The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke

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From the Publisher:

Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found--but she's still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.

When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it's an opportunity to start over with her three daughters--Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she's frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.

Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she's initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers--except she's still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she'll have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she doesn't realize just how much the truth will change her.

This is an intriguing and compelling story of dark family secrets, small town politics, and history that keeps repeating itself. In this atmospheric novel, Cooke effortlessly blends together tales of centuries old witch trials and present day crimes. As the story unfolds through multiple characters from different time periods, we learn the dark history of the local lighthouse and it’s hold on the present day village.

Liv, our exhausted and overwhelmed artist and mother of three, is doing her best to balance everything on her plate. As she struggles to connect with her moody teenage daughter, she also has two other daughters that need her as well. Her latest commission should be a chance at a fresh start but instead, turns out to be a terrifying nightmare. As Liv tries to settle in with her family, tales of the local forest being filled with changelings hits remarkably close to home when her daughter Luna’s doppelganger appears on her doorstep.

Fast forward twenty years and we have Luna , pregnant and in a precarious place in her own romantic relationship. When she is told her sister has been found after twenty-two years, she immeadiately jumps into action. Discovering her sister hasn’t aged in over twenty years is only the tip of the bizarre iceberg that has become her current life. Unraveling the mystery of her family’s fate is a compelling and compulsive story that is filled to the brim with twists and turns.

I loved the author’s take on the impacts of the witch trials with the local community. The lore that is handed down through the generations shaped the community and it makes their actions believable and understandable. I really enjoyed the characters and found them all well-developed and relatable. The magic system was both intricate and easy to understand, while still being quite fantastical and intriguing.

Overall, this is a wonderful, atmospheric and gripping gothic thriller that will keep you engrossed from start to finish. If you are like me and wanting to keep all your October reads spooky, this is definitely one to add to the list.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

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