Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island, Lòn Haven, stands a lighthouse.
A lighthouse that has weathered more than storms.
Mysterious and terrible events have happened on this island. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing without explanation.
Coincidence? Or curse?
Liv Stay flees to the island with her three daughters, in search of a home. She doesn’t believe in witches, or dark omens, or hauntings. But within months, her daughter Luna will be the only one of them left.
Twenty years later, Luna is drawn back to the place her family vanished. As the last sister left, it’s up to her to find out the truth . . .
But what really happened at the lighthouse all those years ago?
The Lighthouse Witches by C J Cooke was published by HarperCollins on 30 September 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, as part of this Random Things Tours Blog Tour.
What a fabulous read this is! Last year I read CJ Cooke's The Nesting and was transfixed by it. In her follow up, she takes her readers to a remote, quite wild island off the coast of Scotland, and it's an eerie, spooky and quite spine chilling tale that she tells.
I love multiple points of view, and a also love dual time lines and The Lighthouse Witches has both of these, it's an extraordinary read and whilst the magic perplexed me at times, and to be honest, I'm still not quite sure about the 'wildings' and the disappearing people, I really really loved it!
This is a mix of ancient folk lore, handed down through the generations and contemporary life. The author cleverly weaves the old traditions and beliefs in with the more modern day tale and even the most cynical of readers (me!) will begin to believe in magic!
It is the late 1980s, Liv and her three daughters arrive on the island, Lòn Haven. Liv is an artist and has taken a commission to paint a mural on the inside walls of an old lighthouse. Whilst this may be her main reason for arriving, it soon becomes clear that she and her daughters have spent most of their lives running away. From the outset, the story is creepily intense. When Liv sees the outline of the mural she's to paint, she is uneasy. As she gets to know her new community, she hears things that are chilling, but it's safe here, away from danger. Or is it?
Twenty years later, only one of the sisters remains. Liv and the other two girls disappeared from the island, with no clue as to where they went. Remaining daughter Luna has always feared the island and swore never to return, but finds herself back there, right in the middle of things that don't really seem to have changed.
As Luna discovers more and more about this tiny, strange community, and some of the age old traditions, she becomes more and more concerned ... will she ever discover just what happened to her mother and sisters?
The Lighthouse Witches kept me reading long into the night. It's a book that is really difficult to put aside. The writing is so beautifully crafted. It's atmospheric and haunting and I loved every page. It's not a simple plot it's full of magic and myth and hidden truths, but it's a belter of a story. Highly recommended by me.
C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other
publications written under the name of Carolyn Jess-Cooke.
Her work has been published in twenty- three languages to date.
Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health.
C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children.
She also founded the Stay-At-Home Festival.
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