People are so afraid that many have abandoned Fount Royal. In every corner of the town lies the shadow of Rachel Howarth. The mayor’s home offers Colonial meals, from “coarse-grained jonakin bread that tasted of burnt corn” to “toss ’em boys,” greasy roast chicken. A wasps’ nest hangs above this woman’s dining table to rid her home of mosquitoes. For example, one townswoman intends to sell locks of the accused witch’s hair as good fortune charms, and seeks to capitalize on the burning by selling cakes and pies. Customs, clothing, and beliefs are evident in every scene. McCammon brings the trembling boundary between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries alive through Matthew’s discerning eye. With his clerk, Matthew, Woodward traverses the territory between Charles Town and Fount Royal, through “a joyful day for frogs and mudhens,” but for the two travelers, “chill rain coiled chains around the soul.” So this tale of mystery and moral courage begins, crafted by the award-winning author of numerous short stories and fourteen novels, including the best-selling Gone South. Into this cauldron marches Magistrate Woodward, a true judge, a fair and honest man. The year is 1699, and settlements on the edge of the wilderness teeter between civilization and savagery. In Colonial South Carolina, the settlement of Fount Royal awaits the arrival of a magistrate from Charles Town who will decide the fate of an accused witch, Rachel Howarth.

Speaks the nightbird series