Witch FinderAuthor: Ruth Warburton
Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Hachette
Release Date: 1-2-13
London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches. Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine. – Goodreads
I picked this up because Victorian era witches always grab my interest and this book seemed to have all of the elements that make up a good historical paranormal story. Unfortunately, it was too inconsistent and not thorough enough to hold my interest. The character development was somewhat lacking. I was particularly disappointed in Rosa, who we really didn’t get to know very well, other than learning that she was trapped in her situation. What happened to her father? Why was her mother so distant? Why was her brother so cruel? All of these questions went unanswered. There must be more to her than just a nice girl in a shallow family, but we got all of the background on Luke and almost none on Rosa. The people who surrounded her were almost one-dimensionally cruel, which was in part illustrated by a very brutal on-page beating death of a puppy, so more sensitive readers should keep this in mind.
There were some parts of this story that I found compelling. The historical research into the lives of the poor in Victorian England was good, and while not in depth, it did give a good idea of the horrors that met people who worked in factories or work houses long before there were any wage requirements of safety regulations. I found Luke’s determination to help those around him to be something that made his character stand out. I just didn’t really feel his fear or his conflict. This story revolves around his task, which is to kill Rosa, but I just wish that we had a better idea of who Rosa was so we could understand why he was so reluctant to complete his mission. Their feelings for each other, while understandable in theory, seemed a little sudden and unsupported. Overall, this story had good elements, but was not fleshed out enough to make it something I could really recommend.
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I keep on getting not so good reviews for this one, and it makes me even less enthusiastic about reading it, but I guess I should, if only cause I got it for review.
And animal cruelty, full page beating to a dog? I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep reading after that!
Lovely cover but I’ve not seen any positive reviews of this one yet. The puppy violence—ugh..so happy I didn’t request this because I’d not be able to read that part. Very helpful, thorough review, thanks Kate!
You’re the second person I’ve seen with a not so good review of this one. I had hopes for hopes one but it seems it’s not really working out. Thanks for the review Kate!
Thanks for the warning about the puppy. I had been thinking about reading this, but not anymore. I can’t take animal cruelty. Just can’t handle it. 🙁
I love reading a good story that has some historcial depth to in. Even if it is vague it still paints a good picture. Nice review.
I love the cover for this book but I’ve seen a lot of people have issues with it. I would have a big problem with it if the characters aren’t developed very well. I would feel no connection to them and not particularly care what happens to them. I think I’ll have to pass on this one.