Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Widow of Pale Harbour by Hester Fox.
About the Author
Hester Fox lives near Salem, the location of the historical Salem witch trials. She is a keen painter and has a masters degree in historical archaeology, as well as a background in Medieval studies and art history.
Follow @HesterBFox on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit hesterfox.com, Buy The Widow of Pale Harbour
About the book
A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbour from itself?
Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that hunt him after his wife's death, so he takes a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbour.
But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives in the decaying Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband.
As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a madman inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allen Poe. And Gabriel must find answers, or Pale Harbour will suffer a fate worthy of Poe's darkest tales.
Gabriel Stone is a man with many secrets. The kind of secrets that can destroy the life he is intent on carving out for himself in the community of Pale Harbour. Perhaps that is why he connects instantly with Sophronia Carver - a woman with secrets.
She has become the target of malicious rumours and a concentrated effort to malign her character and to scare her. Is she a witch? Did she have something to do with her husband's demise? Is someone in her inner circle guilty of the worst betrayal?
Gabriel is surprised when rumours and reputation don't line up with his personal experience and encounters with Sophronia. What is it about this woman that evokes such negative reactions and has set someone on a murderous course of action?
Fox uses the works and myth of Poe to insert a macabre and gothic vibe to the story. Each moment of fear or horror is woven through the fabric of his work. Although this isn't a new angle per se, I liked the idea of a perpetrator who is influenced by the words of an author, but in a historical context, ergo not a modern era. Nowadays criminals are allegedly influenced by what they watch, read and play, which is a common theme to us. Taking that perspective on criminality, and perhaps even accountability, and creating the same kind of stepping stone was interesting.
It's mystery, murder and crime, a psychological thriller in a historical setting. Fox balances romances, fear and mystery meticulously to create a gripping read.
Buy The Widow of Pale Harbour at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 17 Oct. 2019.Paperback £7.99 - Available in eBook and Audio. Buy at Amazon com.
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