A Taste of Witchcraft

Sir Robert Carey #10

by Patricia Finney

1593: Sir Robert Carey has received a desperate cry for help from Lady Elizabeth Widdrington - in the form of half of her handfasting ring. Carey doesn't know for certain what is happening at Widdrington Castle. All he's sure of is that Elizabeth is in danger of her life.What he wants to do is call out all the fighters he knows and go and deal finally with Sir Henry Widdrington, Elizabeth's abusive husband.Yet he also knows that charging in mob-handed will probably end in the imprisoned Elizabeth's death by hanging. He needs guile and cunning, not swordplay and a rush of blood to the brain.What he doesn't yet understand is that Elizabeth is tangled in another dangerous conspiracy against the King of Scots' life. Worse still, she is accused of witchcraft by her own husband, Lord Spynie and a professional witch-finder.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

398 pages, Paperback

Published March 26, 2024

About the author

AKA P.F. Chisholm and Grace Cavendish

Patricia Finney's career started with a bang when her first novel A SHADOW OF GULLS was published before she went up to Oxford aged 18 to study History, back in the mists of time, when dinosaurs roamed.
Having found out early what she could do, she has kept doing it. To date she has (mainstream) published:
the Sir Robert Carey Elizabethan crime novels under the pen name PF Chisholm - eight of them so far;
three Elizabethan spy novels as Patricia Finney;
two Elizabethan noir novels as Patricia Finney;
one contemporary romantic thriller - LUCKY WOMAN - under Finney;
three children's books about Jack the daffy Labrador in Doglish (Finney) and various odds and sods including the sequel to GULLS and WRITERITIS, about how to write a novel.
You can find most of her work on http://www.climbingtreebooks.com except for the Sir Robert Carey (PF Chisholm) novels which are published by Poisoned Pen Press (USA) and Head of Zeus (UK).
Her dayjob career has been... complex. At the moment she is living in Hungary and learning Hungarian and writing a non-fiction book about her mother's adventures as a child in wartime Hungary. She is really enjoying not doing a dayjob at the moment.
Go to my website, read my blogs and reviews and sign up for my email newsletter - at http://www.patriciafinney.com

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tenth book in this great series is a beauty. Note that it is published under the author's real name of Patricia Finney but the previous nine books are under her pen name of P.F. Chisholm.

After so many books the main characters are like old friends so when Lady Elizabeth is accused of witchery by her loathsome husband what happens next is awful. Thank goodness she has friends who try to save her. Carey of course attempts to come to her rescue but with so much against him will he get there before it is too late?

This has been a really enjoyable series and one that is historically correct. Sir Robert Carey is a well-rounded main character, complete with flaws as well as many virtues. He is certainly very likable and it has been fun to follow his life so far. It seems this may be his last book. If so then it ends at a good point but there is still room for more if we are lucky!

[Gail Hourigan]

This is an exciting historical novel, which I found hard to put down. I love this series. This is the 10th book in the series, which starts with A Famine of Horses. I highly recommend reading the whole series. It's full of chivalry, romance and the politics at royal courts, all grounded in period detail that is clear and unfussy and creates the novel's world clearly and fully. Beautifully written with no anachronisms. Rich in loyalty, passion, and adventure. I'd just continue with endless superlatives, so I recommend reading the first 9 Sir Robert Carey novels and then enjoy A Taste of Witchcraft.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather different, more intense and horrifying instalment in the series as Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft by her wretched husband and the scheming Lord Spymie and an even schemier witchfinder. It's brutal, all the more so for Carey's enforced dithering while she endures torments as he tries to marshall forces to rescue her and come up with a plan that won't see them both hung, but also behaving quite unheroically - Finney has never been starry-eyed about the nature of her main protagonist, though there's no doubt he is doing his best for his one true love. There is a mystery element there - what are Spymie and the witchfinder's ulterior motives for this? But it's mostly an agonisingly suspenseful thriller following Elizabeth's ordeal and the struggles of various allies to come to her aid. The pov is divided out amongst quite a few characters, something I've always liked about these books since Finney's gifts for characterisation are formidable. Still a severely under-rated series, Finney's determination to keep it going is laudable.

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I'm absolutely thrilled that Patricia Finney is still writing these books, but I'm unfortunately less than impressed with this instalment in the Carey series.
If you've read the previous books as traditionally published physical novels this is a rude awakening to the importance of an editor, even or especially, for independent or self-published work.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed A Taste of Witchcraft! I'm looking forward to reading some of Patricia Finney's other work, and of course any other Carey books that might come about! However, this one could have done with an editor to catch not only formatting mistakes and glaring inconsistencies with names, but to suggest streamlining parts of the story as well.
As always Finney's work is very well researched and entirely compelling, but I'd recommend reading this with the mentality of reading an ARC rather than a finished book.

[Karl E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful novel set in Elizabethan England, continuing the Sir Robert Carey series. It's full of adventure, chivalry, romance and humour. It's hard to put down this tale of Sir Robert coming to the rescue of his true love, as she has been imprisoned by her despicable husband. The story has diverse and interesting characters, including the brave and smart children who play a crucial part, and Carey's henchmen, loyal to a fault. I am looking forward to re-reading the whole series again.

[Dan Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Carey Novel

It’s been ages, but it only took a few pages to renew acquaintance with Sir Robert, Lady Elizabeth, Sergeant Dodd, Young Hutchin, and all the wonderful characters, both old and new, in Patricia Finney’s wonderful Carey novels.

As always, the story was exciting and a “can’t put it down” read. Ms. Finney, please let the next installment come sooner!!

[Steve Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy entry in the Robert Carey series! Highly recommended!

[MB (What she read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, that was intense. Had to read it in one sitting. So scary! Poor Elizabeth. Lots of very strong female characters here. Kudos.