Chris Bohjalian is a local Vermont author and I have had the pleasure of reading his work from the very beginning. I used to love his weekly “Idyll Banter” newspaper column and one of the very first books I ever read "outside of school" was his Oprah Book Club pick, The Midwives. 
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One of his writing gifts is being able to write books that totally immerse you in an entirely new concept or experience, one you were probably not even expecting when you opened to the first page. 
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Chris Bohjalian is known for his character-driven novels that are also completely propulsive. His 2020 novel, The Red Lotus, was a page-turner and while it was a topic I would never have predicted I would be into, I had a hard time putting it down. What I have learned from his books, is that it isn't always the topic matter that draws you in, but the storytelling itself. 
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This novel was wholly engaging and totally thought-provoking. I loved how although it was set in the mid-1600s, there were so many connections to issues that still arise today.  This would make an amazing book club discussion and I highly recommend adding it to your spring 2021 reading list.

Thank you to @doubledaybooks for my gifted copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Yes, this may be the hour of the witch. But the Devil? He most definitely wears breeches. The Devil can only be a man.”

HOUR OF THE WITCH is a completely transportive historical novel set in 1600s New England. I’d hesitate to label it a thriller or a page-turner; it’s more of a slow-burn that does keep readers guessing though it takes its time getting there. young Puritan Mary Deerfield is desperate to escape her cruel husband, but in a time and place where women are not readily believed and everyone lives in dread of the Devil and his work, Mary moves from defending herself to questioning herself and where she falls on the spectrum of good and evil. I’ve not read many novels set in this time period, but the extensive and meticulous research that went into this book was obvious. the book did feel a little long in the middle, but I was anxious to discover Mary’s fate in the last quarter of the book. 3.5/5⭐️—it was good!

Mary Deerfield is married to an abusive monster. Unfortunately this is 1662 in Salem. When Mary tries to divorce her husband she ends up being accused of witchcraft!

Hour of the Witch is a riveting piece of historical fiction. This was my first book by Chris Bohjalian but it won't be my last. It held my attention from page 1 to the end. I highly recommend Hour of the Witch to historical fiction fans.

I have a confession - I really wasn't a fan of Bohjalian's The Red Lotus (pub 2020). I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Flight Attendant though...

And I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed Hour of the Witch despite it's very very very slow start. But if you stick with it (you should) the pay off is HUGE.

Although bogged down with DETAILS, I mean after all historical fiction, it is still intriguing & thought provoking. It is clear there is a thoughtfulness and vast amount of research put into it all by Bohjalian.

I enjoyed the complexity of Mary as a character- she was likable(but still not Cassie! LOL)

I was provided an ARC ebook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

What a story! This book could easily be described as a historical fiction thriller. We meet Mary Deerfield 5 years into her troubled marriage with Thomas Deerfield. He is harsh, abusive, and unloving towards his second wife. After a particularly vicious encounter, Mary has decided she has had enough and submits a petition for divorce. In the historical time frame, 1662 Boston, divorce is a scandalous idea, and Mary risks tarnishing her reputation. Mary is a fiercely independent woman whose worldview is ahead of its time. She is a critical thinker, but is admonished for being such by her tyrant husband.

The thriller part of the story come after the proceedings for the divorce petition. Mary's life seems to spiral out of control at points, but she generally rescues herself and plans meticulously for her future. Mary battles her feeling for another man, rumors of witchcraft, and her own inner demons.

This was a great read!

While the setting is 17th century colonial New England, the narrative has a slightly modern twist. Mary Deerfield is married to a verbally, physically abusive older man. Restrictive laws, public opinion and the suggestion of witchcraft prevent her from getting a divorce and the freedom she desperately seeks. While most of her peers would have buckled under the pressure to conform, you have to admire her grasp of the situation and attempts to deal with it.
Well written, historically researched, the author a “master of atmosphere” details the problems in this age old dilemma.

Thank you to Doubleday Books, Chris Bohjalian and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In 1662 Boston Mary Deerfield is married to a brute of a man. When he gets drink-drunk, he is cruel and violent to her. After he stabs her hand with a fork one evening, Mary resolves that it’s finally time to leave Thomas Deerfield and begins to petition for a divorce. But in this Puritan society, women are meant to be helpmeets to their husbands, not leave them. And as the hearing for Mary’s divorce petition begins, so do rumors that Mary is actually a witch. And thou shalt not suffer a witch to live...

Let’s just say I am so incredibly grateful that I do not live in 1662 Boston. The Puritan society that founded our country was so cruel and unjust to those who were the least bit different, smart or you know… not a white guy. My heart broke when I thought of all the amazing things that Mary Deerfield could have accomplished if she’d been born a few centuries later.

If you’re looking for a thriller like The Flight Attendant, you won’t find that with Hour of the Witch. Instead we have a period legal drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat but also cursing the men in power and their shortsightedness. Bohjalian did a ton of research into the life and justice system of 1660s Boston and while the details slowed the story a bit, they also really made the reader understand what an uphill battle Mary faced.

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Things have sure changed in the world since 1662 or have they? Small town gossip and speaking behind the backs of people is still the same but women are allowed to speak their mind and are there witches??? It amazes me that Chris Bohjalian can write in the mind of a woman and be right on point! This book kept me turning the pages even though it was making me very anxious. I was rooting for Mary Deerfield to safely escape her drunken husband who is so cruel. He should be the devil after stabbing her with a three pronged fork in the hand, not her. I think her husband Tom was cruel because she could not give him a child, so instead of being compassionate he was a monster. The tension builds in this book with an unexpected ending I never saw coming. I would definitely recommend this wonderful book.
Thanks to #doubledaybooks, #netgalley and @chrisbohjalian for an ARC of this book

"Hour of the Witch” by Chris Bohjalian, Doubleday, 416 pages, May 4, 2021.

Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield, 24, is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a violent man almost twice her age. She is childless after five years of marriage. Thomas says her mind is like white meat.

Thomas, a widower who has an adult daughter, owns a mill. Thomas usually only hits Mary when he is drunk. But when he is sober and drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she knows that she must divorce him.

Mary is smart, but she lives in a world where neighbors suspect smart women of witchcraft. She gives people herbal remedies for illnesses. Mary’s father, a wealthy merchant, imported the forks that Puritans consider to be “Devil’s tines.”

Luckily, her parents, James and Priscilla Burden, agree that she should get a divorce. Mary has to go before an all-male panel which includes the governor. The hearing is more of an indictment of her than of Thomas.

Her servant, Catherine Stileman, testifies against Mary. Mary had treated Catherine’s brother, William, when he was ill, but he died. The divorce is denied and Mary must return to Thomas.

This is well-researched and well-written. Chris Bohjalian writes strong women characters and all of his books are different than the book that he wrote before it. Each novel has a compelling problem, complex characters and solid writing.

The plot of “Hour of the Witch” is intense, while at times distressing because of the way Mary is treated, even by people she thought of as friends. But it is a fascinating story of early America. The ending is outstanding.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is the third book I’ve read by Chris Bohjalian and I have to say, I’m impressed with his range. Most of you are probably familiar with The Flight Attendant now that it’s been made into a TV series. I’ve also read The Sandcastle Girls which is a historical novel about the Armenian Genocide. Hour of the Witch is also historical fiction but this time set in Boston, all the way back in 1662.

Mary Deerfield’s husband Thomas drinks too much, which makes him very cruel towards her, both physically and emotionally. When he stabs her hand with a fork, she decides that she can’t take it anymore and petitions to divorce him. Unfortunately, she lives in a Puritan community in 1662, where divorce is virtually unheard of. At the same time, mysterious objects found buried in Mary’s yard and other supposedly suspicious happenings leave some people wondering if Mary could be a witch.

Hour of the Witch is well-researched historical fiction. Mary’s divorce trial and the town’s treatment of her in general highlights how women were treated as second-class citizens incapable of taking care of themselves or making decisions on their own. The Puritans also held each other to suffocatingly high standards. A lot of the drama is caused by the fork. Fork seem innocuous to us today but apparently, Puritans thought they were the “devil’s tines.” The fact that Mary’s father imported some from Europe is a strike against her.

The pacing of Hour of the Witch was a little uneven. The first half was kind of slow and then the last chapter or so went at breakneck speed to wrap things up. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it. Recommended.

In this book you are hooked into the life of Mary Deerfield, an intelligent and well- educated, privileged young Puritan woman living in 1662 Boston. She is the second wife to a bully of a husband and wants to escape her fate through a divorce proceeding only to discover that even though she bears marks of physical abuse she is judged for her conduct in the relationship as well as for seeking divorce but really she is also judged for her gender. Her word does not count for much against a man’s word.
The courtroom scenes in the first and second trial (the trial to determine whether she is a witch) are the high points of the book for me, the questions, the phrasing and the witness testimony. It seems like Bohjalian did his research extremely well and the way these proceedings are conducted feels entirely accurate.
The quotes, sources and 17th-century vocabulary ("drink-drunk", “pillowbere, “mouser” or "linsey-woolsey") make the novel feel rooted in history. I loved this glimpse into life in the 17th century in the growing port city of Boston - the strict and set Puritan ways and the new products being brought in through the port. While the puritans warily eye new things as potential temptations by the devil, the merchants live of an active trade. I took my own deep dive (facilitated by google) into the history of cutlery since the three-tined fork as a devil’s tool has a special significance in the story and it is fascinating.

While Hour of the Witch is quieter than last year’s „Red Lotus“ by the same author, it's thrilling nonetheless. It was a very suspenseful work of historical fiction.

One of my favorite books (I’m looking at you Sandcastle Girls) was an earlier novel by Bohjalian, and I’ve really enjoyed the books I’ve read of his since then. When I saw that his new book was on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it ASAP.

I went into this book largely blind, and it hooked me almost immediately! Hour of the Witch is told in two parts, and follows the story of Mary Deerfield - a 24-year-old woman in Boston in the 1660s who wants a divorce from her abusive husband. Set in the time period before the Salem Witch Trials, but just towards the end of the Hartford Witch Trials, the fear of witches is prevalent in society and Mary’s actions begin to arouse suspicion from those around her. Bohjalian perfectly crafts this story with a blend of historical truth and fictional thriller, and I read the whole thing in about 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down!

Considered a part of the historical thriller genre, it was less of an edge-of-your-seat thriller and more of a courtroom drama, with a little mystery mixed in. While I didn’t wholly guess the ending, I did see the twist coming and so the end wasn’t a huge surprise to me. I absolutely loved the setting though, and am always here for books set in Boston - or near it - in the 1600s. Hour of the Witch was heavily researched and the language so intentional - really setting the scene for the story as it unfolded. Overall, this was an excellent read that I recommend to anyone who loves history or courtroom dramas - you won’t be disappointed with this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bohjalian is a master at his craft. I have never met a Bohjalian novel that I have not enjoyed. and this one was no exception. I think if I was given a book that was written by him with no title and no author I'd be able to identify it. He has that unique of a voice. I felt HOUR OF THE WITCH was an amazing story. It takes place in 1662 during the times when people are under suspicion for being a witch. I've always been interested in that portion of history and I was fascinated with this novel.

I'd highly recommend this to any historical fiction fan.

Although faithful, Mary Deerfield is also intelligent and independent, not to mention beautiful. Had her family stayed in England, she would have had her choice of men to wed, but in Boston of 1662, few have the social standing to marry a woman of her social position. Thus, Mary agrees to a union with Thomas Deerfield, a much older widower. Often drunk and always cruel, Mary endures Thomas’s beatings as she tries to be a proper wife, even at times thinking she deserves such punishment for her impure desires or because she’s been unable to get pregnant. But when Thomas stabs her in the hand with a three-tined “devil’s fork,” she resolves to divorce him.

Mary endures a hearing before a panel of the colony’s most powerful men, arguing that her life is in danger under Thomas’s roof. Very few stand beside Mary as she challenges the very social fabric of the community. A devil’s fork and pestle are found in her garden, and then a sick boy she treated with herbs died. Rather than given a divorce, Mary found herself accused of witchcraft and she found herself fighting to save herself from the gallows.

Of all periods of American history, I am least familiar with this one, which is exciting because I have the most to learn. Once I fell into the rhythm of the cadence of speech of the characters, I was so fascinated with (and horrified by) the details of daily life. (Forks were associated with the devil, and according to the Smithsonian Magazine, Americans didn’t use forks regularly until the 1850s! I went down a rabbit hole looking at pictures of trenchers since I didn’t know what they were before.)

Even worse were the conditions of women—husbands were not only allowed but expected to discipline their wives. (The book happened to read right before this was set in late 1800s and revealed it was almost as hard for women to get divorces then as it was for Mary.) Women who at all deviated from social norms could be accused of witchcraft and executed. Mary was well aware of the dangers, and she was savvy in the ways she tried to use the little power she had to gain favor with the judges.

That Mary has been unable to get pregnant weighs heavily on her and affects her relationships and sense of self, and I think that it is interesting to see how struggles with infertility compare and contrast over time.

For me, though, the best part of the book is the denouement. Perfection!

TW: domestic abuse, rape, infertility

I devour anything that has to do with witch trials. I read anything about Salem I can get my hands on-historical fiction, young adults, non-fiction, etc. That being said, I had a really hard time finishing this book. While the premise was decent and you could tell the author made an effort to be authentic to the time period, I felt like this dragged on. The dialogue was pretty heavy and slowed things down quite a bit in my opinion. I’m sure this is a issue the author struggled with, whether to write the characters’ speech as authentically as possible and sacrifice the flow or make the dialogue more modern and lose some of the book’s accuracy. I don’t know what the right answer is, but I do know the wasn’t a huge fan of the end result despite my interest in the subject matter.

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian is a historical fiction suspense novel set in 1800's Boston, during the time many women were being prosecuted and accused of being witches. That fact alone drew me to this book, plus I really enjoyed The Red Lotus and The Flight Attendant. That being said, Hour of the Witch is not my favorite book of Bohjalian and I found it a bit too slow paced for my liking, and for his typical style, but the ending had redeeming factors.

4.5 STARS

This is both a terrific thriller and a wonderful piece of historical fiction. I have not read very much about 17th century America so this story of our early Colonial days riveted me.

Mary Deerfield is from a well-regarded family but is married to a much older husband named Thomas who beats her regularly. The Puritans required everyone to attend church, yet husbands were allowed to “discipline” unruly wives. But when Mary cannot take it any longer and begins to fear for her life, she flees to her parents’ house and requests a divorce.

Mary must walk a fine line in her community as rumor and gossip can literally lead to the death of a woman. Hangings based on accusations and hearsay are the norm. In addition to her husband’s abuse, Mary has not yet had children, which also subjects her to suspicion and mistrust.

The description of everyday life and the blind adherence to religion were fascinating and the author’s meticulous research once again shines though. Much of the central conflict of the book arises out of Mary’s use of a three-pronged fork, which is viewed by the community as “the Devil’s tines” because of their resemblance to a pitchfork. Impossible to believe now but the Puritans viewed those who used them as in league with the Devil.

Each chapter cleverly begins with quotes from two separate trials. The different way in which men and women were treated by the Colonies’ new legal system was frightening and eye-opening. Mary’s word against Thomas was simply not enough, and when Mary’s indentured servant Catherine also testifies as to her belief that Mary was in league with the Devil, the outcome of the divorce petition is all but guaranteed.

‘Hour of the Witch’ paints an enthralling picture of everyday Puritan life. The ending was both surprising and completely satisfying, although I expect nothing less from Chris Bohjalian. Mary Deerfield is a spirited, lively and intelligent protagonist and I enjoyed the way her mind worked.

"I do not know what thou art planning," he said. "I do not know what thou hast in mind. But thou art contemplating something sinister. I know not what, but — "
"Either I have white meat for a brain or I am plotting evil," she snapped at him. "Cheese is not known for its perniciousness. Which is it: am I a dullard or a witch?"

This is the third book I have read by Chris Bohjalian, and once again, I devoured it! He has a knack for creating strong, resourceful female protagonists and now we can add Mary Deerfield to that list.

I’ve been a fan of any stories about accused witches since I read The Witch of Blackbird Pond back in the early 70s. The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian far surpassed my idea of a perfect novel. Lots of history, and a timely thriller. Twists and turns, and perfectly written. Full 5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Hour of the Witch is a historical fiction novel sit in Bostin in the 1600's. Mary Deerfield is a 24-year old woman married to Thomas Deerfield. Thomas is not an ideal husband - he is a drunk and a wife beater. Mary decides that she is going to pursue the extreme step of divorcing Thomas on the grounds of cruelty. However, who is to be believed, a woman or a respectable man? What did Mary do to provoke this man? Will the tables be turned on Mary?

The plot of this book touches on an important issue - although Mary had many, many advantages that most women do not have. When women do initiate divorce proceedings, the question is usually, "What do you do to make him angry?" even in cases where men have beat their wives. The pacing of this book was a bit off at times, and I disagreed with such heavy use of foreshadowing or flat out spoilers at the beginning of the chapters. There were 2 major events in the book, and I think that it would have been better to cut this down to 1 or just blend them into one event. I also was not really enjoying the "How are thee? Thou are wonderful." dialogue, and I felt about 50% to 75% into the book that it was dragging a bit.

The author did do a fantastic job researching this book, and the vocabulary was quite sophisticated.

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 historical thriller. Hour of the Witch is set in 1662 and twenty-four year old Mary soon finds herself the object of suspicion and rumor. This book is twisty, intense and through provoking.

I’m a big history lover and I enjoyed reading this book. While the beginning felt slow, I couldn’t ignore the rising tension. It was a captivating read and I needed to know what would happen to Mary. Unfortunately, I found the dialogue took a bit of time to get used to and was annoyed at all the thees and thys.

Even without those complaints, I will admit that this was a fascinating look at American history. I recommend this one to lovers of history. Three stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for sharing this digital copy of riveting book with me in exchange my honest opinions.