The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

by Katherine Howe

I think I've mentioned my sister-in-law on here before - she's my book buddy. However, while I use the library almost exclusively, she buys all of the books she reads. I love going to her house. While we were there this last time, she handed me The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane mentioning that it was one of her most recent favorite reads. I can see why.

This book has a great cast of characters:

Connie - Graduate student; looking for the primary source to help her get the prestige she wants in her field

Grace - Connie's eccentric mother, that asks Connie to move into the tiny house where the adventure happens

Manning Chilton - Connie's adviser who plants the suggestion that the Salem witches were possibly in fact witches

And of course Deliverance Dane - a woman from the 1600's that we spend the book learning about

I found the plot a bit predictable (I would recommend knowing less about this book than more), but it was fun. I loved the idea. I loved the way Howe was able to weave the present and the past together so successfully. The story gave me a strong desire to visit Salem. And, I sincerely loved Deliverance Dane. I wish there was a book devoted exclusively to her (though I don't think it would actually work to have her as the main character).

A fabulous summer read.

4 out of 5 stars.