The Last Witch book blurb:

Back in 1974, the dormant Irish village of Seacross is shocked by the gruesome circumstances of young Margaret Morehouse’s death. Forty-five years later history seems to repeat itself and the quiet life of the coastal Irish village is suddenly shaken by a series of ritualistic murders. Someone had broken the pact of secrecy to obtain justice, but if the truth comes out nobody will be spared, from the future Taoiseach to the local men of power.

Content warnings:

• Murder
• Substance abuse/alcoholism
• Pregnancy

My thoughts on The Last Witch

*I received a copy of The Last Witch from Damppebbles in exchange for an honest review*

The last witch is a murder-mystery by Sabina Gabrielli Carrara, with some interesting twists and turns along the way.

You begin in the prologue by learning about the murder of a young girl, 45 years before the story begins. The events of that evening drive the rest of the story, although protagonist chief inspector Billy McCabe doesn’t make that connection right away.

The story moves quickly, with short chapters and scenes moving at a pretty swift pace. You’re swept along into each new development, and you certainly don’t have time to get bored!

I had a hard time finding a character I wanted to root for. That said, the characters definitely feel distinct from each other! They’re easy to differentiate, and interesting, but I didn’t get attached to any of them. I think that’s partly due to the pace of the story. One of the downsides of moving so fast is a lack of opportunity to get in any one character’s head.

The witchy element to the story was fun. Personally, I’d have liked to see it affect the atmosphere of the book more. The limited involvement of the occult components will be good for people looking for a standard murder mystery. At the same time, it’s providing a little something for those who like a supernatural flavour to their fiction.

The book does a good job keeping you guessing with the central mystery, and introduces some intriguing developments towards the end… But I won’t say any more about that!

Want to know more?

If you’re interested in buying The Last Witch: A Seacross Mystery, you can do so through Amazon (UK/US).

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