** I received an ARC for an honest review **
Publisher’s Description
Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lords hold sway.
Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie’s cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.
Summary
I had the delight of reading A. G. Slatter’s recent gothic fantasy The Briar Book of the Dead.
Set in the same fantasy world as the Sourdough series of Slatter’s other works and her novels All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of a Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead focuses on the town of Silverton and the surrounding regions which are protected and ruled by the Briar lineage of witches. The protagonist is Ellie Briar, the first witch with seemingly no magical powers born to her family but raised with the expectation to take on the stewardship role and support her cousin Audra when she becomes the next Briar Witch. Both motherless after a plague struck the town and took most of the inhabitants with it, Ellie and Audra have been raised by their grandmother and great-aunt, both trained to ascend to Stewardship and Briar Witch when their elders eventually pass.
Events happen much faster than Ellie or Audra had expected and soon Ellie and Audra take their positions in guiding the town of Silverton and in negotiations with the Church. This last point is thrown into chaos when a god-hound or priest arrives in Silverton for the first time in decades. The new priest is accepting of the Briar Witches and their role in the community of Silverton and seems unlikely to cause the devastation they had anticipated. At her grandmother’s funeral, Ellie hits her head and the red price that all Briar Witches pay for the use of magic – the give and take of power – is finally paid. Ellie is suddenly aware of the ghosts that Silverton apparently doesn’t have. She soon discovers webs of lies and half-truths told to protect the Briar Witches and the past misdeeds of their ancestors. Ellie Brair becomes the speaker for the Dead and the only witch able to see the ghosts and let them address whatever issues hold them to the world of the living still. Keeping this magical power that has no record in their family a secret, Ellie soon starts uncovering darker aspects of Silverton and the power of the red price that must be paid for all magic works. Awful deceptions and cruelties are revealed and Ellie struggles to keep the balance within the Briar Witches and Silverton and its inhabitants.
Review
Slatter writes with an engaging style that immediately draws the reader into this gothic fantasy world where deceptions and lies become like spiderwebs thick in an abandoned room. The unraveling of the history and truth of the Briar Witches lineage is masterfully done with skill and precise timing that keeps the story fresh and intriguing. The characters are each unique with their own voices clearly presented and the overall storytelling is spellbinding.
Conclusion
Highly recommended read for fans of Slatter’s Sourdough works, novels and for readers who enjoy reimagined gothic fairy tales, history and folklore reworked and a highly engaging dark fantasy novel. A must read!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Leanbh Pearson 
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