Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this eCopy to review

I thoroughly enjoyed The Village Healer's Book of Cures. The characters were wonderful and I really felt for Mary I wanted her to survive, solve the murder, and have a proper relationship with Robert!

The way the witch finder Matthew Hopkins stirs up fear and divisions among villagers is masterful and creates a real sense of unease, about who can be trusted.

I found the ending a little far-fetched as it was not alluded to anywhere in the preceding novel, other than that this was a gripping read

The Village Healers book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts

Being a herbalist around the 1640s often resulted in being accused of witchcraft and inevitable death .
Mary Fawcett is a healer in an Essex village ( actually close to where I live ) and she is often asked by the villagers to help with their latest ailments .

Along comes General Matthew Hopkins from Manningtree who wants to rid the area of women who are perceived of using the evil arts of witchcraft.
I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and the way some real historical facts were used.I

Having said all that and looking up the author and seeing she is American , it is an oversight of hers and any proof readers or publishers to not know that England / Essex etc has never had any Hummingbirds that have been described at the beginning of chapter 2 ..

This novel delivers a sense of historical accuracy which is very appealing. The story explores how an intelligent woman could be an object of suspicion for that very reason to certain kinds of men, and how much quick thinking was required to avoid being successfully targeted.

Mary Fawcett is a healer in 17th century England, and spends her time refining her family formulas and ministering to the needs of community members with various ailments. While the people around her appreciate her for this, that is not the case when notorious witch finder Matthew Hopkins shows up in their locality.

On the look out for witchcraft, Hopkins is immediately hostile to Mary. So, when the dead body of one of her patients shows up with strange markings on it, Hopkins points the finger at Mary. Very soon Mary has few allies left, and turns to the one person offering the dubious possibility of helping her discover the truth behind the other man's death.

The pacing in the story is a little uneven, and the two halves of the book do not quite work in the same way. But Mary is a very engaging character, and this is an interesting read. I give it 3.5 stars.

Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins arrives in Mary Fawcett’s village to vilify and punish women who do not fit his mold of godliness. Mary, is a healer, just as her mother and grandmother were before her. She uses her knowledge of local plants to help cure her fellow villagers, but Hopkins translates that knowledge into something evil. When one of Mary’s patients is murdered, and strange symbols are carved into his skin, Hopkins has all the ammunition he needs to destroy Mary and her family. She must turn to a stranger, an alchemist, who may hold the truth about what those strange symbols really meant. Stories like this seem all too relevant in these days when women’s rights are being eroded and political fanaticism is on the rise

The Village Healer's Book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts is a wonderful debut.
The characters were so realistic and the settings was so compelling.
The story line was so interesting and very intriguing
A very well written historical fiction story. That has mystery and intrigue.
I was fascinated by this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I loved the elements of darkness and mystery in this book. It really kept me hooked and wanting to find out more. I'd definitely recommend it.

This is the story of Mary Fawcett, a woman gifted with the power of healing, who lives in a small English village in the 17th century. If you're like me, you know what the means. It was a fearful, dreadful time to be a woman alone, set apart, different. All it took was one angry neighbor to point a finger, and the dominoes would fall, and you could be tried for witchcraft.
This is the time Mary lives in, a widow, raising her little brother. Life is good, or as satisfying as it could be, until a terrible man shows up with evil in his eyes. A murdered rich man is dead. She seems to be a suspect, as well as her dearest friend Agnes, another wise woman.
Robert Sudbury seems to be looking out for her. He is a strange man who practices alchemy, something that seemed like witchcraft at the time. He is a scarred man, full of secrets.
Their is something strange happening in their town that seems way more sinister and evil than even the witchfinder and Mary and Robert must work together to solve the mystery that surrounds the dead body, strange symbols, dead animals and a slew of other oddities.
It's interesting, well written, and kept me engaged and invested obsessively in the outcome. So much so, I read it in a few hours. I would recommend it thoroughly!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of the debut novel The Village Healer’s Book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts. Here is my honest review:
This is the perfect book for fans of Beth Underdown’s The Witchfinder’s Sister and Joanne Burn’s The Hemlock Cure. Roberts clear style, engaging prose, and page-turning plot makes experiencing life in a 17th century provincial village totally approachable. The inclusion, via epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, is especially engaging. These bizarre and sometimes morbid “recipes” pretty much say it all about the susceptibility of folk to the influence of a witchfinder’s vindictive agenda. Roberts takes real facts, including the existence of the very same “witchfinder” from this book and The Witchfinder’s Sister, and rolls it into a great, inventive story.
Although not similar in content, I think the book’s tone and main character, Mary, will appeal to readers who loved Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry, with a very modern (as in 21st century) minded woman surrounded, for the most part, by archaic inclined individuals.
Four stars simply because I’m very tough to please.