A Lullaby for Witches by Hester Fox

 

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Hester Fox returns with a novel that combines history, museum work, magic, and tragedy. It's an interesting combination that all comes together and left me trying to decide if I sympathized with charming and mysterious Margaret Harlowe. 

There are two stories, with chapters either labeled Margaret or Augusta, so it is not difficult to switch between the two characters or time periods. Margaret is the only daughter of the wealthy Harlowe family in Tynemouth, Massachusetts in 1876. She's beautiful and restless. She also possesses magical abilities and on the side helps women in town who seek her assistance late at night in the woods. She's got her eye on the handsome Jack Pryce, a shopkeeper's son who can't take his eyes off Margaret. Is it love or lust between the two? 

Present day in Tynemouth, Augusta gets her dream job as curator for the Harlowe House Museum. She's got an eating disorder, is in a failed relationship, and feels strangely at home in Harlowe House. Augusta keeps hearing footsteps; books are left open on her desk showing important clues in her research, and she's quickly become obsessed with finding out more about Margaret. There's very little information about Margaret; it's as though she was swept under the family rug and quickly forgotten. 

Well. Margaret is still around, and she's got a plan. She wants to live, and Augusta is her key. 

This was a pretty good story; it kept my interest and I was fascinated by the story of Margaret and her tragic ending. She's at once a sympathetic character and one that is pretty selfish. She certainly has reason to be bitter. Augusta is a bit of a mess--she struggles to break free from a relationship that doesn't work but is comfortable; she is smart but troubled and just what Margaret needs to make her plan come to fruition. 

There are other characters who add to both storylines and are instrumental in determining the fate of both women. I loved the setting, the inside peek into museum curation (especially a small museum), and the magic and mystery of the woods, water, and beaches of Massachusetts. A theme running throughout this novel are the choices women make, both good and bad, and the lack of power they have within society and their own homes. 

Rating: 4/6 for an entertaining read that combines two of my favorite subjects: history and magic. It would make an interesting discussion for a book group. One of my favorite Hester Fox novels. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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A Lullaby for Witches by Hester Fox

The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick

This was an excellent mix of thriller, history, antiquities, libraries, and action-adventure. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this, after picking it up at the library on a whim. 

Carys Jones is a rare book authenticator who works for an auction house. She's worked on tracking down British Dark Age manuscripts for John Harper, a super rich man who has created a one of a kind library at his estate. 

Harper has been committed to an insane asylum because he's been hallucinating and insisting he's talking to a monk who was the personal holy man to the man known today at King Arthur.  Carys has been called in to look over the collection and to catalog it and prepare it for sale. Harper's son JJ is selling the library, along with the estate. 

Carys thinks she's just there to prepare the library for sale, but her meeting with Harper reveals something a bit too hard to believe: a rare manuscript written by a monk telling the true story of King Arthur, and his burial site. That site contains priceless treasures from the Dark Age, when Britain was under attack by Anglo Saxons and under constant siege. If this manuscript is the real deal, the world may finally know for sure that King Arthur was an actual person, not a myth. And it will contain treasures of a long lost age. 

Carys digs deeper and deeper, and soon finds herself being chased from Boston to Wales, where the manuscript leads her on a wild chase. There's so much to this story, I can't possibly tell you everything. It's pretty wild. Is Carys also falling prey to hallucinations, or is she really conversing with the long dead monk? Will the bad men chasing her, determined to kill to get the manuscript, succeed in tracking her down? Who can she trust? 

Oh, it's so good! I love novels that explore legends, ancient mysteries, and lost treasure. This novel is chock full of history and mystery, and I was enthralled. There were a few plot twists that gutted me, for sure. I was very invested in Carys' journey, and the supporting characters are such a part of the plot I had a few stressful moments in the thick of the action. Let's just say no one is safe in this adventure. The bad men are really bad, and will stop at nothing to succeed. 

I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who is a King Arthur fan or a  history buff. For sure I'd recommend it for fans of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Dan Brown. It's a solidly written tale that will keep you breathless. I hope hope hope there's a sequel, because there's room at the end for more adventures. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thrilling dive into the legend of King Arthur, set in contemporary Boston and Wales, where history could be rewritten if long lost secrets come to light. So good!  

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book. 

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The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick