The Lighthouse Witches: The perfect new haunting gothic thriller you won’t be able to put down
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Don’t miss the brand-new chilling gothic thriller from the bestselling author . . .
’Cooke has creatively interwoven the darkness of reality with a magical realism that will truly have you gripped’ Woman & Home
‘Fascinating and enthralling’ Prima
‘Wonderfully atmospheric and compelling’ Rosamund Lupton
‘A flawless read’ Elizabeth Lee
‘Seething with gothic menace’ Caroline Lea
‘This ghost story is a perfect mix of propulsive plot and shivers-up-the-spine spookiness’ Good Housekeeping
A deserted lighthouse
Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island stands a lighthouse. Strange and terrible events have happened here. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing.
A lost family
Liv Stay and her children don’t believe in witches or curses. But within months of arriving on the island, her daughter Luna is the only one of them left.
An impossible child
Twenty years later, Luna’s missing sister turns up out of the blue. She is exactly the girl Luna remembers. Same face. Same smile. Same age.
Faced with the impossible, it’s up to Luna to find out what really happened at the lighthouse all those years ago.
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Additional information
| Publisher | HarperCollins (30 Sept. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2447 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 424 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 0008354707 |
by Kindle Customer
I loved every word of this story.
It kept me guessing to the last minute which is rare for me!
I can’t wait for the release of CJ Cooke’s next novel!!!
by C. Lander
I cannot praise this book enough, so intelligently written, a storyline that just sweeps you up and carries you along through the different timelines to come together at the end and all become one. Riveting, atmospheric and at times dark but so so enjoyable.
by Victoria
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.
by Harveymummy
Really enjoyed this book. Couldn’t put it down. Definitely a recommend read.
by Amanda GRIFFITHS-JONES
This is a very cleverly written novel that brings together a modern-day missing persons mystery with dark & deadly superstition from the past. Slightly eerie & gothic, I was drawn in from the start & found this to be a really compelling read. There was a lightbulb moment when some loose ends made sense & the twist at the end was delivered superbly. Five stars!
by Helen
A clever novel combining a modern day mystery with dark superstitions from the past. Unfortunately it did wane towards the end. A good read for Halloween.
by tonythereader
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!