The Widow of Pale Harbor

The Widow of Pale Harbor is gothic historical fiction at its best. Set in 19th century Maine, the book winds through an intricate mystery involving a shadowy widow, murder allegations, and the quest for truth. Sophronia Carver is rumored to have murdered her husband so she shuts herself away from intrusive village life until frightening events, clues involving the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, and a duplicitous minister draw her out to expose a maniacal predator. I loved everything about this book and really couldn’t put it down. Fox’s easy writing style immediately drew me in. She develops complicated yet accessible characters and plays out the mystery from several points of view which allows the reader to keep guessing till the very end. The historical backdrop is well-researched and convincing. I would absolutely recommend this book as historical fiction, mystery, thriller or Poe-related literature.

With Hester Fox’s first novel The Witch of Willow Hall, she became one of my favorite authors. From her writing, to the books atmosphere, I knew that she was someone I had to pay attention to. The Widow of Pale Harbor blew my away and captured my attention just as quickly. Fox just has a way of making her writing flow so easily, that it doesn’t feel like I’m reading a book anymore. The best books are the ones that don’t feel like books in my opinion, but feel as if I’m in the story myself and so far Fox has managed to do this yet again.

The Widow of Pale Harbor is mysterious and romantic and dark all at once. We have a small town where everyone knows everyone's business and no one likes our main character Sophronia. They all think there's something wrong with her and that she killed her husband. Some call her a witch, but sure enough she's one of the favorite stories in this town and the townsfolk make sure to tell their newest member, Gabriel all about her. Strange things keep happening all around the town and of course Sophronia is the one blamed, but it's so much darker than that. Through in a Poe copy cat and you can bet, I dived head first into this novel.

I fell in love with Sophronia and Gabriel. This book is told through both their points of view and it was definitely interesting seeing how Sophronia saw herself and the way Gabriel saw her. This book was amazing and I honestly enjoyed every single second of it.

Hester Fox pens an enticing mystery around witchcraft, the ministry and Edgar Allan Poe's Tales in The Widow of Pale Harbor. Wow! It was so inspiring to wonder which tale of Poe's would be twisted into the plot next and how it would affect the characters. Reading with anticipation until the end, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was having a bit of a READING slump...never happened to me before...but nothing was holding my interest until The Widow Of Pale Harbor. I loved the gothic mystery of the story. Nothing is quite as it seems in Pale Harbor and all of the characters reveal themselves as the truth is revealed to and about them. This is the second book I have read by Hester Fox. I think I liked it better than the first - maybe...not sure because I really liked The Witch of Willow Hall A LOT too.

But it broke my reading slump and brought me back to my favorite past time (which is reading!)

Thank you Hester Fox!

Sophronia Carver and Gabriel Stone are both outsiders in the small village of Pale Harbor, Maine. Sophronia has lived in Pale Harbor for many years, but she was been spurned by the townspeople after her husband’s brutal death a few years earlier. The townspeople believe that Sophronia murdered her late husband and have accused her of being a witch. Gabriel has recently come to Pale Harbor under false pretenses – his wife has recently passed away and he is pretending to be a minister to honor her memory. Despite how the rest of the townspeople feel about her, Gabriel forges a friendship with the reclusive Sophronia and draws her out of her self-imposed exile. As they grow closer, strange and freighting events take place throughout Pale Harbor. The incidents and deaths are straight out of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. The townspeople believe that Sophronia is responsible for the incidents, but she knows that these are messages and threats directed towards her. As one of the very few people who believes that Sophronia is innocent, Gabriel takes it upon himself to find the person responsible for the happenings before the perpetrator hurts or kills Sophronia.

I was really excited to read THE WIDOW OF PALE HARBOR because I loved Fox’s debut novel – THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL. Like her first novel, PALE HARBOR is also an eerie and suspenseful romantic, Gothic suspense novel. Fox captures the transcendentalism movement and the nation’s obsession with Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. She also brings to life the setting – a small, coastal town in Maine during the mid-1850s – and uses it as a creepy, isolated background to the novel’s events. Gabriel and Sophronia are both interesting and tortured characters. The slow unraveling of their past traumas kept me turning the page, but their romance didn’t always work for me. Sophronia’s maid, Helen, was the most memorable character. I spent the whole novel going back and forth on whether I liked her or hated her. After finishing the novel, I’m still not sure how I feel about Helen.

The tiny town of Pale Harbor should be a quiet place. A place of solitude and innocence. Instead the village has been experiencing strange events. Their new minister, Gabriel Stone, is not what he seems. Fleeing his past, Gabriel finds himself fascinated by the Widow Carver. Everyone in town thinks she is a witch and believe she is the only one who could be wrecking such havoc in the town. Stone is forced to face his past while unraveling a mystery.

This novel is my first Hester Fox book. The entire concept intrigued me. The connection of the story line to Edgar Allen Poe was so original. The characters are flawed and perfect. A bit of a mystery and a bit of a romance, the book kept me guessing until the end. I look forward to her next book.

I enjoyed Hester Fox's first book and her second did not disappoint. A small New England town, a house on a bluff overlooking the house, a mysterious widow, a secretive minister, charms, ravens and Poe. A wonderfully written Gothic novel that intricately weaves characters and settings together in such a way that I happily read it in one sitting eagerly following each twist and turn to the surprising end. I highly recommend and will be purchasing for our collection.

I loved this one! Just like in the Witch of Willow Hall, this book has just the right amount of creepy mystery to keep me guessing and turning pages. Set in 1840’s Maine, I loved the dark feel of the story, and yet for a historical fiction the book reads so quickly and effortlessly, I could hardly put it down.
I can not wait to read Fox’s next book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Grayden House for this advanced copy.

After reading Hester Fox's THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL, I knew that I would be the first in line to purchase any book she ever wrote in the future. And here I am, dying to share THE WIDOW OF PALE HARBOR with everything that lives. And as expected, it was absolutely brilliant. This author has such a wonderful way of of stringing words into sentences, and putting sentences together to create unforgettable stories. Her characters are always complex and beautifully human, and this novel stays true to the authenticity I have come to expect from this author. Absolutely impossible to put down. Literally impossible. A definite recommend!