Release date: October 8 2024
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I received an E-ARC via Netgalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

Clem gets a call that is every mother’s worst nightmare. Her nineteen-year-old daughter Erin is unconscious in the hospital after a hiking trip with her friends on the remote Orkney Islands that met a horrifying end, leaving her boyfriend dead and her best friend missing. When Erin wakes, she doesn’t recognize her mother. And she doesn’t answer to her name, but insists she is someone named Nyx.

Clem travels the site of her daughter’s accident, determined to find out what happened to her. The answer may lie in a dark secret in the history of the Orkneys: a woman wrongly accused of witchcraft and murder four centuries ago. Clem begins to wonder if Erin’s strange behavior is a symptom of a broken mind, or the effects of an ancient curse?

Review

The Book of Witching is the newest release from The Nesting author C J Cooke. The story follows a woman named Clem who receives a call telling her that her daughter Erin is in hospital. All Clem knew was that Erin was on a hiking trip in the Orkney Islands but she soon discovers Erin’s boyfriend is dead, her best friend is missing and Erin has burns all over her body. When Erin wakes she doesn’t recognize Clem, but says her name is Nyx. Clem must travel to Orkney to uncover what really happened to Erin, encountering an ancient cursed book and the story of a woman wrongly convicted of witchcraft.

This is my fifth book from C J Cooke and it might be my favourite one yet. I’ve given all of Cooke’s books four or five stars so I had pretty high expectations for this one. It was dark, captivating and I could not put it down. I love Cooke’s writing style and the ability she has to completely suck you into the story. The mysteries in this book kept me guessing right until the very end and there were more than a few twists I did not see coming.

The story is set in present day, as well as following Alison in 1594 as she is accused of attempted murder by witchcraft. I really enjoyed the story in both timelines and Cooke does a brilliant job of bringing the two story arcs together.  The story felt incredibly well researched and all the small details that Cooke adds really brings Orkney in the 1500s to life. This book is so compelling and I was completely riveted by the complex and fascinating characters Cooke created in this story. This book has so many intriguing elements including witchcraft, a creepy book, cults, murder and mystery.  Cooke is also masterful at building a strong sense of atmosphere and I ended up reading the last 100 pages in one sitting. The Book of Witching was a brilliant five star read and it will definitely be in my favourite books of 2024. If you’ve been curious about this one I would absolutely recommend checking it out and I am dying to find out what C J Cooke will write about next.