excommunication from the church and polite society, shunning from family, even being hanged as a witch. Bravery could be deadly.

Chris Bohjalian is one of the most brilliant storytellers of our time. His impeccable research and attention to detail reminds me of Jodi Picoult’s approach to writing. I’ve been a fan of both since their earlier careers and they are the only writers whose literary fiction I enjoy. They make me think and reconsider my beliefs. Salem and the witch trials, the groupthink and gang-like mentality have parallels in today’s society and social media. I’ve been on the wrong side of a misinterpreted comment meant to be supportive and couldn’t believe the vitriol.

Though marketed as a literary thriller, I wouldn’t use thriller because though the pace is steady and tension high, it’s more a study of character and era and a brilliant one at that.

HOUR OF THE WITCH is a must read for historical and literary fiction lovers, particularly those interested in feminism and equality.

I found Hour of the Witch to be dreadfully boring. I have not read anything else by Bohjalian before so I’m not sure if it’s his style, but this book did not work for me at all. The beginning is incredibly slow. And the attempt at historically accurate speech was distracting at best. Mary, as our lead, was not a particular interesting character either. For a book about an impending witch trial, this book was very dull and had me debating whether I should stop reading it many times. This book might be for some, but it definitely wasn’t for me.

I thoroughly enjoy Bohjalian’s writings and this was no exception. Interesting from a historical side along with the side of mystery along the way. It was also timely when you think of people telling on each other, believing in rumors. I will say I was disappointed in the ending. It was a bit too fanciful.

The last time author Chris Bohjalian was in St. Louis, I was lucky enough to be first in line at his book signing. St. Louis was the first stop, if I remember correctly, of his book tour for “The Flight Attendant.” I was eager to start reading after his wonderful presentation, but since I had a chance, I chatted with him for a minute before he had to get to work. I had one important, burning question: “What’s next?”

He told me that he was researching a book about Puritans in the 17th century and the witch trials that rocked Massachusetts. He had become fascinated with that time period when he was in college. I was disappointed when it wasn’t the next book he released (which was “The Red Lotus,” another great read!). Maybe next year, I thought.

Not long ago, I began to see blurbs and advertisements for his latest adventure, “Hour of the Witch.” Here it was! I lucky enough get my hands on an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC). I was shocked it was even available because during the time of covid-19, as publishers cut way back on print copies. A writer of his stature doesn’t need ARCs to gain momentum. He writes and people, including me, buy his book. I don’t even have to know what it’s about. If Chris Bohjalian wrote, I’m probably gonna love it.

I am not a big fan of stories set in the 17th century; they don’t grab me. But, boy, this one sure did. From its first sentence (“It was always possible that the Devil was present.”) to its last, I was enthralled with Mary Deerfield’s story.

The place is Boston; the year is 1662. Women have been hung after accusations they were practicing witchcraft. Young Mary Deerfield is a newlywed. Her husband, Thomas, is a powerful man, physically and politically. In public, Thomas was ever the attentive husband, but once the front door was closed, Thomas turned into her worse nightmare. He criticized her, he brutalized her in the marriage bed, and he tossed her around their cottage like she was fallen leaf. He was an expert at making up the lies he told whenever someone noticed her bruises. It was painful to read about Thomas’ cruelty and how he would laugh at Mary’s pain and fear.

Mary’s father was an importer. He recently received a shipment of three-tined forks, which were considered the Devil’s utensils. When she finds two of them planted near the cottage gate, she knows someone is trying to frame her as a witch. She is afraid it’s Thomas, or their servant firld. There isn’t much Mary can do legally to fight him.

Thomas’ drinking grows steady worse. When he stabs her in the hand, Mary knows it is time to divorce him. Divorce is scandalous. It goes against all things God-like. It isn’t right.

The book is broken into two parts. The first is The Book of the Wife. This is where readers see their marriage and experience Mary’s fears and Thomas’s cruelties. The second is The Book of the Witch. Here is where Mary tries to gain a divorce and defend herself against the horrific accusations that are thrown at her.

I need to stop now, or I’m going to spill the beans about an ending that was as shocking as it was redeeming. And perfect. It was perfect!

I loved this story and could hardly put it down. I do have one question for Mr. Bohjalian: “As hard as it was to get used to reading the thee’s and thou’s that was the Puritans way of speaking, how hard was it to write in that style?” Maybe next time he’s in St. Louis, I’ll snag that first spot in line and have a chance to ask him.

What a great read! Hour of the Witch receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Hour of the Witch
A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
Doubleday Books
Doubleday
Literary Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers | Romance
Pub Date 04 May 2021 | Archive Date 04 May 2021

This book won't be a fit for everyone. It is a twisted, dark tale. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC.

3star

This was an excellent, twisted, dark tale, and is not for everyone. I was reeling after finishing the book and thought it was cleverly written.
Many thanks to Doubleday Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mary Deerfield’s plight made me super uncomfortable! Those Puritans sure made it difficult for “different” women ie independent, smart, barren, or ones not wanting to follow the herd. The book dragged a little for me in the beginning but I guessed incorrectly who did it and the ending so I always enjoy that!