The Witch Maker

It is both an honour and a heavy burden to be Witch Maker in Hallerton. It is he who, after years of painstaking apprenticeship, constructs the effigy of Meg Ramsden - he who burns it at the stake, watched by a jeering crowd. But this Witch Maker - only the nineteenth in the three hundred and fifty years of the ceremony - never experienced his moment of triumph. This Witch Maker is discovered early one morning with a length of twine wrapped tightly around his neck.

DCI Woodend prides himself on knowing what makes villages tick - but is at a loss with this one. Why are the villagers, who revered their Witch Maker, unwilling to help catch his murderer? Why have there been no so many suicides in Hallerton? And why, when one has peeled away one level of secrets, does the Chief Inspector find nothing underneath but an even deeper level?

It does not take Woodend long to realize that in order to solve this one crime he must first come to terms with centuries of fear, treachery and desperation.

"Spencer's Woodend series always features sharp procedural detail and suspenseful, well-developed storylines. Here she adds a surprise ending and a couple of quasi-Gothic elements - the setting and the sense of dark foreboding. It all adds up to a first-rate addition to an entertaining series."
Booklist

" ... a case tied tighter than the knot around the victim's neck. The dark secrets behind the bright flames make Spencer's latest a first-class chiller."
Kirkus Review

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