Deliciously dark and foreboding, combining history and fiction with eerie gothic atmosphere to create this brooding tale of murder and mystery.

After the death of his wife, Gabriel Stone arrives in Pale Harbour to begin life as a transcendentalism minister to the small population, and no sooner has he arrived, one of the first things he hears is of the witch who resides at Castle Carver, the widow Sophronia Carver. The locals also believe her to have killed her late husband, Nathaniel, who was owner and editor of a magazine that published up and coming authors stories as well as publishing some of the more well known authors such as Edgar Allan Poe.

After the death of her husband Sophronia has not left the grounds of Castle Carver, she has stayed in the safety of the house, contented with her work reading and selecting the submissions for the magazine that was left to her in her husbands will. She has a few staff that attend to the grounds and a young woman comes from the village once a week to help with the house, and with Helen, her live in help and friend, she is as content as can be expected for someone rumoured to be a witch, as well as a murderer. That is until strange and sinister things begin to be left on her doorstep, and then the arrival of the new minister to her door brings about a change in her life, one that is both as welcome as it is terrifying.

With characters and settings both steeped in atmosphere this is a beautifully written novel that draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s works and with it creates Hester Fox’s own masterclass in gothic historical fiction.

You can feel the tension radiating from the pages as things begin to escalate in the town of Pale Harbour, and with characters that are as believable as they are haunting, this book had me hooked from the very beginning. The pace and the prose were perfectly executed, all leading up to a conclusion that was as unexpected as it was entertaining. I absolutely loved Hester Fox’s first book The Witch Of Willow Hall, so I was really excited about reading this one, and I can safely say, I loved this one even more!

The Widow Of Pale Harbour will be published here in the UK on 17 September 2019 and is available for preorder now. ( )

I was in the mood for a gothic historical fiction novel set on the coast when I picked up The Widow of Pale Harbour by Hester Fox recently. It's 1846, and Gabriel Stone is looking for a sea change after the death of his wife when he moves to rural Pale Harbour in Maine and takes up the role of Minister. Pale Harbour locals believe reclusive widow Sophronia Carver is responsible for the death of her husband and have openly called her a witch.

"Now here was a woman who might have been the picture of widowhood in an illustrated encyclopedia. From her high-necked black dress to the tightly pulled-back hair to the disapproving pucker in her brow, she radiated severity. Though at about forty, she was younger than the white-haired and bent-backed old woman that he had been imagining." Page 42

Just as the Minister is surprised to find the widow to be an attractive woman in her 40s, she too was surprised to meet a strong and well-built Minister, not the withered and weak man of God she was expecting. I couldn't help but roll my eyes here, suspecting a romance to transpire. And it does.

This is a slow burn narrative with increasing occult pranks designed to scare the widow, however the forbidden love trope did nothing for this reader.

It's clear early on (and in the blurb) the work of Edgar Allan Poe is important to our suspect, and having recently re-read The Raven poem last month, I enjoyed this unexpected cross-over connection:

"..familiar not just with the poem, but with how fantastically popular it had become. Fashionable families held dinner parties and read the poem aloud around the fire, students recited it in diction classes, and a number of magazines and newspapers had already run parodies of the spine-tingling composition." Page 93

Even with this Poe angle and the whodunnit mystery, there was way too much romance and not enough action for my liking. Admittedly, there is the hint of a threat in the leaving of occult poppets and charms, menacing notes and vitriol from the local villagers, but it didn't really light my fire.

I have a copy of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox on my virtual TBR, and I'm hoping I'll enjoy it more, without an overwhelming romance element driving the plot. Set in 1844, Tabby works with her adopted father as caretaker of a large cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts and has the gift of being able to speak with the dead. Now that sounds interesting! ( )

I enjoyed The Witch Of Willow Hall by this author so I was excited to get an advance copy of her latest work. This was a historical fiction/mystery with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.
Sophronia Carver was never made to feel particularly welcome by the people of Pale Harbor Maine after settling there with her cold and cruel husband. Upon his death, the locals began to speculate and gossip that she may have murdered him, either by her own hand or some sort of witchery. Some even claim she has a tail. When strange occurrences begin, and dead animals are found the town gossips blame Sophronia even though she rarely leaves her home and spends her lonely days reading story submissions to her late husband's magazine which she now owns. Its a very solitary existence except for her one true friend and servant Helen.
When Gabriel Stone arrives to take over the church the villagers can't wait to give him on earful of rumors about the Widow, but what they don't know is that he has come to Pale Harbor under false pretenses and has his own secrets as tragic as the one Sophronia keeps.

I received an advance copy for review. ( )

Sophronia Carver is a widow, a recluse, and to the people of the town a witch. Gabriel Stone is the new minister to arrive in Pale Harbour.

This is the first book I've read by Hester Fox and I have to admit I didn't enjoy this at all and very quickly became bored.

I was expecting something gothic and creepy and for me the story wasn't either. The story lacked atmosphere and it certainly wasn't creepy. If anything this story quickly turned into a romance.

The story premise was promising with an isolated castle, the recluse widow, her live in companion who is a real witch, and lots of references to Edgar Allen Poe. The romance for me dominated the slow story and I was expecting something a lot more gothic and mysterious.

Very disappointed with this one and I did DNF half way through. I do have another book by this author so I would give it ago. ( )

A spooky as heck gothic with lots of Poe references.

(Many CWs, including a sociopathic murderer who kills animals for fun, domestic violence, lots of murder, etc) ( )