There’s a note to readers in the front of this novel which provides a bit of context for what comes next. Or a warning perhaps…. if you’re like me. I’m not a fan of fantasy or the supernatural, so I worried a little about Sharon Bolton’s mention of her fascination with the (long-past) ‘branding’ of witches (and anyone who didn’t quite fit in) in her native Pendle Forrest in Lancashire, and the role it played in inspiring this novel.