Thank you Harper Audio for the ALC and Harper Perennial, #partner for the advanced copy of Witch Trial in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Harper Perennial / Harper Audio
Published: September 29, 2026
Summary:
Internationally bestselling author Harriet Tyce returns with a page-turning thriller involving three teenage girls, one murdered classmate, and a chilling modern-day witch trial that will leave readers breathless.
Let the Witch Trial begin . . .
When eighteen-year-old Christian Shaw is found dead in a park, the city of Edinburgh is stunned—and the shock only deepens when police charge her best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with the murder. As social media explodes in a tizzy of theories and headlines scream for justice, rumors of bullying are overshadowed by something more wicked and whispers of dark rituals, feverish obsession, and a teenage pact gone wrong.
When the trial begins, everyone in Edinburgh clamors for a front-row ticket to the to look upon the murderous Eliza and Isobel with their own eyes. Everyone, that is, but Matthew Phillips, a respected heart surgeon picked for the jury. But, as the trial unfolds—and the girls’ lawyers offer a surprising and unsettling defense—the reluctant Matthew finds himself questioning the motives, the evidence, even his own judgement. Then he begins to have strange visions of terrifying things—hallucinations he tells himself. After all, witchcraft isn’t real . . . or is it?
Who is telling the truth? Who can be trusted?
And what really happened to Christian Shaw?
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Harriet Tyce since reading Blood Orange and she continues to deliver exceptional reads, as is the case with this latest one! Her books are always so smartly written and completely addictive…and I need more of them!!
This book is best going into it the less you know, so I don’t want to say too much, but I will say this: this book had such a grip on me the entire time I was reading it. A courtroom drama filled with unbelievable, shocking twists, a sense of the supernatural that hangs in the air, and that foreboding sense that all is not what it seems. Not only do we have two girls on trial, accused of causing the death of another girl, but we follow Matthew, who is on the jury and battling his own demons.
I loved how thought-provoking this one ended up being. It covers a lot of ground and really gets under your skin. Every part of this book -from the courtroom scenes to the atmosphere to the characters feel so real and also a bit unsettling. It makes you think and question everything, especially when you get to that brilliant ending…OMG – I’ll be thinking about that one for a long time!
If you like dark, twisted, smartly written books, this one is for you! I loved it so much and know feel like I need to reread all her other books because I just love her writing so much!
Audio thoughts:
This was fantastic on audio, with a new-to-me narrator, Angus King, doing an amazing job bringing the story to life.
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