Exploring the dark history of the Salem witch trials, the descendant of an accused witch alternates chapters of fact and fiction as she reveals the truth behind her ancestor’s fate. Through detailed research, a haunting revelation emerges: witch hunts are not just a relic of the past. This unique work presents Salem not as a cautionary tale, but as a guide to prevent future atrocities.

This incredibly immersive and engaging book brings to life the world of Salem in the 1600s. As a scholarly work, it also offers the personal and professional perspective of a woman telling her family’s story. This book does a good job of explaining how the Salem witch trials happened, and the socioeconomic factors that contributed. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Salem Witch Trials have always been a subject I love to study. When I was given the ARC from NetGalley for the audiobook I was very excited.
What I really enjoyed about this book is that we get the historic portion as well as the authors perspective as well. It was a unique view from a decedents point of view. I could not put this book down. I also love how they give some really nice examples of how witch hunts are still in existence today.


#NetGalley #ARC #advanced reader copy #audiobook

I had trouble getting into this audiobook. The narrator was slow even when the speed was increased. While the forward was quite interesting, the book that followed did not live up to the same expectations. The author appears to have tried to create a memoir, historical non fiction, and historical fiction all in one book. It simply is too much. While the memoir pieces were charming, they became lost in the historical parts of the book. Furthermore the historical non fiction accounts of witches and Salem, etc. did nothing to add to the exhaustive amounts of literature already on the market on the subject.
Review posted on Goodreads

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Salem Witch Trials are many women’s Roman Empire, including my own. I’ve read one or two nonfiction and lots of historical fiction about them and still learned new things in this book. It is very well-researched and focuses on Martha Carrier, the author’s ancestor, and the so-called “Queen of Hell,” who was put to death in 1692. The author alternates between historical fiction and non-fiction chapters, and both were well-written.

One of the most notable parts of the book was the author realizing in her research that this is still happening to people, primarily women, as recently as 2023. Most recently in African countries, but it seems that humans just can’t stop doing this to people - as in the Salem cases, primarily to women, people with differences, and people who might have property or other resources that others might be able to claim when they are found guilty. Given how often women are demonized in all societies to this day, this will likely never not be a timely read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio, and Alice Markham-Carter for the advance release of this audiobook, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!