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The Witch in the Well

The Witch in the Well

A deliciously disturbing Gothic tale of a revenge reaching out across the years

Summary

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?

Reviews

  • True to form, Camilla Bruce has spun a slippery yet beguiling spell with this cleverly crafted and intoxicating tale of female rivalry and folklore. A startling and original plot is woven around a cast of gleefully unpleasant characters - I was gripped from the very first page.
    LUCIE McKNIGHT HARDY, author of Water Shall Refuse Them

About the author

Camilla Bruce

CAMILLA BRUCE was in born central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She has a master's degree in comparative literature and has co-run a small press that published dark fairy tales. Her first novel was the acclaimed work of folk horror, You Let Me In; her second the historical crime novel, Triflers Need Not Apply. Camilla currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.
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