Witch Hunt by Syd Moore

REVIEW

Witch Hunt explores the rich history of the Essex Witch Trials that took place from 1542 to 1736, however Moore focuses on the period where witch hunter Matthew Hopkins was most active. Hopkins was the son of a Puritan minister and he became a witch hunter in March 1644 after he allegedly overheard women talking about their meetings with the devil. Twenty-three women were accused of witchcraft and were tried at Chelmsford in 1645 which resulted in nineteen of them being hanged. The accused were subjected to horrific forms of torture by Hopkins and his cohorts in order to force them into making a confession. Hopkins’ methods were outlined in his book The Discovery of Witches which was widely used during the later witch trials in New England.

Matthew Hopkins died on 12 August 1647 from what was widely have been tuberculosis and was buried a few hours later. A few myths have surfaced over the centuries regarding the true nature of his death and Moore explores the possibility that Hopkins faked his death so he could flee abroad and continue his persecutions in New England. Moore has obviously done a great deal of research into the Essex Witch Trials so her theories about Hopkins are entirely plausible and well presented. Although the reader seems to be always one step ahead of Sadie who has a knack for missing the obvious despite her job as an investigative journalist.

When we first meet Sadie she is grieving the recent death of her mother but is delighted when she is offered a contract for the book she is writing on the Essex Witch Trials even if the publishing company has connections to a shady American politician who is now running for office in England. As she continues her research, Sadie starts to experience strange episodes where it appears like someone is trying to reach out to her from beyond the grave. These disturbances become increasingly vivid and are often genuinely creepy in nature. Around the same time, Sadie notices a black car seems to turn up in places she is visiting and is concerned she is being followed. The strangest thing about this is Sadie does not tell anyone about the sinister black car but readily shares her supernatural experiences with her colleagues.

While the story of the witch hunts is the most interesting part of this book, we do get a secondary plot where Sadie discovers her father is not actually her biological father and this comes as a profound shock to her even though the reader came to this conclusion chapters ago. Sadie soon begins to realise her own birth may be connected in some way to her research but is unsure how it all fits together. Sadie has further cause for concern when her research is stolen but a subsequent attempt on her life isn’t enough to stop her being lured into the middle of nowhere with a man she barely knows.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, mostly the witch craft tales, and I appreciated how the author managed to include the names of many of Hopkins’ real victims into the book. I also liked how Sadie managed to make so many links between the Essex Witch Trials and the Salem Witch Trials to support her theory Hopkins may have gone abroad. It has certainly whetted my appetite to explore the books Moore mentioned in the epilogue. However, the book was let down by its insipid heroine who makes increasingly questionable choices.