Nearly 500 years ago, a woman was burned… and this village never forgot. 

Lonely widow Susan Reid, scarred by a childhood accident, makes an impulsive decision to start again in a remote Cornish village. Polherron is picturesque, steeped in myths and ancient traditions – the perfect place to disappear into a quieter life. 

As Susan settles in, she becomes drawn to a local legend: Edyth Legge, a young woman burned for witchcraft in the sixteenth century. With the village preparing for the Day of the Haegtesse — an annual festival marking the anniversary of Edyth’s death — Susan begins to sense she’s being watched. Then, when a child goes missing, the cracks in Polherron’s charm begin to show.

Bookstagram Tour: 5th – 11th May 
Genre: Gothic | Mystery | Folklore | Psychological Thriller 
Pages: 326
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

She soon meets Jeremiah, a hermit who lives near the Dipping Pool – the place Edyth was tortured during the witch trials. Susan bonds with Jeremiah, and despite her fears about some of the locals, she trusts her new friend. And as the festival approaches and long-buried rituals stir back to life, Susan realises that this idyllic village hides a secretive community steeped in dark folklore. 

Can Susan find the strength to confront her past and the people around her before the village decides her fate?

My Review

I love a bit of Gothic mystery, mythology and folklore so I knew this book would be right up my street. It’s creepy and atmospheric and set in a hot summer where the heat adds to the sense of dread.

At the age of three, now 63-year-old widow Susan Reid was scarred in a terrible accident in her home. Her birth parents were convicted of child neglect and she went to live with her adopted family. After her husband Robert died young, followed by her mother and then her father, both of whom she cared for, Susan feels she has no purpose in life, her ever-growing pile of tablets are lined up, just in case.

Then one day an old friend suggests she take a holiday, so off she goes to rural Cornwall, where she has a lovely week and ends up being persuaded to buy a cottage in a village called Polherron, by estate agent and ‘Mester’ Colin Hussey. Locals warn her off and even the taxi doesn’t want to drop her there, but she goes ahead anyway.

The village has an annual tradition called the Day of the Haegtesse, in memory of a young woman – Edyth Legge – who was burnt at the stake for being a witch in the sixteenth century. Witches were tried first by being ducked underwater. If they drowned they were innocent, if they survived they were burnt at the stake. Not exactly a win-win situation.

One of the reasons Edyth was thought to be a witch was a birthmark on her face in the exact same place as Susan’s scar. I’m not going to tell the whole story – suffice to say it’s all getting a bit uncomfortable for Susan and the only person she can really trust is Jeremiah, know as The Hermit.

It’s a great story, full of myth, suspense and a sense of foreboding. I think we know what’s going to happen, we just don’t believe it. My only reservation is that it could have moved a bit quicker, but I loved it anyway.

Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheBoneGarden tour.

About the Author

Tess Burnett grew up in Hertfordshire before moving to beautiful Dorset. She currently lives in the mountains of rural Ireland, where she runs a tiny holiday rental with her husband.

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