{"id":4066,"date":"2025-09-12T12:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2025-09-12T12:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:38:00","slug":"book-review-the-widow-of-hartforde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=4066","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Widow of Hartforde"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Widow of Hartforde<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by J.F. Baker<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Historical<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798998991318<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 348 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Amy Brozio-Andrews<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>In this rip-roaring yarn of Colonial New England, a young couple finds themselves in the crosshairs of supernatural trouble.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rebecca Easton is struggling in her new life as a preacher\u2019s wife in a Connecticut colony in 1661. And strange creature she sees at the edge of the woods isn\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n

Her husband Caleb gets her a dog, hoping that a companion will make their remote outpost of South Puritan, beyond Hartforde, less lonely. After all, they just arrived from England, and he\u2019s confident things will turn around for her soon. But Rebecca will never feel lonelier than the day she speaks up about the beast she saw.<\/p>\n

It happens during the midnight trial of a local woman accused of witchcraft. Judge Madden travels throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut Colonies to identify and adjudicate cases of suspected witchcraft. His arrival stirs excitement and the church is full when an old widow is tried for witchery. But Widow Goodness spins a tale of a demon in the woods that makes even the most skeptical townsperson blanch. The judge declares her guilty and sentences her to be hanged.<\/p>\n

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With hopes of sparing the widow\u2019s life, Rebecca reveals to the court that she\u2019s seen the beast too, causing an uproar and drawing the suspicions of the judge. He orders her out into the woods with a search party: find the beast by sunrise or risk being the next woman accused of witchcraft. Suddenly, Rebecca is on a breakneck journey through darkness.<\/p>\n

Reverend Caleb, meanwhile, is ordered to accompany the judge to Widow Goodness\u2019s hanging at dawn in the center of Hartforde. What he learns about how the Judge runs things in this new land shakes him to the core. Rebecca\u2019s not the only one suddenly fighting for her life, and if the judge isn\u2019t stopped, this spark of witch hunting could become a conflagration that consumes New England\u2019s women.<\/p>\n

Full of cinematic flair, this is a fast-paced read with twists and chills. New England\u2019s rich history of witch trials is put to great use here, and J.F. Baker leans into it with creativity and canny twists. The book is one to be devoured in as few sittings as possible.<\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s writing is laser-focused with tight plotting; however, characters are never sacrificed to the story. They are given the opportunity to come alive with personality that jumps off the page. All Rebecca wants is to be a good reverend\u2019s wife, but she\u2019s also not going to let man or beast get in the way of protecting her husband. Caleb\u2019s devotion to Rebecca is equally intense, and he\u2019s persistent in getting to the bottom of whatever the judge is up to. And the judge\u2019s ruthlessness is a terrific foil for Rebecca and Caleb\u2019s pure love and devotion.<\/p>\n

From the South Puritan church to the Hartforde gallows and ancient forests around them both, Rebecca and Caleb\u2019s supporting characters\u2014animal and human\u2014keep the pace, advance the plot, and pull at readers\u2019 heartstrings at just the right times. For sure, there are a couple of points in the story where it\u2019s hard to keep a dry eye. The writer envelops Rebecca and Caleb\u2019s companions in such loving and careful respect, the reader feels strong loyalty to them too.<\/p>\n

The stellar ending is unforgettable, searing the tale in my memory and leaving me breathless for Baker\u2019s next work.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Amy Brozio-Andrews\u2019s book review of The Widow of Hartforde <\/em>by J.F. Baker! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: The Widow of Hartforde<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Widow of Hartforde by J.F. Baker Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Historical ISBN: 9798998991318 Print Length: 348 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Amy Brozio-Andrews In this rip-roaring yarn of Colonial New England, a young couple finds themselves in the crosshairs of supernatural trouble. Rebecca Easton is struggling in her new life as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}