Sharon Bolton is an amazing writer. If a book has her name on it I'll devour it. This was no different and I loved it. Highly recommend.

O…..M…..G……. What the hell have I just read??? I’ve been left stunned, speechless!

Florence (not Flossie) has moved up north as a police constable at a time when a female officer was a rarity and the males on the force didn’t take such a position seriously. Female police officers were for paperwork and making brews. But Florence knows what she’s doing, she’s got gut instincts to rival the best detectives Lancashire police has to offer along with a little something extra.

I loved Florence; her tenacity to get her thoughts heard is admirable. I wanted to slap those around her to get them to listen to her and not be so dismissive. Her confidence grows throughout the book, she’s not one to ignore a clue.

The Craftsman is a book of three parts with the now the then and back to the now. Each contributing differently to the overall story but each equally shocking with its revelations! The realm of the Pendle legends intertwined with 1960s policing in the aftermath of the Moors Murders made for a dark and twisted read as a police procedural can get.

The Craftsman is my first taster of Sharon Bolton’s writing and I bloody loved it! It’s one superb book and as a stand-alone, it works perfectly but I have seen on Amazon there is a second book featuring Florence and the incarcerated Larry. I need to read this!!

A well-written thriller that had me gripped from the start. Will be looking out for this author in the future.

An Absolutely spine tingling book from Sharon Bolton. Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end! Just the right amount of creepiness. Brilliant characters and fabulous writing style that will keep you glued to the pages desperate to find out where the story takes you to next!

I raced through this, though now I come to review it I realise I can't really remember much of what happened. The structure was strange – much of it is told in flashback, meaning that readers will probably be interested in one half of the book more than the other. It was a really fun, fast-paced read though, and definitely not as outlandish and belief-stretching as some of the author's other books.

Sharon Bolton sure knows how to write a cracker of a book. I'm not sure I've ever read one of hers that I've felt was under-par. This is no exception. Brilliant plot.

I really enjoyed this book. Dark, compelling, thrilling, spooky. Sharon Bolton is an excellent writer who spins enthralling tales. Highly recommended.

I was excited about this before it came out and I have finally got around to reading it. As always, I'm so glad I did.

We follow WPC Florence Lovelady, as a murder suspect is laid to rest thirty years after being convicted for serial murders.... but did they arrest the right person? Florence goes back to her first major case to ensure that her assertions did not wrongly convict an innocent man. As we flip between current and past timelines and she uncovers more about the case, it becomes clear there is more to the case than there at first seemed.

Bolton's books are such comforting reads for me, although this one had it's moments of the uncomfortable (not one for people who don't like the idea of being trapped alive in caskets or underground). Like all of her books, it was really well written and gripping, with great characters that I'm happy to see we'll follow in later books. I fell for the red herring and almost got the eventual killer, but dismissed it. Good going, as far as I'm concerned, and I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. Typically, I also enjoyed the use of the Lancashire setting and folklore around witchcraft and gender that sets this book apart from an average procedural thriller... something Sharon Bolton's books could never be for me.

Sharon Bolton is one of my favourite authors and I’m always happy to devour her stories. After reading Alive, the short prequel to The Craftsman, I knew I was in for a good time with this one. Now I’ve finished, I’m desperate to see what the next book brings.

As always, Sharon Bolton had me hooked. I was pulled right into the story, creating theory after theory as new information was given. There were some elements I worked out, but there were plenty of details that surprised me. With lots of details to hook, I’m desperate to see what comes next in the series.

Although I adored this one, I will be honest and say I’m a wee bit uncertain about the supernatural element that was introduced. I liked that it was involved, but I would have liked a bit more from it throughout. It was always in the background, but when something large played out, I feel I wasn’t quite ready for that part of the story to be taken as far as it was – I feel more information into the supernatural world would have helped.

All in all, though, this was another winner from Sharon Bolton. It’s a rounded down four-point-five-star read, but I certainly believe the future books in the series will manage to pull a five-star rating from me.

This is like one of those old-fashioned dark and twisted horrors like you would have had in the sixties which is fine but I would've liked to see something a little bit different. Pretty good storyline though a bit predictable.

With alternating timelines between present day (1999) and thirty-years prior (1969) Bolton quickly pulled me into this macabre thriller. Our protagonist Florence Loveday and her son are attending the funeral of Larry Glassbrook. Glassbrook was the convicted serial killer responsible for heinous crimes in a case Loveday worked over thirty years ago. In 1969 as a young officer in Lancashire, she worked a missing persons case involving a thirteen-year-old girl. That cases lead to the discovery of horrible crimes that rocked the small town.

Both timelines were well-developed and held my attention. Bolton fleshed out the characters and period from Loveday following trusting her gut to the way her male counterparts treated her.
Glassbrook’s death brings back flashbacks and when Loveday discovers a small voodoo doll of herself things get interesting. Did they incarcerate the wrong man? Is someone snatching children again? Are the cases connected?

Set in Sabden, a town on the edge of Pendle Hill, Bolton wove the town’s history into her story. The elements of witchcraft, folklore and superstition created suspense, foreboding and authenticity to the story.
While the current thread built slowly, the payoff for reader and listeners alike came in the final thirty percent of the book. Gritty, gothic and unbelievably suspenseful I found myself completely enthralled. At one point I was gripping the sofa pillow so tightly my hand throbbed. I was so engrossed by the twists, danger and pulse-pounding moments I could barely breathe.

The story is dark and deeply disturbing. While this isn’t horror, there are moments and discoveries that will haunt you. Keep in mind young people were/are kidnapped and murdered. Their cause of death is disturbing and difficult for the mind to process. Even Loveday’s experiences in the past were terrifying. While Bolton didn’t go out of her way in detailing the deaths, she left little to the imagination and I often cringed at the revelations.

Strong, believable female protagonist? Tick. Witches? Tick. Page-turning drama? Tick. And lots of scares and surprises along the way too.
I love scary films and scary books but I’m not a fan of horror and cruelty for the sake of it. There needs to be a good story, compelling characters that I can really care about, and a hint of the supernatural never goes amiss either. ‘The Craftsman’ ticks all the boxes.
The story follows two timelines – Florence as a young, naïve, female police officer in the seventies, dealing with all the sexism and prejudice that goes with that. We meet her thirty years later too, at Larry Glassbrook’s funeral. Larry was a sadistic murderer, and Florence was the one who put him away. But not everything is at it seems – not then and not now.
Beautifully crafted, intelligent and exciting, ‘The Craftsman’ was an absolute pleasure to read. As someone who is a bit obsessed with the story of the Pendle witches, the references to them and their tragic story went down incredibly well, and it was all so well drawn together.
Dark, disturbing, fabulous!

An atmospheric read with a brilliant voice and face paced plot. Couldn't put it down until the mystery was solved. Perfect for those waiting for the next Chris Carter..

Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago. Like something from our worst nightmares the victims were buried...ALIVE.

Larry confessed to the crimes; it was an open and shut case. But now he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves.

Did she get it wrong all those years ago?
Or is there something much darker at play?

Sooooooooo good!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy. My first time reading Sharon Bolton and I was not disappointed. Full of chilling plotlines and very original.

I liked that the story was told from Florence's perspective and gave a real insight into what policing was like for women in the 60s, set against her perspective 30 years later as she is more established - and respected - in her career.

This combines suspense , mystery and witchcraft really effectively - and I was taken aback by the ending! If you only read one book this year - this should be it!

Oh my giddy Aunt, what an absolutely breath-taking book The Craftsman is and even though it’s been a wee while since I read it, it’s still there, inside my head and it’s a story I’m not likely to forget for a long, long time.
The story centres around Florence Lovelady, starting in 1999 where she is attending the funeral of Larry Glassbrook, the child killer she helped to capture back in 1969. The reader is then taken back to that year when Florence was just starting out in her career and finds herself involved in the case of a missing teenage girl.
Florence is a fantastic character, being the only female she gets it hard and there is a lot of sexism within her work but she really is so determined and holds her own well. No matter what is thrown at her she gives it 100% and more. She’s strong but there is a softer side to her and I really liked getting to know her, I was totally absorbed in her fight to find out the truth.
The Craftsman is an eery story, essentially it’s a police procedural but it has a very dark element and a big hint of witchcraft. The author sets the scene perfectly which has you so involved it takes a while to register afterwards that it is in fact just a story. I had goose bumps and an over whelming feeling of claustrophobia which I’ve never experienced before.
The Craftsman is a tale that will easily slip under your skin, it’s a story that had me gripped from the first page to the last, I just couldn’t put it down. It’s a spine-tingling mystery with an eery supernatural twist that is a real page turner and it has definitely been added to my favourite books list. I’m a huge fan of this author and The Craftsman is definitely another book of Sharon Bolton’s I’ll be recommending.

a great stand-alone book by a master author. Set in the beautiful English country side, with some gruesome events.

What a great story. I thoroughly enjoyed the different timelines and the build up tension was exquisite. The characters were well drawn and so believable. I read this book in nearly one day but finally had to give in to sleep at 3am last night. However the story with its various possible outcomes kept playing through my mind so much so that I read the last 50 pages before I got up this morning. A well deserved 5 stars.

Wow - what a fabulous book The Craftsman is, Sharon Bolton at her very best. A crime novel interwoven with the world of magic and superstition works so well set against the backdrop of the Pendle Hills, with its history of witch trials.

The novel opens with the funeral of the convicted serial killer Larry Glassbrook, and I defy anyone not to be a little spooked by the method of dispatch he chose to murder his teenage victims. I don't actually want to dwell on that too much because it brings me out in a bit of a sweat, so horrific is it, but thankfully the descriptions aren't overly graphic. The beauty of the area is brought to life, as is the shroud of mystery it possesses, and I got the real sense of it being written by someone who loves the area. I can't quite put my finger on why this came across, but it did to me.

Likewise the interest in the supernatural came through in droves. At first glance it is hard to see how the two threads of the story could work symbiotically, but they really do. The mystery comes alive to form a natural, established relationship with their surroundings, so that the two are given life by each other. The plot is crafted beautifully keeping me gripped and, in truth, desperate to keep reading it. On those irritating times I had to leave it, the story continued to weave its spell in my head. I will be completely honest and say I wasn't 100% satisfied with some aspects of the ending, but I did accept them as a relatively plausible outcome. My doubts about it though, in no way impacted on my enjoyment of the book which I'd be happy to read again tomorrow!

I could continue to waffle on and tell you that the characters are superb, that the book kept me guessing, that the year the story was set in added to the air of other-worldliness, but in fact there's really no need. The Craftsman is a super book - fans of Sharon Bolton will be cheering, and newcomers to her books will be in for a treat - totally recommended.

I found this book very compelling until about two-thirds of the way through, the point at which I had an inkling whodunnit (it wasn't obvious, I hasten to add, just an educated guess), but also where the silly witchcraft tosh started to weave itself into the story. As a straightforward crime thriller, this would have earned itself more stars.

A young but forward-thinking WPC, Florence Lovelady, in an era (the late sixties) when she had to prove herself to a lot of male testosterone is the driving force in finding the evil criminal who has abducted and buried three teenagers alive. Case closed…were it not for the fact that something doesn’t sit with this clever officer quite right. Thirty years later, when the culprit dies and she attends his funeral, those niggling doubts resurface and Florence, now a top-ranking member of the Met, knows that she’s got to get to the bottom of it.

All the elements of a fast-paced and gripping thriller were right there, and they all that were needed. The witchcraft nonsense spoilt it somewhat and as a result the ending was rather ridiculous, if not somewhat unbelievable.

For all that, it's a dark and suspenseful story about a very ghastly and unimaginable crime that was hard not get totally immersed in. If you like a thriller with a bit of the paranormal (witchcraft) thrown in, then this is for you. Personally, I'd have preferred it without.

The Craftsman is a dual time frame novel that takes place in Sabden, a small town in the foothills of Pendle, Lancashire. Witch Country. The Pendle Witch trials and stories are part of this book.
It takes place in 1969 when Florence, Flossie, is a young officer and in 1999 when she is Assistant Commissioner. She has returned to the area to attend the funeral of a convicted murderer who she has stayed in contact with.
Whilst there is the spookiness connected with the witches the storyline in the novel is crime fiction. In 1969, Flossie is one of the team who are trying to find three missing children. She has to put up with discrimination, suspicion and general misbehaviour from the local residents as well as from her colleagues. There are places where an outsider will never be accepted and there was little chance of Flossie ever being considered one of the team. By anybody. All of the attitudes were convincing and it was good to see that she was successful in her career.
In 1999, the storyline is more sinister. I was brought up on stories regarding the Witch trials but had never thought about how they affected the communities nearby. How the legends and history were still evident. Some I had heard before, but the novel shows the lesser known facts.
Many of the characters weren’t particularly likeable, and even though much of the treatment Flossie received was unnecessary she wasn’t an easy person to like. I did like the descriptions of the local people, I found them believable. The older ones, brought up on superstition, some who probably had families who had lived there 400 years earlier, at the time of the trials. And the younger ones who wanted to go to the cities to have a good time.