Review: Witch Woman by Jeanette Baker

Title: Witch Woman

Published: Jan 2011

Synopsis: In two different centuries, four hundred years apart, the lives of Abigail March and her daughter, Maggie, play out along parallel lines, both women blessed and cursed by a selective birthright and marked with a startling mutation, heterochromia iridium, one brown eye, the other blue.

Status: Read from October 22 to 24, 2011 — I own a copy(Courtesy the publicist)

My Thoughts:

The story of the Salem witch trials is a popular one in fiction and Jeanette Baker has constructed her own tale that links the historic events with a modern day foundling. Maggie was discovered, naked and alone, in the Salem cemetery at age two and unofficially adopted by newly widowed Annie. Just before her death, Annie reveals the truth and urges Maggie to return to Salem. Settling in her old home, Maggie begins to experience visions of 17th century Salem and the life of Abagail March and her daughters who are accused of witchcraft. While visions are not new to Maggie, who has used her psychic skill to assist police for many years, she is overwhelmed by the vivid dreams and the sense of connection to this woman who has one blue and one brown eye just as she does. As Maggie begins to unravel the mystery of her birthright a neighbor’s daughter goes missing but Maggie seems to be caught too strongly by the past to secure the child’s future.
Witch Woman is a well written story with a cohesive storyline. Baker handles the dual narrative well, advancing events in both time spans until they collide. The pace is steady, though it doesn’t quite have the sense of urgency I felt it could do. There is a twist to the ending I wasn’t expecting but otherwise I felt the plot was fairly predictable and didn’t quite have enough subtlety to maintain tension.
The main characters of Witch Woman are quite well drawn. I liked Annie, who we meet only briefly, and understood her reason to conceal her adopted daughter’s past.
Maggie, who is the main protagonist, has an interesting back-story that I would have liked to learn more about. I felt her character wasn’t as well grounded as it could have been as an adult. She was a little passive for my tastes in seeking out the truth of her heritage but in general was likeable. The touch of romance between Maggie and her neighbour was a nice addition to the story though I wasn’t really convinced by it given his bias.
In some ways I felt Abigail’s character and story was more well rounded than Maggie’s. I am not sure how much license Baker took with her portrayal of the March family but I enjoyed it.
Susannah’s identity was a surprise to me and I liked how Baker connected the historical figures of the witch trial to the modern inhabitants of Salem.
Witch Woman is a solidly written, pleasant read but for me lacked excitement or a unique hook to keep me truly engaged. Still, if you are intrigued by the Salem With Trials then this novel will surely be of interest.

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About the Author

Jeanette Baker is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, published by Pocket, Kensington and Mira Books, many of them set in the lush countryside of historical and contemporary Ireland where she lives and writes during the summer months. Her ancestors, the O’Flahertys, hail from Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands located off the coast of Galway. She takes great pride in the prayer posted by the English over the ancient citygates, ‘From the wrath of the O’Flahertys, may the good Lord deliver us.’ Jeanette graduated from the University of California at Irvine and holds a Masters Degree in Education. When not in Ireland, she teaches in Southern California, reads constantly, attempts to navigate the confusing world of Facebook and, more recently, e-publishing, concocts creations from interesting cookbooks and enjoys the company of friends and children. She is the RITA award-winning author of NELL.

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