THE BLACK HOURS by Alison Williams

4.5 out of 5 stars

Historical, witchcraft, 17th Century

Originally posted on Amazon UK HERE on 10 August 2014
On Amazon.com HERE

I read this book over a period of a couple of days, which is a good sign - I was reading when I should have been writing!

I don't know much about rural life in this period of history, or indeed about the witch hunts of the time, but I reckon you can tell by the way The Black Hours is written that Ms Williams certainly knows her stuff - there's a piece in the back of the book that describes her research, and I'm glad to see she's writing more books about the ordinary people of the time; I shall be first in the queue.

My absolute favourite genre is historical fiction that teaches me more about a period, and this certainly ticks those boxes. The characterisation is excellent, as is the description, and the whole novel is very well structured indeed; no boring bits to skip read, not too much information to process all at once, etc etc. It shows so clearly how dangerous ignorance can be, and how easily people can be manipulated by those with cunning and the desire to impose their views and beliefs on others - nothing changes!

If you like intelligent, easily readable historical fiction, and are not put off by grim reality and 'earthy' description, I am sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did. Recommended

The novelette length prequel, BLACKWATER, is permanently free ~ I've reviewed it HERE