Clem's story, that of the mother in our own time, starts when she receives a call that her college-aged daughter has been hospitalized and is covered in burns. Erin was away on a weekend trip with her boyfriend, Arlo and their friend Senna, but for some reason Erin is the only one in the hospital. Clem soon learns that as bad off as Erin is, she might be the lucky one in the trio. It seems that Arlo's body was found burned to death and Senna is missing.
What starts off looking like a campfire that got out of hand soon turns into a more serious investigation. Erin soon learns that Arlo's hands were bound, and communications between the three young adults start to paint everyone involved in a bad light. What's worse, it looks like Erin might have been the one planning the whole thing.
Clem soon realizes that she doesn't really know why her daughter and friends went to the small Isle of Gunn in Orkney, but one thing is clear, Erin has been keeping a few secrets from her mother. Will Clem and her ex-husband, Quinn, learn exactly what their daughter was doing in Orkney? Will they be able to clear Erin of the apparent murder of Arlo? Will Senna show up, or will they find her body, and if she does show up, will she support Erin or condemn her?
To add more fuel to the confusing fire, when Erin wakes up from her medically induced coma, she is a very different person. Erin's doctors insist that she is just working through the trauma, but Clem knows her daughter well enough to see that the eyes looking back at her are not Erin's. What could possibly have happened to her in Orkney and how can she help her daughter come back?
As for the other story, Alison is a spaewife living on the Isle of Gunn in 1594. While her family has long been part of the Triskele tribe of magic users, she has distanced herself from the group and uses her magic to help the people of her village. When she is approached by a high-ranking local to produce a charm to kill someone, she refuses. Soon though, there is an attempt on the Earl's life and considering the relationship between the Earl and the person who asked for the charm, she quickly suspects just who the charm was intended to kill. Unfortunately, she isn't in a position to make any accusations and it isn't long before fingers start pointing at her. Alison then finds herself on trial for being a witch and in concert with the Devil.
As Alison's story unfolds, she finds herself being put in brutally tough situations where she has to decide between saving those she loves and her own soul. She knows she had no hand in the assassination attempt, but it seems that those in charge of her questioning already believe she is a witch. If she confesses to being a witch, she will have lied and damned her soul, but if she doesn't, she will find herself under more and more pressure.
A throughline to both Alison and Erin's story is not only the strange Isle of Gunn and the tribe known as the Triskele, but also an ancient book bound in a dark wood known as The Book of Witching. While it is unclear exactly what it is about this book that connects the two women, it becomes apparent to the reader early on that there is some connection.
I really enjoyed C.J. Cooke's ability to tell these two separate but connected stories in a way that kept me wanting more. While the book constantly flip-flopped between the two perspectives, I never really lost the thread of either story. Instead, each new chapter left me craving more and eager to dive into the next bit to see how everything played out.
I also appreciate the sheer amount of research that Cooke put into this book. After the dust settles on The Book of Witching, Cooke lists her sources regarding the events of the Orkney witch trials. Cooke researched a known historical figure, Alison Balfour, and she read between the lines and expanded upon the woman's life to add some real depth to Cooke's character. While some might look at Cooke's list of citations at the end of the book and think it feels too much like a term paper, I personally found the amount of effort involved applaudable.
I know Psibabe has enjoyed every book she has read of C.J. Cooke's, and after reading The Book of Witching, I completely understand why. We might have to fight over who gets to review Cooke's next release.
