Familiar Spirits

Joan & Matthew Stock #3

by Leonard Tourney

Three innocents stand accused of sorcery and soon no one is safe…

The town of Chelmsford was going mad with the frenzy of witch hunting. Neighbors accused one another with no cause, hysterical at the sudden death of a townsman and sightings of an apparition of a dead young woman. But Constable Matthew Stock would have none of it. Sensible, down to earth, and aided by the quiet intelligence of his good wife Joan, he doubted the accusers, but was helpless to save the accused. As the village became inflamed with terror, Matthew cleverly began to piece together a deceptively simple tale of innocence and guilt, heaven and hell, to reveal the long-hidden secrets behind the strange bewitchings…

(Publisher’s description)

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, British Literature, Fiction

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Leonard Tourney came to BYU in 2006 after teaching at Western Illinois University, the University of Tulsa, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. A specialist in composition pedagogy and creative writing, Professor Tourney has authored scholarly articles in l7th century British literature, a critical biography of Joseph Hall, short fiction, and nine historical novels, the most recent a fictional memoir of William Shakespeare.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1602 Chelmsford. 15 year old Ursula Tusser is hanged as she has been found guilty of being a witch. Soon suspicion of witchcraft are raised against other females. Constable Matthew Stock attempts to find the reasons behind them.
An enjoyable historical mystery though not a great fan of witches stories.

[Haydn Pope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good novel

Always enjoy the novel's of Mr Turney, but this one was quite exceptional in its plot, and the number of venues that action took place. And after all Matthew caught a cold!

[William N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad

An excellent book in almost every way. Too bad it was so sad. But, that was the point of the story. It is amazing how much people can lie to themselves.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good engrossing historical mystery set in Chelmsford in the latter half of the 16th Century when religion and fear governed people's lives and drove superstition and hysteria. This book follows Matthew Stock as he is tasked with solving the mystery behind the supposed sighting of a young woman hung as a witch based on the usual heresay and gossip. Things quickly descend into mass hysteria and the entire village is sucked in to a cycle of accusation and mob mentality leading to the somewhat unfair and biased trial of 3 innocent women on charges of witchcraft (so called I didn't live then, I would not have avoided the noose!). Tourney's knowledge of the era comes through and really shows how the witchcraft accusations spiralled, driven by fear, gossip and the mob with men of power driving it for their own gains in power and prestige. While I did like the characters and felt they were realistic and developed well, I did find the story dragged a little in places, particularly to the middle and become a little repetitive as Matthew wrestles with his own conscious. But as the story gets to the nitty gritty of the trial and the secrets that are ultimately revealed, the story takes over brilliantly, so much so you don't want to put it down until the truth came out. This is cretainly a series I'll look out for in the future.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining setting, and subject matter both weighty and my preferred sort. But I spent the whole book exclaiming over how stupid everyone was!!! The stupid, it burrrrnnnnssss!

And the writing style lacked... something. It was very straightforward. "He did x, and thought the obvious things about y."

Also, the plot "twist" was too obvious, and I saw it coming from the time they introduced the merest hint of it, in the beginning, and expected you to forget about that particular incident. Meh.

At least it didn't take up too much of my time. Read it in a day.

[Cherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Author is a friend of mine, so it made this book such an interesting read for me on that level. I really am not a huge lover of mysteries (sorry its true) that is one of the least favorite genre's for me, but I read one every October regardless because it is important to stay balanced and some of my favorite people are hard core mystery readers so I must keep up. I felt this book was fascinating because it covered an interesting time of witch hunts and superstition. I enjoyed it and I think that says something for an non mystery type person like myself to have enjoyed it.

[Yi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The beginning was interesting with witch-hunt and such. Then the old English tone becomes increasingly irritating. (Who could enjoy a book when you have no idea what the heck the characters are talking about?) Come the middle, and it was all anti-climax. I felt like I was reading a history book or something. Not really cool.

[Mina Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting & disturbing read. More than the witches and spirits, what scared me was the gradual build up of mass hysteria and panic in the small village. I thought the author did a great job of showing how some people can take advantage of a situation to persecute people they don't like. I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to see how it'd all end.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Matthew and Joan Stock solve the mystery in Chelmsford !! This time, the murder involves 2 alleged witches. Thanks, Mr. Tourney, for another great story.