The Witching Tide

East Anglia, 1645. In the seaside village of Cleftwater, Martha Hallybread has spent more than forty years keeping others alive. A midwife, healer, and servant, she knows the secrets of every household, but since losing her voice as a child, she has learned to survive by saying nothing at all.

Then the Witchfinder comes to town.

Silas Makepeace has already left a trail of fear and destruction along the coast. Within days of his arrival, women are being dragged from their homes and accused of witchcraft. Martha is ordered to examine the accused for the marks of the Devil, forcing her into the heart of a hunt she can neither stop nor safely escape.

As suspicion closes in around her, Martha faces an impossible choice: protect herself by helping condemn the women of Cleftwater, or risk everything to shield them. Desperate for protection, she turns to an old wax doll that once belonged to her mother—a forgotten object of witching that may possess powers of its own.

But Martha has secrets she has spent a lifetime keeping buried. And the more she calls upon the doll, the less certain she becomes of what it wants from her.

With the witchfinder closing in and the gallows waiting, Martha must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice to survive, and whether silence can protect her when the whole village is being forced to speak.