The Witch
Julia Barlow thought disappearing into her family's sprawling 17th-century estate was her only option. Pemberton, however, has other ideas. Losing her job and apartment was one thing; confronting a house alive with vengeful secrets is quite another.
From the grandfather clock stopping at 3:41 a.m. to the disembodied voice crying for help, Pemberton is unraveling Julia, piece by terrifying piece. Something ancient and malevolent stirs within its walls, reaching out from a past steeped in accusations and injustice.
As Julia unearths the dark history of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692, the lines between past and present blur. Pemberton isn't just haunted; it's a silent witness to generations of lies, and its women are finally ready to speak. But will Julia be their next victim, or their voice?
- Julia - Protagonist, 27
- Gram (Letty) - Ethel’s sister, 85
- Ethel - Gram’s sister, 80
- Mick - Gram’s housekeeper
- Henry Ziegler - Curator of Woodhaven Museum
- Celia - Mick’s former fiancee, former housekeeper of Pemberton
- Alistair Dixon - Ghost hunter
- Caroline - Archie’s wife
- Archie - Caroline’s husband, merchant
- Gideon - Stray cat
- Molly - Archie and Caroline’s servant
- Hitty - Caroline’s friend
- Dr. Shalyor - Town doctor
- Oliver Strickland - Deputy sheriff
- Jonas Reeve - Alleged Night Reaper
- Present: Julia goes to live at Pemberton, Gram’s house where she lives with Ethel and Mick.
- 1692: Caroline marries Archibald and they live in Pemberton.
- Someone has been strangling girls in town during the night, and he’s being called the Night Reaper.
- Present: Archie and Molly are Julia’s great-great-great-grandparents.
- Ethel tells Julia that before marrying Molly, Archie was married to Caroline, who was burned at the stake for witchcraft.
- Caroline is supposedly buried in the backyard in an unmarked grave.
- The Woodhaven Museum wants to buy Pemberton and preserve it because it is such an important part of Woodhaven’s history.
- Julia hears someone moaning outside her room, and Gram tells her it is Caroline’s ghost.
- 1692: Judith gets sick, and Julia heals her using advice she learned from Hitty.
- Hitty is tried for being a witch, found guilty and hanged.
- Jonas is arrested for the Night Reaper murders.
- Caroline protests Hitty’s hanging, insisting that she is not a witch.
- Caroline gets charged with witchcraft and arrested.
- Caroline is held in a basement cell near Jonas.
- Present: Henry tells Julia that it was Molly who made the accusation against Caroline that got her arrested and convicted.
- Julia finds two letters that Ethel wrote to her mother but were never mailed.
- She reads the first letter, where Ethel talks about being pregnant out of wedlock.
- 1692: When Sheriff Strickland acts inappropriately toward Caroline, Jonas goads him into beating him to get him to leave Caroline alone.
- Present: Julia finds Gram in the backyard holding a pelvic bone.
- Julia reads the second letter Ethel wrote, and based on the date, she wonders if her father is really Ethel’s son, not Gram’s.
- 1692: Caroline is found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to hang.
- Jonas fakes being bewitched by Caroline to lure Strickland into his cell.
- He knocks Strickland out with a rock, frees Caroline and burns down the jailhouse with Strickland inside.
- Present: Henry’s friend analyzes the pelvic bone and says it’s about three hundred years old and belongs to a man.
- Julia goes out in the middle of the night to rebury the pelvic bone.
- 1692: Caroline sneaks into her house to take money for herself and Jonas to help fund their escape.
- Caroline finds Archie strangling Molly to death.
- Archie is the real Night Reaper.
- Present: The results of the DNA test show that Julia is not related to Ethel at all.
- Present: Ethel finds Julia holding the pelvic bone, and the truth comes out: The real Ethel is dead, and the Ethel who has been living in Pemberton is Celia.
- Celia killed Ethel in order to take over her life.
- Celia delivered Ethel’s baby, Julia’s father, then smothered Ethel to death and told Letty that Ethel died giving birth.
- Celia convinced Letty to go along with her plan to take over Ethel’s identity to spare her parents the grief of Ethel’s death.
- All the ‘ghost’ activity Julia experienced was done by Celia and Mick to scare Julia away from Pemberton.
- 1692: Archie admits Molly was pregnant but he didn’t want to marry her.
- Archie starts to strangle Caroline, so Jonas shoots and kills him.
- Jonas and Caroline bury Archie and Molly in the backyard.
- Jonas and Caroline steal Archie and Molly’s identities and money and run away.
- The townsfolk believe that Jonas and Caroline died in the fire at the jailhouse.
- Present: Celia shoots Mick for planting Ethel’s letters for Julia to find.
- Celia points her gun at Julia but Letty smashes Celia over the head with a shovel.
- Epilogue: One year later, Celia is found guilty on two counts of murder and will spend life in prison.
- The museum purchases Pemberton.
- Julia moves in with Henry.
- 1717: Caroline and Jonas return to Pemberton pretending to be Archie and Molly.
- They have four children.
- They spend the rest of their days living in Pemberton as Archie and Molly.
The Witch by Freida McFadden has such a gorgeous cover, and it only gets better from there. The story is narrated by Caroline in 1692 and Julia in the present. I enjoyed both timelines, although Caroline’s was definitely the one I found more interesting. I loved the witch-trial atmosphere and all the witchy elements, and I especially liked how the two timelines started to connect fairly early. With dual timelines, I sometimes struggle to keep track of the connections between characters when the stories initially seem separate, but that wasn’t an issue here.
My theories were so wrong, which is always a good sign for me. Freida pulled off some great twists that caught me off guard, even as a seasoned thriller reader. I also loved how unique the plot felt, especially when so many thrillers seem to follow similar storylines these days. The super short chapters kept it moving, and the ending was satisfying and well earned.
This is easily one of my top three Freida McFadden books. I loved how entertaining the whole story was, and the combination of the historical setting, witchcraft, mystery, and dual timelines made this one stand out for me.
If you like dual timelines, witchcraft mysteries, and clever twists, then you will love this book.
- Hitty - Dead - Hanged
- Strickland - Dead - Burned alive by Jonas
- Ethel - Dead - Smothered by Celia
- Molly - Dead - Strangled by Archie
- Archie - Dead - Shot by Jonas
- Mick - Dead - Shot by Celia
- Celia - Alive - Serving life in prison for murdering Mick and Ethel
- Letty - Alive - Living in a care facility
- Julia - Alive - Living in Woodhaven with Henry
- Henry - Alive - Living with Julia
- Caroline - Married Jonas and lived the rest of her life as Molly
- Jonas - Married Caroline and lived the rest of his life as Archie
- Sexual assault
- Murder
- Fire
- Infertility
ISBN: 9781464249648
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
