EVEN STARS COULD BE TRAPPED...

Odd how our selections for "beach" reads both seem to deal with grim subjects. Maybe a reflection of the times??!!

Our August reading was suggested because “it was set in a coastal town and I really enjoy reading the history of witch hunts. Also for some weird reason I associate witch trials with coastal beaches and therefore thought this book was fitting.”

The Witching Tide. by Margaret Meyer (2023)
One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears. The witchfinder, Silas Makepeace, has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and now has Cleftwater in his sights. His arrival strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being captured and detained, and Martha finds herself a silent witness to the hunt.
Powerless to protest, Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for “devil’s marks.” Now she is caught between suspicion and betrayal, having to choose between protecting herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret that could cost her own freedom, and the gallows are looming...