History comes to life!

"I loved this story, both as a scholar of 17th/18th century literature, but also as a simple reader. The author takes us into the dark days of witch hunting with the story of Verity, a woman who tried to be a responsible midwife, but was instead accused of killing a newborn. The story conjures up believable historic detail without sacrificing history to an exciting story. Indeed, it moves very quickly, though the author builds up incredible tension as Verity is interrogated in her cell, then brought through the streets to the jeers and jibes of the crowd, and then is led to the stake for her punishment. And in true Twilight Zone fashion, there's a great twist at the end which I won't reveal, which I both enjoyed and was almost disappointed with. On the one hand, it's quite clever and changes the entire story dramatically. But it's so abrupt, and if this is the entire story, it seems more a concession to cleverness than a satisfying whole. I hope there's more to this story, so that this becomes a plot device rather than a simple rounding off. If not, then perhaps the end could be expanded a little to make this seem less of a "trick" ending than something artistically sound. That said, I love the idea, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story, Clearly the author has done her homework and made history come to life in this harrowing tale. I expect more of this story or at least more from the author!"