Conjuring the Witch

Each week, the reverend of the Lilin Assembly of Our Lord tells his congregation that witches live in the woods nearby. Steve and Nicole Warby take the warning as a figure of speech, at least until Nicole wanders into those trees and returns a different person. Something came back out with her, and the quiet town where they have always lived starts to change. Before long, the couple uncover buried secrets, along with the people determined to keep them hidden.

Steve must weigh his worry for Nicole's state of mind against the standing he enjoys within the church, and he is not sure whether he should act or look away. The reverend, for his part, insists that witches are in the woods and that Nicole is only the latest.

The novel is a gloomy, ghostly tale about how far those who hold authority will go to keep it, and about the wrongs we talk ourselves into excusing.