Hour of the Witch

A Novel

By: Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by: Grace Experience, Saskia Maarleveld, Danny Campbell, Cassandra Campbell, Arthur Morey, Mark Deakins, Julia Whelan, Kaleo Griffith, Kirby Heyborne, Rebecca Lowman, Mark Bramhall

Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller

From the acclaimed author of The Flight Attendant: “Historical fiction at its best…. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying” (Diana Gabaldon, best-selling author of the Outlander series, The Washington Post).

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 and propulsive novel of historical suspense.

Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is 24 years old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life.

But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary - a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony - soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.

A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

©2021 Chris Bohjalian (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

One of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction for 2021

A Real Simple Best New Book

A Read It Forward Most Anticipated Book

A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book

A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book

A GoodReads Most Anticipated Book

An AARP Most Anticipated Book

“Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best.... Insightful and empathetic.... Thick with details as chowder is with clams.... Handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying.” (Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post)

"Harrowing.... In the hands of a master storyteller like Bohjalian, [Hour of the Witch is] an engrossing tale of a woman who insists upon the right to navigate her life, and the consequences when she does.” (Danielle Trussoni, New York Times Book Review)

"Bohjalian does an admirable job of bringing his numerous players to life in all their complexity.... Hour of the Witch - part courtroom thriller, part psychological suspense novel - holds a reader’s rapt attention all the way to its startling conclusion.” (Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal)

No Women's Movement in the 1600's

If you didn't know it before you started this book, women are just as good, smart and talented as men. Also, in the 1600's, they were oppressed. After getting past this message peppered throughout the book (I get it already!), there is a good story here. I am not sure how much women owned their sexuality during Puritan times, so, the self pleasuring scenes seemed sketch since they are, after all, Puritans. There are moments that are bogged down with too much description (at one point, I thought I was listening to a tutorial on scything). It's not an edge of your seat kind of story but there are a few tense situations. No regrets, but no 5 stars, either.

Another winner for Bohjalian

I am a big fan of this author so that may be a bit of a bias. I also find this time period quite interesting so that's my second bias. That said, I was hooked from the beginning. It was a well researched book and gave quite a bit of insight into the mindset of the times. It did drag at bit at times and some complained about the period language but that's what gave it more authenticity. The ending had a good twist which was worth waiting for. I think any young woman who thinks that she is being held back these days should try reading history. We have come a long way baby!

Narrator flat

The story was better than ok but not the best thing I’ve read. The main narrator tone and lack of any inflection made the audio book more an irritation to get through. I found myself trying to just Google the ending vs finishing the story

Not a realistic ending

Enjoyed the read but I thought it more to be leaning towards historical fiction at best, however to a degree it was; but the ending was pure Disney.

A terrific and very enjoyable story

There are many books written about the witch trials in New England but they often read like a regurgitation of the historical records. This story is extremely well-written and quite alive. It reads like a modern mystery novel with a shocking ending.

Could not stop listening!

I love Chris Bohjalian’s books!!! This is absolutely one of his best! Highly, highly recommend!

Suspenseful to the last paragraph

Spoiler alert: My friends told me it had a happy ending. It kept me on the edge of my seat to the last paragraph though!

End Well

This was a hard read for me, it was hard to listen to such willful ignorance. But I made it to the end because of curiosity and I am glad I did. The ending was worth it. Stick to it for the last 20 minutes alone.

Chris Bohjalian never disappoints….

What an amazing story. Historical Fiction being my favorite genre because the richness of the characters flaws and all are never missed
I felt the truth in the fictional characters so on point for this time in our History

Interesting

I wasn’t sure I liked this at all until almost half way through. It made me so damn mad at the attitude towards women and why they’d be consider witches. After I got over my anger at the treatment I could enjoy the book