| Publisher | Raven Books |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 03 February 2022 |
| ISBN-10 | 1526637332 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1526637338 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 320 |
| Price | £ 14.99 |
The Leviathan
by
Norfolk in the English Civil War – a difficult time to hold strong views on God and the devil. Also, a time when witches could be denounced and superstition was strong. One family is caught up in such a struggle between the unnatural and belief, with catastrophic results.
Review
1643 was not a good time to live in England. The Civil War was ongoing and families struggled to survive without their menfolk. It was also a time of raging superstition and fear of witchcraft – which meant it was astoundingly easy to cry ‘witch’ and see that person clapped in irons and in fear for their life.
In Norfolk, the Treadwaters were one such struggling family. Esther had seen her brother Thomas go off to war, leaving her behind with her father and their two servants. When the teenager thinks that the serving girl, Chrissa, is being familiar with her father, she denounces her as a witch and has her arrested. But that is only the start of their problems.
When Thomas arrives back to their farm, wounded, exhausted and in need of a warm and familiar home, he finds a catatonic father and a sister who has been driven beyond despair and who has called for his help. He also finds hundreds of their sheep dead without obvious cause.
They are an old Norfolk family with friends in high places, so Thomas can call on favours and explore what is going on with the help of the authorities. However, nothing can help him with Chrissa, whose silence and mysterious background fast becomes more than just a simple mystery.
Thomas starts out to track down her past and finds clues in the less salubrious corners of Norwich. It seems she is not at all she is thought to be and her past is as chequered as a draughts board. The proximity to the sea is a vital ingredient in the story.
The more he investigates, the closer to the Leviathan in the title of the book we come. And the closer the two timelines the author employs come together. The timelines begin as a puzzle but the further along the story runs, the more exciting they prove – and the more horrifying.
The historical flavours and atmosphere are beautifully depicted in this cracking debut. The slowness of travel, the biting cold and the importance of faith and honour, the fear of the unknown, and so much more all ramp up the links to something unexplainable and deeply terrifying.
In Norfolk, the Treadwaters were one such struggling family. Esther had seen her brother Thomas go off to war, leaving her behind with her father and their two servants. When the teenager thinks that the serving girl, Chrissa, is being familiar with her father, she denounces her as a witch and has her arrested. But that is only the start of their problems.
When Thomas arrives back to their farm, wounded, exhausted and in need of a warm and familiar home, he finds a catatonic father and a sister who has been driven beyond despair and who has called for his help. He also finds hundreds of their sheep dead without obvious cause.
They are an old Norfolk family with friends in high places, so Thomas can call on favours and explore what is going on with the help of the authorities. However, nothing can help him with Chrissa, whose silence and mysterious background fast becomes more than just a simple mystery.
Thomas starts out to track down her past and finds clues in the less salubrious corners of Norwich. It seems she is not at all she is thought to be and her past is as chequered as a draughts board. The proximity to the sea is a vital ingredient in the story.
The more he investigates, the closer to the Leviathan in the title of the book we come. And the closer the two timelines the author employs come together. The timelines begin as a puzzle but the further along the story runs, the more exciting they prove – and the more horrifying.
The historical flavours and atmosphere are beautifully depicted in this cracking debut. The slowness of travel, the biting cold and the importance of faith and honour, the fear of the unknown, and so much more all ramp up the links to something unexplainable and deeply terrifying.
Reviewed 12 November 2022 by Kerry Hood
Kerry Hood has worked in publishing for many years and lived in London for just as many, but suspects her heart is in the country.
