Book Review: Catching a Witch by Heidi Eljarbo

Catching a Witch: A Novel of Loyalty, Deception, and Superstition by Heidi Eljarbo

Genre: Adult Fiction (Historical Fiction)
Date Published: August 1, 2017
Publisher: TCK Publishing

What Would You Do to Save Your Best Friend from Burning? 

The year 1660 is when it all changed... 

That's when a witch-hunter comes to Clara Dahl's seaside village in Norway. She's horrified to discover how fast her neighbors and friends are to turn against each other. She soon realizes her sleepy, little, picturesque corner of the world has been invaded by evil—and it has nothing to do with witchcraft. 

As neighbor turns against neighbor, Clara finds herself drawn into the fray, forced to do what she can to protect her friends and loved ones. An educated and upstanding minister's daughter, Clara speaks out against the witch-hunter's unjust treatment of those accused of witchcraft. She sees how he plays the villagers, using their superstitions and religious beliefs to make good people accept horrible things. 

When Clara’s best friend Bess is accused of being a witch, Clara must make an incredible sacrifice to save not only her friend, but the entire town… before it’s too late. 

About the Book 

In 1660, women had no voting rights, couldn’t own property, and were treated as second-class citizens. If that weren’t bad enough, many innocent women—especially poor women—were tried and executed for witchcraft. The people responsible for their deaths were often their own friends, family members, and neighbors. 

Catching a Witch is a story about a young woman who's willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people she cares about most in this world. 

You’ll love this book if you enjoy… 

Historical dramas 

Witches and witch hunting 

Historical thrillers 

The history of religion and superstitions 

A story with a strong female protagonist fighting for what’s right 

Readers of similar books such as Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, The Heretic’s daughter by Kathleen Kent, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare will love Catching a Witch. 

Catching a Witch: A Novel of Loyalty, Deception, and Superstition by Heidi Eljarbo was a pretty devastating read. Though this is fictional, you know these things happened, and so many people were tortured and killed in the process. This story really brings you back in time and pulls out so many emotions. The pacing was a little slow at times and the twins reminded me of a couple of the girls from The Crucible a bit, but Clara was a captivating main character. She had guts. I hope we had women like her back then who were brave enough to fight for these victims. This story was interesting and tragic, and it really shows the evil side of humans. It boggles my mind how people can do these things to one another. Have you read the teaser?

Catching a Witch by Heidi Eljarbo was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

Heidi Eljarbo grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as a freelance writer, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, twelve grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier and a bird.
Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

To learn more about Heidi Eljarbo and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.