I really enjoyed this book which told the story of two women who grew up together in a town with a history of unexplained disappearances and spooky goings on, which had over the centuries been linked to witchcraft, centering on a well in the woods. The childhood friends become adult rivals, both of them at odds over the "truth" of the "witch in the well."

I thought the story had a good pace and I liked the different viewpoints of the characters, which were told mainly through their diary entries, and the way they compared with each other, between the modern and the historical versions of the story. It had a good supernatural feel to the story, but I also thought it handled the idea of "witchhunts" very cleverly, both in literal terms and in more modern ones. (Tale as old as time. It seems in the 21st century we haven't changed all that much and still are all too ready to brand unconventional middle-aged women as weird or worse if they don't toe the line.)

This is my favourite of the three Camilla Bruce books that I have read so far - I thought it was paced better and felt less heavy-going than All The Blood We Share and Triflers Need Not Apply.

An interesting read. For me, it doesn't quite hit what it has aimed for and I struggled to stay engaged but would definitely read more from the author.

Elena and Cathy were childhood friend, but haven't spoken in years. When Elena returns to the village, to write a book about the local witch - one woman ends up dead, and the other accused of murder.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Our two main narrators are Elena, a Londoner who is a media darling after bringing out a best-selling book. She used to visit the village where her uncle kept a house, every summer as a child, but hasn't been back in years.
After her uncle passes away, Elena agrees to start sorting through his things at the house, but she'll use the peace and quiet to write the sequel that her editor is hounding her for.
She find more than she bargained for, when the spirit of the witch in the well takes a shining to her.
She is also going to be killed.

Cathy is from the village, just like her family before her. She's prickly, just as quick to take offence, as she is to give it. She's always been this way and she's struggled to have any friends.
This all changed when Elena and her sister starting spending their summers in the village. Cathy became obsessed with them, and was insulted when Elena chose more glamorous ways to spend her summer when they were teenagers.
Cathy can hold a grudge better than anyone else, and the hadn't talked in years.
In the meantime, Cathy had started work on a book about Ilsbeth the local witch. And she is not impressed when Elena starts to encroach on her territory.

(There is a third narrator - Ilsbeth the witch - shh.)

This is the third book I've read by Camilla Bruce - I like how they weave together fantasy and reality. It's always slow-building, keeping you guessing throughout what the truth might be.
The two previous books focused more on the question of is the fantasy element real, of a figment of imagination.
I found this book made it clear the fantastical element is real and the basis of the whole story. But it still keeps you guessing what happens to Elena, and what Cathy's part is.

It also tells you straight away that Elena is dead, which makes it bittersweet when you're getting to know the character, because you know what is going to happen.

I thought the characters were both very interesting.
Elena starts as a very shiny, influencer type person. She wrote a best-selling non-fiction SOUL book, and has writer's block on the sequel.
Even when she's alone at her uncle's house, even in her private thoughts, it comes across as pretty gaudy and SOUL is always in statement capitals.
She's not entirely likeable, but she's got a good heart, which starts to show through.

Cathy is the opposite. She is dark and twisty, but she doesn't think she is. She's completely awful throughout the book, and thinks sharing all of her dealing with Elena on a blog with help resolve some of the anger the villagers feel towards her.
She associates strongly with Ilsbeth the witch, who was also falsely accused, and suffered at the hands of the villagers.
Cathy does not improve, she has no character growth, but I still found it fascinating to follow as the truth is slowly unveiled.

This was such an interesting read for me, although I don't think it's for everyone!

Read through net galley for an honest review. I struggled with this book at first and it really did have a slow start. I actually started this book about 10 times but was glad I persevered. It really wasn’t what I expected but thematically is fairly similar to the authors other book which I had bought and read previously.

It’s the story of two childhood friends, witches and a murder. Others have described the plot much more eloquently but I liked how the story was skilfully claustrophobic and I really liked how the characters were complicated and interesting.

With witches, murder, and complicated relationships, if you persevere, It is quite a perfect story for Halloween reading!

Cathy and Elena are childhood friends who spent their summers together. Now in adulthood things are not how they used to be. Both women are now rivals about the writing of a book which they are both attempting.

This is the first Camilla Bruce book I have read. I have to say I'm really disappointed with this one but would try the author again.

This story is told in various formats, journal entries etc. The story also follows young Cathy and Elena, adult Cathy and Elena, and Ilsbeth Clark who was accused of witchcraft centuries ago. Lots of POV in this book. The story has a supernatural element to it too.

I think for me it was the supernatural part that let it down. I love a good horror but this for me just didn't work. At times I was really confused with what was going on. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more without the supernatural part. Had the book stayed on the line of the two women, their rivalry and the flashbacks into the past about the witchcraft that would have made the book more enjoyable.

I feel a little bad giving only two stars as I enjoyed some of the book very much but did feel really disappointed with it too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the book to review.

A creepy novel inspired by the folklore of the author's native Norway, a story of small town spite, bitter rivalries, and a revenge! It's brilliant. It is well written, with a good plot and the characters are credible.

Hundreds of year ago, the town of F- did something bad. Even now, the ripples of that event affects the town and Catherine Evans has been researching and writing a novel about what happened when Ilsbeth Clark drowned in the local well when the townsfolk accused her of being a witch. According to Catherine Ilsbeth wasn't a witch, but a woman who knew her own mind and who didn't fit the norm of what a woman/wife should be...

But when her old childhood friend, Elena, comes to town, stuck for an idea to follow up her successful book, Whispers Inside: A Reawakening of the Soul. When she rediscovers the story of Ilsbeth Clark, she thinks that would be a great book idea, focusing on her natural magic, and accidentally mentions her idea in an interview, a rivalry between Catherine and Elena form.

By the end of the summer, one woman will be dead and the other will be accused of her murder. But did she do it? And who is Ilsbeth Clark, really? An innocent, a witch or something much, much worse?

Meh. That seems to be the best word I can think of the sum up this book - meh.

Ok, that's a little harsh, I know. But this book had such an interesting premise and yet, the execution of this wasn't the best.

We have three points of views and these three women are not pleasant people. One was selfish, self-absorbed and naive, the second was selfish, self-absorbed, and prickly and the third was selfish, self-absorbed and incredibly manipulative. None of these characters had a redeeming quality - yes, I love reading unlikeable characters, but I need something to hook me in. Something to have me rooting for them - whether it's good or bad - but with these three. Nothing. There was nothing I hooked onto or something to make me warm to the characters or understand their behaviour.

Plus, because this is a slower paced book (told via journal entrances, open letters and other forms of writing), it was trying to build the creepy tension over this rivalry. And yet, to me, it was so pity. It seems ridiculous to me that two women in the same town want to write a book on the same person, but from different points of view. It is ok to have more than one book on a subject. And the way both women spited each other felt incredibly childish. It felt so out of character with these women as one had a teenager son.

And because these characters are so unlikely and the pacing for a good chunk of the book is so slow, I consider quitting this book so many time. And normally, I would have if I was feeling like this with a book or an audiobook, but I decide to keep going as I felt that maybe, just maybe, there was something that would change my opinion on it.

This book, sadly, missed the mark for me.

Ahh another book that sadly missed the mark for me. I had high hope for this one but it just didn't grab me as I was hoping it would, a very slow read.

The Witch in the Well

I was so looking forward to this, but after seeing some negative reviews, I was reluctant to read it, but I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I devoured it in one sitting. I loved the eerie witchy vibes throughout the book. The characters were not at all likeable, but I felt that was how it was supposed to be. Would highly recommend it as a perfect witchy read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK, and Camilla Bruce for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book and found it a bit of a slog to get through. I found the main characters a bit irritating at times. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for a review.

Part horror, part folklore, part mystery and you have The Witch In The Well.

The main focus is on the rivalry between two childhood friends, now estranged, who both feel they have the right to one particular story. That of the witch in the well

The author uses various ways to tell the tale, most notably the historical aspect, which I felt could have been wider especially given that neither main protagonist is particularly likeable or engaging.

The Witch In The Well is a slow burn, oft creepy but never quite hitting the mark. Some of it is rather confusing but overall an atmospheric read that held my attention throughout.

This was quite a strange book. I struggled with several aspects of it - the switching back and forth in time, the alternating characters leading the chapters, and the far-fetched (ok, supernatural) plot. Although quite well written, it just didn't really grasp me. I couldn't relate to any of the characters and felt that the ending really let it down. All in all, sadly 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Really enjoyed this Gothic folkhorror offering. Told in three firs person POVs via the medium of diaries, blogs and articles, this follows the story of two women who were childhood friends and are now bitter rivals. The longstanding grudges come to a head when it transpires that both Cathy and Elena want to write a book about the same historic figure - Ilsbeth Clark, a woman accused of witchcraft and drowned in the town well in the mid 19th C. (If that timeline seems a stretch for a witchcraft persecution bear in mind that this book is not set in the UK! It's translated from Norwegian.) Elena has lived a life of privilege, wealth and good fortune - she's already had one smash hit book published - but her hippy-ish, instagram mystical woo-woo way of approaching what Elena feels to be the tale of a persecuted intelligent woman sits ill with Cathy. Cathy's more scholarly approach irks Elena, who is in contact with Ilsbeth's spirit and feels that Cathy will obscure the woman with a feminist agenda. What neither of them realise is that Ilsbeth has an agenda of her own...

This was a great. A creepy novel that explores female friendship, ambition and envy, neatly trotting back and forth on the timeline. The characters are not especially likeable but they are always engaging. Then ending, when it comes, is satisfying and fitting. If you like folklore mingled with your Gothic fiction, give this a try.

There are multiple POVs in this book which I always tend to favour however, i didnt find the chatacters likeable at all. I thought that it was written well and was enjoyable to read. It's got twists and turns and although not scary it has a bit of an eery vibe to it.

Disappointing. I’ve read and enjoyed this author previously but this book is nowhere near as good. The characters are irritating, the plot rambling and confused, and the attempt to tie in the supernatural was awkward and poorly resolved. Such a shame, as the concept was so promising.

I loved everything about this book . The witch in the well is cleverly written , from the viewpoints of 3 different people , I loved the interaction between the 2 young girls as friends and how they grew apart during adult hood . The back story of the young girl in the well had me hooked , I really liked the writing style . Thoroughly enjoyable

3.5⭐️ I really enjoyed this story, I personally love unhinged, unlikeable characters and toxic friendships, I find them so entertaining to read.

Both Catherine & Elena are the epitome of unhinged so to see them go back and forth over who has the right to write the book on Ilsbeth life was great! Especially Cathy she was my favourite unstable character, no self awareness, pure jealousy and self righteous

If you like books with likeable characters you want to root for…this is not the story for you

However it got 3.5⭐️ and not 4⭐️ for me because the beast/mistress/demon storyline confused me a bit and I’m still not sure how Ilsbeth ended up serving the thing. It probably was explained but I fear it went over my head.
Some other things confused me as well but I can’t say without spoilers so i’ll leave it here

The publishers describe The Witch in the Well as ‘a deliciously disturbing Gothic tale of a revenge reaching out across the years’. There are elements that match that description, notably the sections entitled ‘The Nicksby Documents’ which have a really fantastical, malevolent and creepy feel. Unfortunately I found the modern day storyline less diverting. It essentially depicts the increasingly fractious relationship between two women, Catherine and Elena, who were once childhood playmates but are now involved in a rivalry about who has the right to tell Ilsbeth Clark’s story.

Neither of the women are particularly likeable. Elena is a prolific poster on social media, a fan of hashtags and an advocate of listening to the voice of one’s SOUL (her capital letters, not mine). For her, the ancient well is not a place of menace but somewhere magical, hence it being her favourite place for her morning yoga workout. She believes she has formed a spiritual connection with Ilsbeth and is possessed by the idea that she can use this to prove the existence of ‘good magic’. Unfortunately, the situation is rather different, creepily different in fact.

On the other hand, Catherine sees Ilsbeth as a victim of prejudice, like so many other women through history, and is intent on bringing this injustice to light. Catherine can’t stop herself posting instalments from an open letter to the inhabitants of F- in response to their accusations against her. She feels she’s the victim of a modern day ‘witch hunt’. Unsurprisingly, comments such as ‘In my humble experience, none of you are geniuses’ don’t endear her to the local people. And her unfiltered posts which include conversations with her family and her lawyer, Louise don’t go down well either. Responding to Catherine’s protestation that she felt she had to write it all down, Louise says, ‘Then keep a journal, for God’s sake! You don’t have to paste it all over the internet!’. Quite.

A combination of folk tale, horror story and mystery, the book incorporates a number of narrative structures, including Elena’s journal, Catherine’s Facebook posts, emails, excerpts from Catherine’s novel about Ilsbeth Clark and the aforementioned ‘Nicksby Documents’ written by an unnamed author but whose identity it’s not too difficult to guess . The latter was probably the most successful bit of the book for me but overall the story felt rather disjointed and moved a bit too slowly.

Great read. Didn't want to put this down. Brilliantly written from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this and found myself absorbed in reading.

The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce was good but did not grip me - It was a good story however, I found it slow. But I did fall in love with the cover of this book.

When two former friends are reunite after decades apart, their are grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession which swirl into an all too real echo of a terrible town legend.

However, centuries ago, a beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft, after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen.

Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review