The Witches' Hammer

By: Jane Stanton Hitchcock

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

A respected surgeon and rare book collector is brutally murdered in his elegant Manhattan home, just hours after showing a book dealer the fifteenth-century manual of black magic - a grimoire - he'd received from a grateful patient. Now the healer's blood is everywhere - and only the priceless grimoire is missing.

The horrific death of her beloved father has shattered Beatrice O'Connell's quiet, sane, and orderly world. Only by tracking down the vanished malevolent tome - with its dark spell and salacious illustrations - can she hope to put things right. But the search is leading Beatrice, her ex-husband, and a mysterious occultist into an expanding labyrinth of powerful evils, a tangled web that reaches as far as the Vatican itself. What coveted secrets are hidden in the missing volume that threaten to turn Beatrice into precisely what her unseen and unrelenting enemies are determined to destroy?

©2013 Jane Stanton Hitchcock (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The main character is ditzy

She goes against her instincts repeatedly. The begging and pleading with people she does throughout the story is so off-putting. She reminds me of a child. The story itself was reminiscent of a Dan Brown novel.

Enjoyed more than I thought I would

JSH is one of my favorite authors.
Anxiously awaiting a new book.
is there any planned?

Dramatically different and disturbing...

Would you listen to The Witches' Hammer again? Why?

No. It was quite lengthy with a lot of detail that could have been eliminated to make the story more compact and stronger.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Cut out some of the extra sub-plots.

What about Carrington MacDuffie’s performance did you like?

Her narration made it easy to follow each character. She changed her voice just enough to make it easy to recognize each person.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was uncomfortable with the part when Count Borzami forced Beatrice to perform a sexual act before he would give her information. This act didn't seem like a realistic one for Beatrice's character.

Any additional comments?

The story was definitely different.

A must read book!

I absolutely enjoyed this book. I have listened now to all of Jane Stanton Hitchcock books and loved every one of them. I wish she wrote more! The Witches’ Hammer is one of the most engaging, a real page turner. It has a very interesting, fast moving plot. I love the way author writes, enjoy the language.

Shockingly horrible.

I’ve read and enjoyed all books by this author - this was the last. The other books were very enjoyable. This book was a difficult listen. The narrator was irritating, and the story was very gross and evil.

Hard Pass

I read her "Joe Slater" books first. Which I thought were incredibly good. This one reminds me of an author friend of mine who had me swear never read her first book. She was just beginning and apparently not the writer she would become. Hickcock should bury this one. It's like it's not written by the same author. Just start with Joe Slater, then back track.

Painful

The narrator is awful so let’s start there. Painful to listen to. Kept hoping it would get better but never did. And I really like Hitchcock overall.