When Tanz and her mother start having dark dreams about witch burnings, she returns to her hometown of Newcastle to find out more. She soon uncovers the towns shame: centuries before, a psychopath worked as a Witch Finder to torture women and host a mass hanging, and the town had tried to cover it up. But why is this coming to light now? And what is Tanz and her mother’s connection to the past? 

This is the fifth book in the Accidental Medium series, and according to some sources, may be the final installment. Tracy Whitwell has written some other books before this one, I think from the covers, what we used to call chick lit or romance, and she’s also worked as actress in the film industry in the UK. If this is the last book in the series, I’d love to read more of her books. This one opens with some recap to set up the reader and we have some entry into the more woo woo elements of the series, as the lead character has some energy healing done. Which leads me to the point that I think that if you haven’t read others in the series, you might not want to start with this one. This book doesn’t work well as a standalone.

Each of these books so far have taken Tanz to a different historical site, where a dark slice of history has taken place, and our heroine explores that story and also comes into contact with a modern person who either needs help or needs to be stopped, giving us our mystery solving element. Along the way, she often has a love interest and a cast of likeable friends who join her. The history elements are so good, because they’re all real places and events, and the author draws them for us so well, creating atmosphere and poignant character backstories. It’s made for a really entertaining series so far, especially when you add in all the psychic medium/detective stuff too.

I’ve always liked Tanz, who has a sunny outlook and seems to draw people to her. She’s funny and kind and a bit messy, and she’s almost stumbled into developing her magical, psychic powers. She drinks and she swears a lot. I like her. At this point, though, with everything that’s happened, she’s no longer a woman who’s developing her skills, now she is a Chosen One character, who communes with fairies and it’s all leaned strongly into the most New Age vibes possible. It’s just a bit more out there. But she still drinks a lot and swears a lot.

So, has this book series jumped the shark? I did feel like this one felt more airy and less focused than some of the previous books, if I’m being honest with myself. There were a few moments of recapping things that had just happened, or going over the plot points that we were unlikely to have forgotten. It’s perhaps not the strongest book in the series. And yet, I had a really good time. Tanz is just a lot of fun to spend time with for me and I enjoyed the story. Her friend Sheila, who is a little older, and tough, kind and is a sort of mentor for Tanz, is along for the ride, and I really like her. The choice of the almost forgotten witch trials of Newcastle made for fascinating reading. And I liked that the book explored the idea that during witch trials, people are not an amorphous mob, necessarily, but often people who know the trials are fake but can’t take action to stop them. Whitwell is able to grapple with nuance, and I like that. (If you’re not interested in reading this book, definitely look up these particular witch trials, the story about what happened is fascinating history)

I think this series may not be for everyone. It’s often funny, quippy and romantic, but it’s also got dark events from history, murder and crime, and some people might not like the New Age, angels and fairies vibe. But I love a witchy story and a mystery, and this book series has that. I still like spending time with Tanz and her friends, and I was drawn into the mystery and the history in this story. I hope that there will be more in this series.

Read It If: this one is better if you’ve read the others in the series, and if you have, get your hands on this latest installment. If you like spooky, witchy stories about murder and dark history, then I recommend this series as a whole.

With thanks to PGC Books for the copy of this book for review.