The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’ve wanted to read more about the Salem Witch trials and history of the American witch hysteria in general. This historical fiction was about Goody Maggie Jones, a REAL person. She is truly not much more than a footnote in history, but Catalano did a good job of filling in her backstory and subsequent trial and execution.
Seeing the first half of the book through the eyes of her husband, Goodman Jones, and the second half through her eyes, was a great way to introduce the story. I usually don’t enjoy books where the narrator changes but presented this way it worked and didn’t drive me insane trying to remember which voice I was reading each chapter.
Catalano incorporated real and fictional characters throughout the entire story, and my biggest pet peeve was that the first half did a great job leading up to Maggie’s arrest and trial, but the loose ends just seemed to be quickly tied up, and the story finished without any real sense of finality. The Widow Hallett’s storyline for instance…it was too neat, tidy, and quick after all of the tension coming from her in the first half.
I will say that Maggie’s “great sin” I wasn’t truly expecting, although it did not come as a complete shock when her husband found out.



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