Book Review / Hallowdene by George Mann (Book 2, Wychwood Series)

Former London journalist Elspeth Reeves is trying to carve a new life for herself in the sleepy Oxfordshire countryside until she's sent to cover the excavation of a notorious local witch's grave.

Three hundred years ago, her name mixed up with murder and black magic, Agnes Levett was hanged and then buried under an immense stone, to prevent her spirit from ever rising again. Elspeth investigates but soon finds there is far more to the old tale than meets the eye, as the surrounding area is rocked by a series of mysterious and brutal murders, all of people somehow connected with the dig.

She and her childhood friend DS Peter Shaw race to uncover the truth, but secrets lain buried for centuries are not easily discovered.





Published:     18th September 2018
Publisher:  Titan Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, Wychwood
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

I am so addicted to this series, I can't believe there are no more books out there to read yet!!!  Although this is the second book in the Wychwood series, you can read this independently of the first book if you want to although I would strongly recommend starting from the beginning.  That way, you can get a back story to the characters that are in this series and get a view of the 'bigger picture'.

This book takes us way in the past to three hundred years ago.  I absolutely adore stories like this, so already this book is golden to me.  You have the usual characters that I suspect will be the main focus of this series, Elspeth and DS Peter Shaw, and you meet more characters from this home town.  Some of these characters are just innocent bystanders and some of them are not so innocent and hold onto the history of their families for a long time!

In this second book, I got more of a sense of Elspeth's home town, how the people in it operate and a bit more knowledge of the past.  Such great history in this book and with the mystery of the past and present mixed in, it was definitely one of those stories that I could not put down.

I was completely addicted to this book and just could not put it down.  Can't wait for the next one!