The Hammer of Witches

The body of former astronaut Eloise Birch is found hanged at Smithfield Market. Detective Inspector Nikki McDonald links the murder to another, that of feminist artist Tilly Webster. The crimes suggest the killer is obsessed with witchcraft and Nikki calls on the expertise of outspoken historian Anna Carr. Nikkis somewhat dysfunctional team is completed by cynical Sergeant, Dave Finch, and ultra-keen DC, Chloe Wong. Anna confirms the perpetrators knowledge of witches as well as links with Biblical misogyny. Then the first communique arrives. The killer gives himself the alias Master Illusionist, an anagram of Malleus Institoris the title and author of the most infamous of all witchcraft books the Malleus Maleficarum, usually translated as the Hammer of Witches. Anna begins to piece together the killers motives and next moves, as he targets more prominent women and then Anna herself. Combining a compelling plot with themes exploring the Early Modern witch trials and the current incel and misogynist movements, The Hammer of Witches is a gripping psychological thriller with a protagonist forged in the cauldron of todays cultural politics.