Hour of the Witch

This gripping and compelling historical thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant follows a young Puritan lady who plans her escape from a terrible marriage. She is obedient, resourceful, but terrified of the demons that haunt her soul.

1662 in Boston. Mary Deerfield has 24 years of age. Her eyes are a stunning blue, her complexion is porcelain, and she may have had many admirers in England. However, in the midst of this society of saints here in the New World, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man who is as strong and brutal. Mary decides she has to get a divorce with Thomas in order to preserve her life after he drives a three-tined fork into the back of her hand. Thomas is prone to drunken outbursts. However, a woman like Mary—a woman who keeps hidden desires and finds it hard to accept the blatant hypocrisy of so many men in the colony—soon finds herself the target of gossip and suspicion in a society where everyone is looking out for evidence of the devil. Mary must struggle to avoid both her marriage and the gallows as contaminated artefacts are found buried in her garden, a kid she had cured with herbs and simples dies, and their servant girl flees their house screaming. An unique American witch hunt and a current and horrific tale of socially sanctioned cruelty, Hour of the Witch is a twisty, intricately planned thriller written by one of our best storytellers.