Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce – Book review by Kimberly Foreman

By Kimberly Foreman

Genre: Crime thriller / legal thriller

Are you looking for a spooky read to cosy up with this November? Look no further, because Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce (you might recognise her name from Series 4 of the hit TV show The Traitors!) is a bewitching novel set in the gloomy and gothic streets of Edinburgh and is perfect for this time of year, when the days are getting shorter and nights are getting darker…

The story follows a court trial, where two teenage girls — Eliza and Isobel — are being accused of murder. Christian Shaw was found dead next to a running path in a park near their school. But how can you prove murder when there isn’t much physical evidence to go on?

Matthew Phillips (one of the jurors) isn’t convinced that the girls are guilty. But as he struggles with the case, and tries to come to some kind of fair conclusion, Matthew’s grip on reality starts to slip… Just what dark forces are at play? And how far did Eliza and Isobel take things?

A gripping story about a modern-day witch trial. I flew through this book and particularly enjoyed the court scenes and crime elements. With Tyce being a former barrister, these parts of the novel felt authentic and well researched. Her years of experience in the legal profession brought an added layer of realism to the story — so much so that I found myself wondering what she might have witnessed during her time working in the legal system!

As the trial draws to a close, the truth begins to emerge, and I suspect readers may be surprised by the outcome. It’s certainly an unusual ending, and since finishing the book, I’ve been curious to hear what other readers made of it.

Published earlier this year, Witch Trial is Tyce’s latest novel. But if you enjoy her writing, she has several other crime and mystery novels you can curl up on the sofa with this winter.

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