Description

Named one of the TIME100 Most Influential People of 2026

“I enjoy Freida McFadden…The books are engrossing and her sense of humour is sharp and dark. Vengeance comes with a twist and is satisfying” – STEPHEN KING

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From #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a sharp, unsettling thriller about two women, past and present, united by the grounds of an estate and one deadly question: is the danger that haunts them magic-or madness?

Some secrets don’t die-they wait.

When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she has nowhere left to go but Pemberton, her family’s sprawling seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she’s there to check in on her ageing grandmother. Unofficially, she’s hoping the old house will give her a place to disappear.

Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her.

Every night, the grandfather clock stops at exactly 3:41 a.m. The lights flicker without warning. And a disembodied voice cries for help outside Julia’s bedroom door.

As Julia digs into the house’s dark history, she uncovers the story of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692-and realises the past may not be finished with Pemberton yet. When decades of family lies begin to surface, Julia must confront a terrifying truth: Pemberton may be haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent.

The Witch is Freida McFadden’s tantalising foray into the supernatural, offering up a chilling, twist-filled thriller about secrets: those we inherit, those we bury, and those people will burn to keep silent.

Tropes
Supernatural Thriller
Witchcraft
Ancestral Curse

Also by Freida McFadden:
Brain Damage
The Housemaid’s Wedding
The Divorce
Dear Debbie
The Tenant

Publisher Review

In a brave new move, Freida McFadden has moved into historical fiction in her jaw dropping new book The Witch. Half of the book is set in 1692 when the patriarchy hangs 'witches' (sound familiar?) and the other half is set in present-day Massachusetts when young Julia comes to the 300-year-old family home to take care of her ailing grandma. She does not expect to be greeted by ghosts, or skeletons or an unusual young man who looks like he's from a different era. All of this combines to make a wildly entertaining and genuinely spooky story with Freida's trademark wit and hilarious observations. I have no hesitation in saying that this is Freida's best book yet. I loved every single page. * Liz Nugent, internationally bestselling and award winning author of Strange Sally Diamond * The queen of psychological suspense does it again - The Witch is a pacy, page-turning dual timeline with a haunting mystery at its core. Part set during a seventeenth-century witch trial, McFadden weaves a story full of twists and surprises, with a delicious vein of social commentary running through it. A bubbling cauldron of secrets and deceit, I couldn't put it down. * Andrea Mara, #1 international bestselling author of It Should Have Been You * What is great about McFadden's writing is the emotional journey of the novel * Aspects of Crime Magazine *