Before I go, just a couple comments on the audio version. This was narrated by: Charlotte Davey, Christina Cole, & Emily Barber The novel is well written and there are plot twists and suspense to keep you interested. The principal characters are very hard to like with the once upon a time friendship souring with the growth of intense rivalry and obsession over Ilsbeth is done very well. Cathy in particular is hard to like, she’s spiky and bitter whereas Elena is more upbeat but doesn’t necessarily have her feet on terra firma. The bitter rivalry definitely makes for interesting reading in this multilayered novel. It may not be a hug-it-and-love-it-book, but it’s viciously clever and that sort of thing goes along way with me.

The setting itself is eerie, a moldering “castle” of a house in the middle of a haunted Norwegian wood? Not going to be my choice for a relaxing getaway. The imagery and the overall vibes illustrated throughout this book were subtly chilling. I found the occult aspects of this story sufficiently creepy without being too gory or off-putting. The book is rather fast-paced, and the chapters are short. Cathy retaliates in childish but vicious ways . . . releasing moths into the Castle, leaving roadkill on the doorstep, playing eerie music at odd hours.

Retailers:

So here's the thing. We have three women, telling three sides to a story they all feel entitled to. Each of their perspectives are identified. We are told when we are shifting from an Elena perspective to a Cathy perspective... BUT, they are not tied to chapters. A single perspective might span several chapters, and we aren't reminded whose perspective it is. I think that this aspect is why there's so much criticism around it being hard to follow, and confusing, and such. But it's really not, in my opinion. There's no law that says that multiple perspectives must be 1 chapter each. That's silly. In Virginia, people were less frantic about witches. In fact, in Lower Norfolk County in 1655, a law was passed making it a crime to falsely accuse someone of witchcraft. Still, witchcraft was a concern. About two-dozen witch trials (mostly of women) took place in Virginia between 1626 and 1730. None of the accused were executed. Are Witches Real? Witches and Witchcraft: The First Person Executed in the Colonies. State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Library Services. Then I'm not sure, there's like an Adult version of a prank war, there's a handsome repairman turned suitor, and most confusing to me was a lot of content regarding a horse, or a ghost horse, and a horse as an embodiment of a demon.

Elena is something of a Woo Woo Influencer type. She wrote a book about communing with one's soul to something something true purpose something find your truth something something. I will absolutely admit to losing about 15 IQ points listening to that part, and very seriously contemplated DNF'ing the book while this section about her book was droning on and on with something something soul being said about once every 3 words. At one point I had the thought (OK, the direct shout at my phone) that if I heard the word "soul" one more damn time in the next 30 seconds I was calling it quits. But then that mercifully passed, and aside from Elena's influencer-ish hashtag-annoying-traits, hashtag-really-stupid-diary-writing-style, I was invested once more.And Elena has everything Catherine has not, like a platform and connections and no one seems to care that Elena's book will be pure speculation, tainting Ilsbeth's memory rather than preserving it. Catherine is determined that something must be done and plots to blunt her rival's pen. However she had not allowed for the fact that the past might not be so dead after all - that something is reaching out from the well, disturbing her reality. The Witch in the Well sees Camilla Bruce making a welcome return to the winning formula of unreliable narrator + hints of horror/fantasy/folklore that made her debut, You Let Me In, so dazzling. The three voices are distinct, creating a tangible persona for each of our main players – and even where they seem to overlap, this only adds to the intrigue. Indeed, I wanted more of everything; the scenes involving Elena and Cathy as children, for example, are so atmospheric that I longed to spend more time in that particular milieu. Bruce is just incredibly good at weaving inexplicable, fantastical things into the stories her characters tell, while at the same time throwing in details that make you question/doubt everything you’ve just read. It’s a combination I find irresistible, and I enjoyed every weird, slippery word of The Witch in the Well. Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft, using magic spells and calling upon spirits for help or to bring about change. Most witches were thought to be pagans doing the Devil’s work. Many, however, were simply natural healers or so-called “wise women” whose choice of profession was misunderstood. Unfortunately, I really wish I had liked the characters, any of them. Both Cathy and Elena were rather self-centered, and both just annoyed me at different times in the book. As well, I felt the ending was a little weak.