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A young Puritan woman—faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul—plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense.
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life.
But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary—a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony—soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows.
A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.
What are you reading this week? (04/24/2025)
...uld be good! In audiobook format, I'm listening to https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/20311/hour-of-the-witch Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian and enjoying it immensely.
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? (4/17/2025)
I'm finishing a new release - The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong - and I'm enjoying it immensely. Not really sure what it's about yet, but the characters are amazing. Then it's on to Daughters of Shandong for the book club. In audiobook format, I'm listening to Skeletons at the Feast by our g...
-kim.kovacs
BookBrowsers Ask Author Chris Bohjalian
Well, like me, my audience has gotten older. (Okay, all you readers between the ages of 18 and 34, please take a look at Midwives or Hour of the Witch!)
-Chris_B
What are you reading this week? (4/3/2025)?
Just finishing up Isola by Allegra Goodman ( really enjoying it), then on to The Creation of Half-Broken People by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. In audiobook format, I just bought Hour of the Witch and Skeletons at the Feast , both by Chris Bohjalian. Any recommendations on which I should listen to firs...
-kim.kovacs
If you’ve read other books by this author, how do they compare to this one? How, in your opinion, does his writing bring to life the intersection of chance and choice?
Also read Hour of the Witch. Both books had intersections of chance and choice. Characters were in terrible circumstances but did have some influence over their lives
-Norma_R
"Throughout Bohjalian's prolific career, he has rewarded readers with indelibly drawn female protagonists, and the formidable yet vulnerable Mary Deerfield is a worthy addition to the canon. Conjuring up specters of #MeToo recriminations and social media shaming, there are twenty-first-century parallels to Bohjalian's atmospheric Puritan milieu, and his trademark extensive research pays off in this authentic portrait of courage in the face of society's worst impulses. Bohjalian is a perennial favorite, and this Salem Witch Hunt drama has a special magnetism." —Booklist (starred review)
"Bohjalian's historical novel is full of twists and turns. Though not a typical suspense novel, the story has many of the page-turning plot lines of a thriller, and is sure to keep readers enthralled. Though it's set in the 1600s, Mary's story resonates today, as it addresses the role religious and societal expectations can play in the lives of individuals. A must-read and highly recommended." —Library Journal
"A twisty thriller set in 17th-century Boston...With its exploration of themes including domestic abuse, toxic masculinity, and mass hysteria, the novel feels like anything but a period piece." —Publishers Weekly
"Illustrates how rough justice can get when religion and institutional sexism are in the mix." —Kirkus Reviews
"Bohjalian blends historical fiction with a thrilling courtroom drama... A fascinating and immersive read... What makes this novel remarkable and compulsively readable is Bohjalian's uncanny ability to capture the Puritan perspective... Hour of the Witch is at once brilliantly idiosyncratic while also recognizable. This genre-defying thriller is sure to become a staple of book clubs and a favorite of historical mystery fans." —BookPage
"Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best… Insightful and empathetic… Thick with details as chowder is with clams… Handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying." —The Washington Post
"Bohjalian does an admirable job of bringing his numerous players to life in all their complexity... Hour of the Witch—part courtroom thriller, part psychological suspense novel—holds a reader's rapt attention all the way to its startling conclusion." —Wall Street Journal
This information about Hour of the Witch was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including The Jackal's Mistress, Midwives, Hour of the Witch, and The Flight Attendant, which was an Emmy-winning MAX series starring Kaley Cuoco. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. His novels have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by numerous newspapers and magazines, and been selections of Oprah's Book Club and the Barnes & Noble Book Club. He is also a playwright. He lives in Vermont and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on many social networks, @chrisbohjalian.
Author Interview
Link to Chris Bohjalian's Website
Name Pronunciation
Chris Bohjalian: boh-JAIL-yen
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