The Witchfinder’s Sister

The historical fiction book “The Witchfinder’s Sister” by Beth Underdown is set in Essex, England in 1645. The main character of the story is Alice Hopkins, a pregnant widow who has returned to her hometown and has little hope for the future. She runs away to her younger brother Matthew’s home, who has become a powerful and rich man. But Alice finds that Matthew has changed beyond anything she could have predicted.

He has become a ruthless hunter of suspected witches, gathering women’s names in a great book. Alice is divided between her love for her brother and her dismay at what he has turned into as rumors of witchcraft circulate in the community. She examines the history of the Hopkins family and finds a deadly reality as well as nested secrets. Alice must risk her life and independence to defeat this worst of all evils.