Overview

The Book of Witching continues C.J. Cooke’s mastery of modern gothic fiction, spinning a tale that braids folklore, grief, and inheritance into a deeply emotional narrative. Set between wild Scottish landscapes and eerie historical echoes, the novel follows a new generation of women confronting the myths—and the curses—that have shaped their family line.

Writing & Atmosphere

Cooke’s prose is lush yet sharp-edged, balancing lyrical imagery with taut pacing. She excels at evoking the uncanny in the everyday: an empty loch house, a forgotten diary, a voice that might belong to memory or something older. The sense of place is strong enough to taste—the salt tang of sea air, the cold snap of superstition still alive in small communities.

What makes the novel stand apart is how Cooke refuses to rely on shock. The horror is emotional and psychological, drawn from maternal fear, historical injustice, and the cyclical nature of trauma. Each revelation feels inevitable yet haunting, building a world where magic is both metaphor and memory.

Characters

The women at the heart of The Book of Witching—strong, wounded, and complex—anchor the story in raw humanity. Their voices shift across time, revealing how myths of witchcraft have always been ways to talk about control, fear, and survival. Cooke gives them room to be both fragile and fierce, ensuring readers feel the cost of every choice.

Themes

Witchcraft here is not spectacle but inheritance—a lineage of women misread, mistrusted, and underestimated. The novel explores intergenerational memory, environmental warning, and the uneasy marriage of belief and science. As ever with Cooke, love and danger are intertwined; the past is not dead but whispering through the pages.

What Worked

• Atmospheric tension: haunting without heavy-handedness.
• Rich prose: lyrical yet accessible, vivid but never indulgent.
• Emotional resonance: grief, fear, and legacy woven seamlessly through the plot.

Minor Quibbles

• Some of the folklore exposition slows the pacing early on.
• The ending, while satisfying, leaves a few mysteries deliberately unspoken—which some readers may crave more closure from.

Final Thoughts

Lyrical, eerie, and profoundly moving, The Book of Witching deepens C.J. Cooke’s exploration of motherhood, myth, and what we inherit from the women before us. A gothic tale that shimmers with empathy and unease in equal measure.

Rating: ★★★★½☆ (4.5/5)