The Lighthouse Witches: The perfect new haunting gothic thriller you won’t be able to put down – perfect for Halloween!

I wasn’t sure that this was a book for me but once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. Distant past, near past and the present all come together to create an atmospheric storyline that pulls you in from the very first page!!

I really enjoyed reading this, I actually felt physical chills at times. Would read again, no issue.

Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty-two years later, one is found - but she’s still the same age as when she disappeared. In 1998, single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a century-old lighthouse, and it’s an opportunity to start over with her three daughters - Luna, Sapphire and Clover. When two of them go missing, she’s frantic. She learns that hundreds of years ago, several women were tried for witchcraft on the island, and cursed it in an act of revenge. Twenty-two years later, Luna has still not given up searching for her missing sisters. When she receives a phone call that her youngest sister, Clover, has been found, she’s initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers, except she’s still seven years old. Luna quickly begins to think her sister may in fact be a wildling, an evil supernatural being that mimics children…I’ll admit, for the first chapter or so, I was convinced I wasn’t going to like this, and then all of a sudden, I couldn’t put it down. The story is told by three timelines and different POVs but it was easy to keep track of things that were going on. I loved reading the parts of Patrick Roberts’ grimoire - I love reading about historical events, and although this was fictional, it was inspired by real events, and I thought the author did a fantastic job in telling a story that would have fit right into Scotland’s history. I found the ending to be a bit bittersweet - I really did not see it coming, although I do wish one or two things had gone a bit differently. I don’t want to say any more than that otherwise I’ll spoil it!This was a fantastic book, and pretty scary at times! It’s a perfect book to read around Halloween. I will definitely be checking out C.J. Cooke’s other work!

The Lighthouse Witches weaves together a story spanning over three different timelines and involving a mother, her three daughters, secrets and Nordic folklore.This is such a captivating, slightly eerie story involving strong parent-child bonds.While there was some small areas of the plot that I found obvious, they were so slight that I was still on the edge of my seat as I turned the pages waiting for the plot to slowly unravel and connect all these characters and timelines together.The ending was heartfelt and wholesome that sent shivers down my spine.A perfect witchy read for October, detailing an untold history of the unfairness of the witch trials throughout Scotland.

I loved the subject, the backstory and the settings. Some of the characters were a little predictable and unavoidably stereotypical in places, but overall it was a great, evenly paced read.However, as others have pointed out, there are some huge plot holes, which are hard to gloss over, and I found some of it was rushed with some added character detail literally seeming to be pulled out of thin air as it went along.Spoilers....Clover being found 22 years later, still aged 7, yet the police not double-checking their facts was a bit ridiculous. Even if they thought one of the records had a typo wrong date, there would be a file and a case for the whole family, it's unlikely the birth dates would be wrong for all of them. Nor would they be oblivious to the whole case. Equally disappointing was Saffy being found, that appeared to be written on-the-fly and added almost as an afterthought. And the adult Luna adopting them like a mother was a bit sickly-sweet and gag-worthy.I suppose I was hoping for something a little more intricate for the last few chapters. Even if it was nothing to do with 'wildlings' the time travel/loop was such a big plot parcel that never really got unwrapped, nor the actual murdered children.I found each character's arc and ending a little underwhelming and Liv's was just plain depressing and deflating. Life bites like that, we all know it, but with the other rather average conclusions it just felt worse than it might other have been, and also appeared a but rushed.Despite my criticism on some aspects, it was still an enjoyable, fast read. I just hoped for a bit more from the build up of the first three-quarters of the book. It's a good book, but with some glaringly obvious issues.

The twist in this novel knocked me clean over. I did not see that coming. What happens when a modern small town is still rocked by folklore and hysteria. A mother takes her three daughters to a rural town in Scotland. For reasons unknown they turn up to the cottage in the middle of the night to start a new life.Each daughter begins their own journey that will lead to the disappearance of two. Only when one is found years later do the events of the past become known.It fully encapsulates the tropes of gothic horror leaving you guessing until the final chapter. I couldn’t put it down.