Red Runs the Witch's Thread by Victoria Williamson - #bookreview #blogtour

 

The skein of thread that lay in the merchant's beefy hand was white against his mottled flesh, the twisted fibres spun fine as silk and bleached over many months. As she watched the linen dealer hold the strands up to the light, testing their strength by pulling them between his stubby fingers, Christian felt suddenly queasy...

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Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too.

But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions.

As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path. In the end she must make a terrible choice: her mind or her soul? Poverty and madness, or a devil’s bargain for the bleaching process that will make her the most successful businesswoman Paisley has ever seen?

Her fate hangs by a thread. Which will she choose?

An eerie tale of lies, deception and the supernatural from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

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I have read several of Victoria Williamson's books now and I have enjoyed every one. I will put some links at the bottom of this review if you would like to read my reviews of those books.

The narrative of Red Runs the Witch's Thread moves between 1697 when the main character, Christian, was a child who claimed to have been cursed by witches. She went on to accuse and ultimately help condemn several people of being witches. Several of them were sentenced to death because of her allegations.  The story also takes place during 1722 where the villagers still think of Christian in terms of the role she played in the so-called witches being executed. 

What we witness as readers is Christian's mental unravelling. She is dubious of her own memories and questions them, haunting her into her adult life. There are several flashbacks to the past in the parts of the story which is set in the later time period.

Personally, I was more attracted by the historical aspect of the book that it's dark theme. The book has an extremely eerie, creepy feel to it and I found witnessing Christian's mental struggles uncomfortable and claustrophobic; just as it should do in a book of this genre. It has all of the elements expected in a supernatural novel, and this short book will appeal enormously to lovers of the genre.

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Books by Victoria Williamson

Please click on the title to read my review:

The Haunting Scent of Poppies

War of the Wind

The Whistlers in the Dark

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

Norah's Ark

ISBN:  9781738436422

Pubisher: Silver Thisle Press

No. of Pages: 250

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About the Author:

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)