Monday 8 September 2014

Book Review - The Salem Witch Society




 From the back cover:

Salem, New England, many dark nights ago.

It is a time of spells and shadows, of black magic and blood.

And the most famous witch hunt in history is about to begin...

Years later, a young woman is found savagely murdered, a pitchfork thrust through her neck, her body arranged in the shape of a star: the death pose of a witch. Someone - or something - is reviving the terror of the notorious Salem Witch hunts. And only one man - a brilliant, eccentric detective with a dazzling mind and a fascination with witchcraft - can keep the evils of the past at bay.

Rich in history, mystery, and witchcraft, The Salem Witch Society is a twisting, terrifying thriller - a dark fairy tale for readers who loved A Discovery of Witches and The Interpretation of Murder.



I love books about witches and about Salem, I find them fascinating I really do and I started this book with such excitement that I have to say I was a little bit disappointed and I really struggled to regain my enthusiasm, although I did tell my self to just keep on reading because the book may change and you might come to love it. My reason for this feeling of disappointed is not something that should neccessarily go against this book. I went into it thinking it was going to be full of witchcraft-ness but it wasn't, which is sad for me but for other people they may think this is a good thing.

The book starts out quite gory so if you don't like gory details the this one is not for you. There are some other gory aspects in the book but nothing particularly scary it is just that the author is quite graphic when it comes to detailing the murder scenes.

To be very honest I liken the whole book to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, as firstly the book starts out with a crime scene which is laid out with clues to unravel much the same way as Robert Langdon does in the Da Vinci Code. We then see the detectives in the rest of the book trying to solve the case and decipher the following murders. I am not really into crime / murder mystery books as a genre so I can only liken it to another book that I have read. the Da Vinci code, but if you like said book then you like like this book for sure.

I found the book a little heavy going at times and there were a lot of historical facts which for me also made it a little dry. I struggled to get my head around some of it at times, whilst very well written, I did find the volume of characters / suspects a little hard to follow, it doesn't help when I do most of my reading before bed I know.

It was an interesting read I will say that, it is not that I didn't like the book it is just that I started with misconceived ideas about what the book was about and I just don't like crime solving books that much. Go for it though if you do or if you fancy something a little bit different to your usual witch type book.

Let me know if you read this. I would love to know your thoughts.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like I might like it, I love crime / murder mystery type books. I will add it to my list! :)

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