The Witch in the Well
A deliciously disturbing Gothic tale of a revenge reaching out across the years
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- £9.99
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
Once upon a time, the townspeople of F -. did something bad . . .
Local schoolteacher Catherine Evans has made writing the definitive account of what happened when Ilsbeth Clark drowned in the well her life's work.
Some don't want the past raked up, but Catherine is determined to shine a light upon that shameful event. Because Ilsbeth was an innocent, shunned and ostracized by rumour-mongers and ill-wishers, and someone has to speak up for her. And who better than Catherine, who has herself felt the sting and hurt of such whisperings?
And then a childhood friend returns to F -. Elena is a successful author who's earned a certain celebrity. Now in search of a new subject, she announces her intention to write a book about the long-dead woman.
And Elena has everything Catherine has not. A platform. And connections. And no one seems to care that this book will be pure speculation, tainting Ilsbeth's memory. Catherine is left with no option but to blunt her rival's pen ...
Before summer is over, one woman will be dead and the other accused of murder.
But is she guilty, or are there other forces at work? And who was Ilsbeth Clark, really?
An innocent? A witch? Or something else entirely?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in a town referred to only as F—, this disappointing paranormal thriller from Bruce (In the Garden of Spite) is told from the perspectives of three characters—two childhood friends who later become rivals and one ghost. In 1862, suspected witch Ilsbeth Clark died when a fearful mob threw her into the town well, where her spirit remains, yearning to be free. In more recent times, Cathy Evans shares her secret of how to see Ilsbeth's ghost with her friend Elena Clover, who ends up running away and abandoning Cathy. Years later, Cathy, now the town lunatic, believes that Ilsbeth belongs only to her and becomes unhinged when Elena, now an author and social media influencer, returns to F— and willingly becomes the human vessel for Ilsbeth's seemingly benevolent spirit. Unbeknownst to Cathy and Elena, Ilsbeth also serves the Beast, an evil entity associated with the well. Tragedy ensues. Convincing characters and vivid prose make up only in part for the excessive time Cathy, Elena, and Ilsbeth spend lamenting their respective fates. Even the lesser characters are miserable, and the ending fizzles. Bruce has done better.
