The Widow of Pale Harbor

Sophronia Carver, the title character of Hester Fox’s latest novel The Widow of Pale Harbor, has secrets. Her maid, Helen, is the only one who knows what truly happened to Sophronia’s late husband, and the mystery surrounding that event prompts the town of Pale Harbor to believe Sophronia is a witch. The arrival of the town’s new minister, Gabriel Stone, complicates the town’s relationship with Sophronia in spiritual and eerie ways.

As Gabriel comes to know Pale Harbor, and to know the Widow Carver, he becomes embroiled in a sinister and terrifying set of circumstances revolving around the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Someone in Pale Harbor is recreating Poe’s most disturbing narratives to frighten the townspeople and threaten Sophronia. As the minister, and a man with his own secrets, Gabriel Stone is called upon to root out the evil. This thrusts him into the company of Sophronia and makes them both confront the desires and truths they’ve hidden for so long.

Both sweeping and still in its captivating and beautiful descriptions of a rainy village in Maine and the goings-on of its inhabitants, The Widow of Pale Harbor is a must-read. Fans of Fox’s first novel, The Witch of Willow Hall will be thrilled with the return of this marvelous author and the dark and twisted world she’s created in her latest book.