The Last Witch by C.J. Cooke

"Let me remind you that witches will see you starve. They wish to curse your homes, your cattle. At night, they gather in secret and make dark plans to bring about your demise! They seek to eat your children! They plot to use honeyed words so their eternity in hell is accompanied by you all! They hope, oh God in heaven, they hope to bring you down with them!"

It’s the year 1485, and Father Kramer is preparing to make an example of a mother and her six-year-old child by burning them alive.

Two innocents — accused of heresy, branded as witches, condemned for betraying the church — with no real evidence.

One man, Father Kramer, decides their fate.

And he has no mercy.

Now, how does someone become a “witch”?

By being accused.

That is all it takes.

A neighbour with a grudge, a friend with a whisper, an enemy wanting revenge.

No counsel, no fair trial, no proof. Just imprisonment and certain death.

Father Kramer believes women are inherently wicked, that their supposed “witchcraft” spreads like a disease.

He stands before the execution platform like a man unhinged, coaxing ordinary people into something feral while insisting it’s all in the name of protection.

No woman or child is safe.

Main character Helena learns of her best friend Anne’s death — and of Anne’s six-year-old daughter — and she is outraged.

She calls Kramer out for what he is: a murderer of innocents. A disgusting and feral human being.

But showing grief or anger toward the killings puts a target on your back, and soon Helena becomes the accused.

She’s arrested alongside six other innocent women — two of whom are pregnant.

Helena refuses to let her life — or the life of her unborn child — be taken because of lies.

Her only path to survival? To become the very thing she’s accused of.

A witch!

The witch hunts don’t just kill women; they destroy families and entire communities.

Without a mother, children starve.

Husbands flee out of shame. Towns turn against the families left behind.

It was a death sentence for thousands — a misogynistic genocide.

Father Kramer later writes Malleus Maleficarum in 1486, one of the most infamous witch-hunting texts in history. Scholars describe it as dripping with sexual terror and an obsessive hatred of women.

It is distributed through churches all over Europe.

Malleus Maleficarum went on to influence the murder of more than 60,000 women over the next 200 years.

I won't discuss any more! You must read it for yourself.

There’s a major scene in this book that made my legs shiver all the way to my toes. C.J. Cooke can build suspense like no other — pages and pages of it!

If you love stories about strong, independent women, (and witches) you’ll eat this one up.

I’m going to need more bookshelves…

Until next time,
Sheila