29 October 2026

Freida McFadden’s books are always a bit of a hit or miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit! I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself completely caught up in the mystery. It felt almost like reading two stories in one, with one set in 1692, following Caroline, who was accused of being a witch, and the other set in the present day, where Julia is forced to move in with her grandmother after losing both her job and her apartment.

McFadden does a brilliant job of bringing Pemberton, the seventeenth-century estate, to life. You can almost hear the stairs creaking beneath your feet and feel the cold draught against your skin as you turn the pages. There is something wonderfully unsettling about the house and the atmosphere had me looking over my shoulder more than once!

I particularly loved the ghost, who never quite makes her presence fully known. She is always there, lingering in the background, leaving you with that creepy feeling that someone is watching you. It is such a clever way of building suspense without having to reveal too much too soon.

As Julia begins to uncover the truth about her family’s past, the women connected to it and the history of the house, I found myself becoming more and more invested in the story. I wanted answers, and I needed to know how everything fitted together. McFadden grabbed my attention early on and simply refused to let go. Every time I thought I had things figured out, I found myself questioning what I believed.

Of course, with McFadden, nothing is ever quite as straightforward as it seems, and this story is no exception. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and the conclusion brought the various threads together nicely. I love it when a book manages to keep me entertained while making me rethink everything I thought I knew!

One of my favourite characters was Julia’s grandmother. This eighty-year-old woman, with her odd ramblings and seemingly random comments, quickly crawled into my heart. There is so much more to her than meets the eye, and I absolutely loved the role she plays in the story. And the fact that she gets to save the day? Brilliant! (Sorry, you are going to have to read the book to find out exactly how.)

My one disappointment was that Julia never really discovered the truth about Caroline and everything that happened back in 1692. I would have loved a few more answers about Caroline’s story and how it connected to the present. However, I suppose history does have a way of getting lost over time, and not every mystery gets neatly solved. In that sense, it did add a touch of realism to the story, even if I was left wanting more.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read that had me hooked from beginning to end. The creepy setting, the mysterious ghost, the family secrets and the twists made this one difficult to put down. And, of course, Julia’s grandmother was an absolute highlight!

Without a doubt, The Witch has earned its place among my favourite Freida McFadden books. This one was a hit for me and another four-star read!