The Lighthouse Witches

July 23, 2021

In the year 1998, single mother Liv, seeking a fresh start, transports her three daughters from York to the Scottish island of L�n Haven. In the year 2021, her daughter Luna is 32 and living with the agony of unanswered questions about the disappearance of her family so many years ago. She's elated to discover her sister Clover, but the mood quickly turns to confused horror when their reunion reveals Clover to somehow still be seven years old, just as she was when she disappeared more than 20 years ago. Cooke's (The Nesting; I Know My Name) novel includes changes in viewpoint and time period that might at times give readers whiplash, but the compelling and increasingly emotional mystery of Luna's family keeps the story moving forward. The revelation of the island's dark history (involving witches, suspicions, and a curse that sealed so many fates) provides a satisfying framework. VERDICT Told in alternating perspectives that jump back and forth between decades, this chilling tale weaves a web of superstition and truth that fans of Gothic horror won't want to miss.--Emily Vinci, Schaumburg Twp. Dist. Lib., IL

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 23, 2021
Cooke (The Nesting) fuses mystery with horror in this atmospheric thriller. In 1998, artist Olivia Stay and her daughters—Sapphire, 15; Luna, 10; and Clover, seven—move to Lòn Haven, a Scottish isle, after Liv is hired to paint a strange mural inside the Longing, a 100-year-old lighthouse built on the site of a prison for alleged witches. Liv scoffs at rumors regarding a curse, but then tragedy strikes. Flash forward to 2021 when all Luna remembers about living on Lòn Haven is that after her sisters went missing, Olivia abandoned Luna and vanished. Luna is elated when the Scottish police report that Clover has finally been found and taken to an Inverness hospital, but upon arriving at Clover’s bedside, Luna finds not the 29-year-old she expects, but a child for whom no time has passed. Cooke skillfully intercuts the two timelines, maximizing tension, while occasional passages from a 1662 grimoire provide history and context. Nebulous plotting abounds, but breathless pacing, evocative prose, and a hopeful denouement leave readers feeling gratified. Supernatural suspense fans will be well pleased. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary/ICM Partners.

October 1, 2021
In her deeply atmospheric new novel, Cooke weaves together multiple genres into an intriguing story about longing, lost love, and family. Widow Liv takes a commission to paint a mural on a remote lighthouse on the east coast of Scotland, where she and her three daughters, Sapphire, Luna, and Clover, can stay while she works for the mysterious Patrick. Then Sapphire, the oldest, and Clover, only seven, disappear and Liv abandons Luna in the woods. When Clover is found more than 20 years later, a now-pregnant Luna digs into the location's history and Scottish myth to uncover why her sister is still seven years old. Did the spirit of the witches imprisoned below the lighthouse turn Clover into an evil changeling? Luna's complicated relationship with her longtime boyfriend and her multiple miscarriages add a perfect counterpoint to her mother's story and that of Patrick's. Cooke does an excellent job of bringing together three time periods and multiple story lines. Readers of Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife (2003) and students of Scottish history and myth will love this read.

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