Speaks the Nightbird: Judgment of the Witch Volume I
A trial for witchcraft proves the tip of an iceberg of intrigues  in this absorbing historical mystery, the first newly published  novel in 10 years from McCammon (the book was written in the  mid-'90s), a bestseller in the 1980s with such supernatural  novels in the Stephen King tradition as Usher's Passing and  Baal. Set in 1699 in Fount Royal, a coastal settlement in the  colonial Carolinas, this latest unfolds the adventures of  magistrate Isaac Woodward and his assistant, Matthew Corbett,  who have been summoned to the struggling town to adjudicate in  the trial of Rachel Howarth, a young widow accused of deviltry  that is blamed for murders, wretched weather and other  calamities driving settlers away. Though town leaders press for  swift execution, Matthew is persuaded by Rachel's dignity and  fortitude that she's innocent. Using skills honed living by his  wits as an orphaned child, he pursues inconsistencies in  testimony and throwaway clues and uncovers an elaborate plot  involving pirate booty, animal magnetism and deadly deceit at  the highest levels of town organization. This robust tale is as  historically detailed as it is long, and its recreation of an  era where superstition held its own with enlightenment is among  its strongest achievements. Anachronisms, improbably fortuitous  coincidences and private dramas that make Fount Royal seem a  pre-Revolutionary Peyton Place lard the plot, but Matthew's race  against time to save Rachel with the rudimentary tools to hand  makes a compulsively readable yarn. McCammon's loyal fans will  find his resurfacing reason to rejoice. (Sept.)  Forecast: Those who enjoyed the author's last three novels  (Mine; Boy's Life; Gone South), studies of the human condition  that transcended genre labeling, will snap this one up, too. But  McCammon also lost readers with these novels because in them he  turned away from the horror themes that made his reputation.  This latest could well gain him new fans, but it won't win back  any horror readers.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.