A supernatural tale of witchcraft and witches. Full of twists and turns, this is a wonderful historical story. Whilst slow in places, I was still captivated and found it a worthwhile read.

The Leviathan is gripping. atmospeheric and chilling and had me hooked. Rosie Andrews writing is lovely, you feel the tension and feelings of her characters and also of the time she is writing about.

I was given a copy of The Leviathon by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

We meet Thomas Treadwater in 1643, on his way home from war, injured and having received an unsettling letter from his sister Esther that all is not well in their family home. Esther expresses concerns for their father, whom she states has fallen under the spell of their new servant, Chrissa. While Thomas doesn’t believe in malevolent forces, he arrives home to find the sheep dead, his father close to death, and his servants being questioned by the local witchfinder.

While I expected this to be another tale of ignorance and jealously leading to an accusation of sorcery, this is actually a somewhat different take on this period of history. The story is set across two timelines, that of Thomas arriving home and the events that immediately follow, and that of Thomas as a much older man towards the end of his life. While the latter didn’t add a huge amount to the overall story, it didn’t detract from the solid storytelling, which contains great characters and a lot of historical details. The author is great at steadily building a sense of unease, so that our own scepticism is challenged along with Thomas’, and overall this is an enjoyable, tense, and thrilling supernatural tale.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

A tale about witches, and witchcraft, and evil spirits, and mystical beings, and foudlings, and belief, and religion...
An interesting read, not really my kind of book though

In 1643 Thomas Treadwater returns to his childhood home in rural Norfolk, called by his sister’s letter. There, he finds his father on his sick bed, the servants accused of witchcraft and a witchfinder ready to interrogate his sister. But something is wrong, people die, and Thomas is left with the knowledge that will upturn everything he believes. However, “The Leviathan” is not just a book about a witch hunt. The tone of the book is sinister and eerie as the author delves into a mystery surrounding some dark secrets in the character’s past. It merges superstition and intellectual thinking, rational and the unknown, as the tension rises and something dangerous and dark lurks in the background. It is a perfect story for grey, rainy days, when you just want to read something atmospheric and spooky.

serving gothic realness! it's creepy, it's political, it's provocative. i think the timeline split could have been done better, but still, effective.

This is a brilliant historical mystery, full of riveting twists and turns, set against the back drop of the Civil War in England. I can well see why it would appeal to fans of the Essex Serpent – there’s a similar luminosity to the prose and more than a hint of the supernatural. A thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable read.

Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing through England, leaving nothing but misery, loss and the heady scent of death in its wake, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater finds himself being summoned back by his sister who appears to have cast the shadow of doubt and accusation between their very own widowed father and the new maid, which seems to imply the most improper and disgusting of behaviours. But when Thomas returns to his family home, he finds his father has become a husk of himself after suffering a rather severe stroke and the new maid is sent to prison to face staggering charges of being involved in the most unholy of acts most recognisable to those studying witchcraft.

I did find it slow-paced in parts and it is indeed spellbinding, I often found myself utterly enthralled but not throughout the entire story. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

This book kept me coming back for more, the characters and storyline were such that the reader wants to know what is going to happen. I felt that the last third of the book were a little weaker and harder to accept, but the fact that I was still so eager to read on, makes me award give it five starts not four. The descriptions of the civil war and life at the time were excellent as were the depictions of the the many characters. It gives one the sense tumbling toward an inescapable conclusion through desperate circumstances as Thomas Treadwater is drawn deeper and deeper into the mire of the situation. An ideal story to read through this recent stormy weather!

The story:
The year is 1643, and Thomas Treadwater has been sent away in disgrace as a final chance to prove himself; fighting for the Parliamentarians against the armies of Charles I. When he receives an urgent plea from his sister Esther to return home to their family farm, he takes her accusations of witchcraft against a young servant as simple jealousy. But what he finds on his return is far more complex and terrifying…

His father is rendered helpless by a sudden apoplexy, their livestock is brutally killed, and the serving girl Chrissa Moore is taken up by the witchfinder. Is there really witchcraft at play? And why does Thomas’ father have a document detailing a wreck off the coast of Denmark 15 years before? Thomas must face up to his responsibilities, if he is to find the answers before it’s too late…

My thoughts:
This debut novel from Rosie Andrews is wonderfully captivating and intriguing from the outset. Events shift between the events of 1643 and sixty years later with Thomas as an old man, which brilliantly builds up the mystery around the events he finds on his return from the army.

Returning home at the behest of his sister, Thomas is an absolute skeptic, and is certain all he will find is a young girl’s jealousy for a pretty servant. It soon becomes clear that Thomas has been something of a letdown to his father; a father he both disagrees with but also desperately wants approval from. To find himself thrust into so much responsibility on his return is the last thing Thomas wants, but as we follow the tale it is great to see him grow and learn from his past.

The plot itself is a wonderful gothic mystery, with terrifying twists and turns along the way. The two women of the story — Thomas’ young sister Esther and the servant Chrissa Moore — at first seem polar opposites; one good and pure, one accused of immoral behaviour and even witchcraft. But each is far more complicated than they first seem, and Thomas’ sense of duty to them both is the driving force for his actions, even when pushed far beyond what he thinks is possible.

I found this a hugely enjoyable read, which I would recommend to fans of literary gothic and historical fiction, such as Diane Setterfield’s “Once Upon a River”.

A strange, compelling and unexpected book, The Leviathan begins as a tense and spooky witchfinding drama, in which Thomas Treadwater (an extremely apt name) must spin several plates. Thomas was wounded as a reluctant participant in the civil war, and even as he returns home to find his father sick and the family farm on its uppers, he has to deal with his sister Esther accusing their new servant of witchcraft, a circumstance he views with extreme scepticism - and which carries with it its own delicate social conundrums to solve. The escalations come thick and fast, as the accused witch claims she is pregnant with a Treadwater baby, and two other women are arrested. Still, Thomas finds time to deal with a marriage proposal to Esther, and secure his own release from the army...

But from there things take an unexpected turn. The book flits between Thomas in the present of the 1600s and Thomas 60 years later, eking out a life on an isolated freehold and with a terrible secret hiding in the attic. The Leviathan really lives up to its name, introducing some very large thoughts. Battles for the human soul. Thomas loses and finds religion. He grapples with destiny. Rosie Andrews has a light touch, sparing details where they're not necessary, but inserting them just where the knife needs a twist or a character need to be drawn out. I was surprised by where The Leviathan went, but it was a very worthwhile and thought-provoking journey.

This story is predominantly centred around Norfolk in 1643 during the time of the English Civil War. Soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned back home by his sister who believes her father is being seduced by his maid.
On his return, he finds his father gravely altered and the maid in prison accused of witchcraft.
Thomas's investigations take him back to the past to uncover the truth behind the rumours..
The story is supremely gothic and seriously creepy. It starts quite slowly but gains momentum which will keep you reading with plenty of lights on until the end.

This is such a hard review to write. I liked the start of the bookand the witchcraft theme. I liked the character Thomas too but I did not enjoy the god elements and felt at times I was quite confused with what was happening and then other parts it felt like nothing was happening at all.

Sadly I didn't love it but didn't hate it either so going for 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a supernatural tale overflowing with atmosphere and detail which places the reader at its heart. It's dual narrative shows the main character Thomas Treadwater as a young man who has returned home after his sister begs him to do so, we are told this tale by a much older Thomas 60 years later. It is set in Norfolk in 1643 when there is great turmoil in England with the king's authority being challenged by parliament, Treadwater has been sickened by what he has witnessed in battle. His sister Esther writes begging him to return home as a servant has been arrested, witchcraft is suspected, Thomas finds himself investigating a much deeper and dangerous mystery. Thanks to netgalley and Bloomsbury for an early copy.

This book has some really great reviews but unfortunately, I’ve decided to abandon it at about 40% of the way through. It has taken me quite a while to get to this point and I am just not excited about picking it up. Not an awful lot has happened really and I’ve wondered whether to keep going but I’ve also read some reviews that back up how I’m feeling. It’s a shame as I really wanted to like it, I mean look at the beautiful cover for a start, but it’s just not grabbed me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Bit of a slow burner but in the end, this was a very interesting read which kept me guessing all throughout. It’s beautifully written and the author really managed to create a super atmospheric setting mixing folklore and gothic elements. Bravo!

Thomas Treadaway is a reluctant soldier for Parliament in the Civil War. Injured he returns home to find the family sheep dead, his father insensible and only his sister in the house. This is 1643 and accusations of witchcraft fly around the town, especially when two of the family servants die from poisoning in a locked jail cell. However on the death of his father Thomas realises that the danger is closer to him and linked to events that took place at sea.
This is a complex and clever book. For the first half it seems to be another novel about witchcraft during the 17th century, an odd romance and a set of family travails. In the second half though it changes massively and takes a supernatural twist with a mild horror element. Generally I really liked it and the author has great potential.

This is a strange and thought provoking book. There are very dark themes and disturbing episodes along the way. At times I was tempted to put the book to one side and at others I could not wait to see what happened next. The story is obviously taken from many different sources and woven together by a very clever author. I would recommend that readers give it a try.

I have had a really hard time writing this review because, although it was quite an easy read and I did finish it, the book's raison d'etre I found hard to decide on. My apologies for not expanding this further but I dislike spoilers and so feel that all I can say is that there were lots of interesting snippets which, sadly, failed to develop into a whole.

I just don’t know where to start with this review. It has amazed and frustrated me in equal amounts, and I can only say, that the story at the beginning, is not the same as at the conclusion. Strange and weirdness combined , I had a headache at the end trying to work out, just what the author was trying to describe.
Thomas Treadwell is away from his home in Norfolk, fighting in the English Civil War. He returns to the family farm for a brief visit, and finds his crops are almost dead in the fields, his cattle are sick and dying, and his father has suffered a stroke and is lying insensible in his bed. His sister, Ester, tells him that a newly arrived servant girl has used the power of witchcraft to bewitch the father and has caused all the misfortunes on the farm.
Witchcraft was a dangerous subject to discuss in the 1700’s, women were burnt at the stake, and those associated with being in their presence were considered to be in league with them. The witch finder is called in to get to the truth of these accusations…………………………………and then things became weird and I got rather confused. We had a woman in a drugged sleep, who was now awake, and who may or may not have been
psychologically disturbed and made up stories about witches, John Milton was mentioned, and The Leviathan, a mythical Sea Serpent made an appearance.
The parts of the story I understood were very good, the battles, and general campaign details were excellent. I couldn’t always work out, in which direction this story was going. The biblical references of the Leviathan and Ester possibly being possessed, and being kept sedated for her own good, it puzzled me. Kill or cure seemed to be the answer, but that didn’t really happen, or perhaps it did, the ending was perplexing.
This novel is set in Norfolk, which is where I live. When some event puzzles us locals, we always say’ Normal for Norfolk ‘, and that sums up this book perfectly. It’s strange, but under some circumstances, makes perfect sense. The historical detail is good, the rest is mysterious and probably defies belief .
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Bloomsbury, for my digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion and review.
I have rated this as a three star read. I will leave a review to Goodreads and Amazon.