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The Ward Witch

Unholy Island, Book 1

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Mysterious, magical, and a little bit deadly. Welcome to Unholy Island.

Esme Gray runs the guest house and tends to the ethereal wards that protect the island. She’s sheltering from a terrible past and will do anything to stay safely hidden.

Luke Taylor has been searching for his missing twin for months, but has begun to believe that his brother might be dead. With his hope in tatters, a tip off leads him to a remote tidal island in the North Sea. It’s further out than the famous Holy Island, and far stranger.

Visitors shouldn’t be able to stay for more than two nights, so when Luke breaks this rule, the close-knit community is sent into turmoil. The residents of Unholy Island have secrets and they intend to keep them.

When Luke stumbles across one of the islanders dead on the shore, he finds himself under suspicion, made worse by his own troubles washing up on the tide.

Esme is drawn to Luke, but she doesn’t trust her own instincts. That’s not ideal for a witch—especially when there is a killer on the loose and a storm is rolling in....

The Ward Witch is the first book in a brand new contemporary fantasy series from the best-selling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.

*The Ward Witch is set in the same world as the urban fantasy mystery books, Crow Investigations, but it is the start of a separate series and can be enjoyed independently.

©2023 Sarah Painter (P)2023 Sarah Painter
Fantasy Magic Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Fiction Paranormal Witchcraft Magic Users
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Island of magical types with a murder thrown in. It was good but not great. I can’t quite put my finger on why but it’s probably worth a read.

Modern magic and tourism

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I love the way Sarah blends modern day life with the magical and mysterious, absolutely brilliant 👏 😀 👌

I love Sarah's book, this new series is astounding as ever ❤️

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I really enjoyed this, little links to The Crow Investigation books made me smile as well. Looking forward to the next one!

Hard to put down!

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I love Sarah Painters books. The way they are normal world with a bit of mysticism!
I’m looking forward to more of them.

Great story

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This book is the first book in a very long time that I just could not get enough of.
When it comes to supernatural mysteries I find they can be more aimed at teens and therefor find I can’t relate to the characters or even find it a bit cringey. This book however a much more grown up character base. This is my first Sarah Painter book…..but I have already gone and bought the rest of the trilogy and also a couple of her other books ready to read after this.
I love her writing style that draws you into the whole world around the story and I find the way she keeps the mystery to the characters throughout dropping hints as to their nature but not flat out saying it, leaving you to come to your own conclusions but also giving the story a feel that it more real or plausible.

A must read for any supernatural mystery fan

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