While two teenagers stand trial in Edinburgh, Scotland,
for a classmateβs murder, talk of witchcraft and
bizarre rituals fills the courtroom.Β In WITCH TRIALby
Harriet Tyce, one juror grapples
with his sanity, questioning what is real and whether he
will survive the case.
The juror, Matthew Phillips, is a heart surgeon looking
forward to serving on the jury and escaping his
responsibilities at work and home. The high-profile case
involves the death of eighteen-year-old Christian Shaw,
allegedly at the hands of two classmates obsessed with
witchcraft and rituals. The accused are Eliza Lawson and
Isobel Smyth, friends of the victim and part of a four-
member coven, which also includes a witness for the
prosecution, Sasha Kayode. Did the girlsβ dark
activities spiral into bullying, threats, and murder? While
Matthew sits on the jury and contemplates his verdict, he
descends into darkness, fueled by an addiction to alcohol
and delusional thinking. Why does Matthew suddenly feel so
sure of one girlβs innocence? And can he dissuade the
other jurors from convicting her?
WITCH TRIAL is an unusual novel that is
strong in its presentation of the court case and jury
deliberations but struggles to define its plot or purpose.
The girlsβ witchcraft activities are a proximate cause
of the victimβs death, and the main character,
Matthew, behaves inconsistently, swinging between a morbid
fascination with gruesome details, an interest in
witchcraft, hallucinations of the devil, an obsession with a
reporter, and attempts to compromise the jury. The trial is
fascinating, and the details are laid out in a methodical
way, but readers may struggle to feel invested in any of the
characters. Some readers will enjoy the creepy details and
the crafty conclusion, while others will find the ending
frustrating and disappointing.
Internationally bestselling author Harriet Tyce returns with a page-turning thriller involving three teenage girls, one murdered classmate, and a chilling modern-day witch trial that will leave readers breathless.
Let the Witch Trial begin . . .
When eighteen-year-old Christian Shaw is found dead in a park, the city of Edinburgh is stunned—and the shock only deepens when police charge her best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with the murder. As social media explodes in a tizzy of theories and headlines scream for justice, rumors of bullying are overshadowed by something more wicked and frightening: whispers of dark rituals, feverish obsession, and a teenage pact gone wrong.
When the trial begins, everyone in Edinburgh clamors for a front-row ticket to the show: to look upon the murderous Eliza and Isobel with their own eyes. Everyone, that is, but Matthew Phillips, a respected heart surgeon picked for the jury. But, as the trial unfolds—and the girls’ lawyers offer a surprising and unsettling defense—the reluctant Matthew finds himself questioning everything: the motives, the evidence, even his own judgement. Then he begins to have strange visions of terrifying things—hallucinations he tells himself. After all, witchcraft isn’t real . . . or is it?
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