The Witchfinder's Serpent

by Rande Goodwin

Overview

Something wicked this way comes . . .

When fifteen-year-old Nate Watson moves to Windsor to live with his mysterious Aunt Celia, the last things on his mind are witches and magick and ancient vendettas. While Nate focuses on building a new life for himself and his younger brother, making new friends and adjusting to a new high school, he can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t as it seems.

Nate’s search for answers leads him to a forbidden, locked door in Aunt Celia’s mansion. Inside, he finds a witch’s workshop full of mystical artifacts, some dating back to the time of the earliest Puritan settlers. It’s no coincidence that Nate is now living in the very same town where, forty-five years before the Salem witch trials, Alse Young was hanged as America’s first witch.

Could magick be real? Nate remains skeptical until he picks up the witchfinder’s serpent—a powerful, demonic bracelet that wraps itself around his arm and permanently imbeds itself into his flesh. Now Nate must confront the truth about Aunt Celia’s unlikely ancestry—as well as his own. And with her help, he must find a way to remove the bracelet before the serpent’s previous owner returns—an ancient and powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to get it back.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798886450903
Publisher:	Greenleaf Book Group Press
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	276,320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.01(h) x 1.25(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Rande Goodwin is a full-time IT professional and part-time raptor trainer (the prehistoric kind). He enjoys reading and travel, restoring vintage Borg drones, dusting vamps in Sunnydale, and being one with the Force. Oh, and writing is fun too. He lives in New England with his wife, two daughters, and four dogs.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The Witchfinder’s Serpent has elements of well-researched history combined with a contemporary setting in an intriguing mystery. Goodwin's ability to relate history to contemporary life is phenomenal. This young adult book will cause readers to stretch their imaginations and look at local history creatively."
—AuthorsReading.com

"The Witchfinder's Serpent, Rande Goodwin's first installment of the series, was captivating, mysterious, sad, and shocking. I very much look forward to the second installment in The Witches of Windsor series—a tale that I truly believe fans of magic and witchcraft stories will most definitely enjoy."
—Readers' Favorite

“Witches, warlocks, and high school—what could be more frightening? Rande Goodwin's The Witchfinder's Serpent delivers an exciting blend of magic and intrigue.”
—Michael Jan Friedman, New York Times best-selling author

“The Witchfinder’s Serpent reimagines the early American witch trials as the backdrop to a very modern YA adventure—but with a clever twist that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat until the very last page.”
—Amber Benson, author and actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“In the 1640s, Britain’s Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, scoured the English countryside with one purpose—to accuse, bring to trial, and publicly execute as many ‘witches’ as he could be paid to identify. History says he died at a young age of a mysterious illness, but suppose he fled to America instead . . . ? Rande Goodwin's debut novel, The Witchfinder's Serpent, is a fun, fact-filled tale of revenge that weaves past with present as all hell breaks loose in a quiet New England town.”
—Steve Alten, New York Times best-selling author of MEG and The Loch

“Rande Goodwin’s The Witchfinder’s Serpent is a delightful debut novel that builds upon a fascinating period of human history.”
—Peter David, New York Times best-selling author

Editorial Reviews

2023-11-01
A teenager must confront an evil that has ties to 17th-century witch hunts in Goodwin’s YA fantasy novel, the first of a prospective series.

After losing their father, 14-year-old Nate Watson and his 12-year-old brother, Marc, go to live with their paternal aunt, whom they didn’t know existed. They move from New York City and settle into Aunt Celia’s Windsor, Connecticut, home and community for the better part of a year. But a locked room—the only place in Celia’s home that’s off-limits—is impossible for them to ignore, especially after Nate overhears his aunt having a conversation with someone there that indicates that she’s keeping secrets from the boys. When the brothers later peek inside, they find books about demonology and witches, as well as a small, metal representation of a snake that wraps itself around Nate’s wrist. They also inadvertently unleash an imprisoned menace named Malleus Hodge, who threatens Nate’s friends and family in a bid to get the bracelet. Nate learns that he’s up against dark “magick” and evil creatures, connected to the Watson family and centuries-old New England witch trials. Fortunately, he, Marc, and Celia have allies to help combat their sinister, daunting foe. Goodwin ably weaves real-life history into this swiftly paced narrative; intermittent chapters set in the mid-1600s reference the first-known person executed for witchcraft in the American colonies. This plotline intertwines with those of Nate’s family and the villain they’re determined to stop, and the periodically tightening bracelet serves as a constant reminder that time is short. A host of appealing characters make up the cast; at one point, for example, Nate and his pal Jenn Quigley appealingly challenge a hulking school bully, and Marc is amusingly curious throughout. For a series opener, the author supplies a wealth of details, including backstories and insight into various types of magick. The final act offers some closure while also revealing a few surprises that could kickstart a sequel.

Well-developed characters enliven an absorbing novel that promises a bewitching saga to come.

Kirkus Reviews