A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF 2023

'A superb writer' EMMA STONEX

'Stylish and raw' ANNE ENRIGHT

'Mesmerising and beautiful' DAILY EXPRESS

'Gripping and visceral ' IRISH EXAMINER

'A powerful, riveting read ' ELIZABETH MACNEAL

'Astonishingly absorbing' i PAPER

'That's a good thing about you, Martha. You keep secrets . . .'

East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant , is a trusted figure in her beloved coastal village of Cleftwater - even though no one has ever heard her speak.

One day, the peaceful atmosphere is disrupted by the arrival of a witch-hunter, and suspicion threatens to tear the community apart. When Martha is drawn into the search, she finds herself torn between protecting herself or her friends. As the tide of suspicion builds and events hurtle towards a terrible reckoning, Martha's silence is a choice that could cost her everything.

A superb writer' EMMA STONEX
'Stylish and raw' ANNE ENRIGHT

East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant, has lived for more than four decades in her beloved coastal village of Cleftwater. Everyone knows Martha, but no one has ever heard her speak.

One morning, the peaceful atmosphere is shattered by a sinister arrival and Martha becomes a silent witness to a witch-hunt. As a trusted member of the community, she is enlisted to search the bodies of the accused women. But whilst Martha wants to help her friends, she also harbours a dark secret that could cost her own freedom.

In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll's true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . .