I love books that explore witchcraft so I knew this was one for me, I was excited by the setting of Shropshire and the characters were well thought out.

I had high hopes for this book as it had an interesting premise. However I really struggled. Very slow going and I found my attention wandering. probably being set so long ago in the past didn't do it for me. I liked John as a character just overall wasn't a fan.

I just didn’t care for this book at all. It sounded interesting. Perhaps I would have liked it more if it hadn’t been set so far in the past.

Those looking for a cheery witchy novel should look elsewhere or perhaps give this a try. It's a well researched and intriguing look at England in 1643, Set in the small town of Wem, it's about prejudice, fear, murder, and much more. The characters are well drawn and either sympathetic or mean, Goldstraw's an excellent storyteller- this one pulled me in and kept me reading. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

The Witchfinders Assistant is set in the 17th Century in the village of Wem during the Civil War when people believed in Witches and Witchcraft .There are some good characters I specially liked John and Baccy .Bodies are turning up and John's job is finding the murderer and trying to prove it was not a Witch ! A slow burner but it soon picked up to an exciting pace a good story with a satisfactory ending .

I am always interested in reading a book where witchcraft and sorcery are promised from the plot line or the title, so thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review this one. It’s a slow burn from the start, building the plot and introducing the characters, but I continued to read. I would describe this more as an historical murder mystery, with the witchcraft element more of a side plot, so not quite what I was expecting, but I did continue to read until the end, but did scan read at times. I wouldn’t purchase this book, but would pick it up at the library or read via kindle unlimited.

Witchcraft and murder in the 17th century. Books set in this era tend to be about courtiers and royalty. This one is about the people of a small town. Women are second-class citizens, blamed for the sins of men and ducked to prove whether they’re witches or not. The protagonists Zipporah and John are an odd couple, he besotted with his wife, her distant. The reason comes eventually. A we’ll-paced and enjoyable story, if a bit slow to start.

I really didn’t enjoy this book, the only character I liked was John. It actually made me laugh at times. Not like other witch books I’ve read.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

It's been sometime since I last read a historical fiction novel, so when I came across and received a copy of this book in Netgalley, I thought I'd give it a try. And I found that I ended up enjoying this book more than I initially thought I might. I felt like this was a good 'filler' read in between books that I've been meaning to get to. The more I read, the more I became invested in the story and was curious to see how the story would end and who was behind the murders that popped up throughout the story. Overall, if you're into historical fiction and murder mysteries set in the English countryside, I'd suggest giving this book a try.

This was a very immersive piece of historical fiction which was written well with realistic characters and a real sense of time and place
It was mysterious and quite emotional at times especially in the way women were treated and accused of witchcraft
The writing flowed well so I found this a quick and enjoyable read
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc

3.5 ⭐


Things are not going well in Wem, what with civil war, witchcraft and general small town fighting... its a lot!
Mostly I enjoyed this book, it was paced nicely, and had a few tests that added extra trouble to the plot.
I struggled with Zepphora though, a few things, that left me feeling really indifferent to her.
Things really pick up pace in the last chapters, and I got to the end having enjoyed my few hours spent with John, and his lot.