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The Last Witch on the Knock

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What to expect

'Mesmeric from the first page. A twisting, haunting tale.' Lucy Steeds, author of THE ARTIST
'A searing debut' Sunday Times *THE POP CULTURE MOMENTS EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IN 2026*

The Knock hill is a carcass unintelligible as any dream.

Wouldn't you rather be a witch than a victim?
I didn't realise those were my only options.

In need of a fresh start, Thomasin leaves her toxic boyfriend, absent father and empty friendships to spend the summer in the Scottish Highlands with her eccentric Aunt Agnes and stern little cousin, Nina. But amidst the sprawling fields and ragged hills thrums a secret that has cursed the land for generations.

300 years earlier, Kate McNiven labours in The Big House by the Knock hill, wishing for a brighter future far away from the lecherous clutches of her master, the Laird. When she is exiled as a witch for refusing to succumb to his advances, Kate finds the escape she so desperately seeks in Thomasin, whose vulnerable body becomes her unwilling host.

In the thin place between centuries, through a pulsing wound that bleeds out history, the truth of the past is finally ready to be revealed . . .

Critics Review

Tense, harsh and haunting, The Last Witch on the Knock explores toxic relationships in myriad ways. Through a blend of body horror and poetic insight, Aimée creates a compelling tale.
Lynsey May, author of WEAK TEETH
A lyrical exploration of identity and shared trauma, reminding readers of the power of folk. MacDonald's writing is unflinchingly visceral.
Amy Twigg, author of SPOILT CREATURES
Mesmeric from the first page. A twisting, haunting tale where the present thrums with the bloody heartbeat of the past. MacDonald's prose is poetic and sharp.
Lucy Steeds, author of THE ARTIST
The Last Witch on the Knock does witches differently; here, a feral, intimate honesty lights the pyres.
Charlotte Tierney, author of THE CAT BRIDE
A searing debut from the Scottish talent Aimée MacDonald. Set in the Highlands, it follows two women who are bound together by an ancient curse inspired by a local story about one of the last women burnt for witchcraft in Scotland. Whatever you do, don't turn off the lights . . .
Sunday Times
A wildly daring debut, where past and present are skilfully twined by a fiercely unique new voice in historical horror. Alias Grace meets The Last Night in Soho.
Jessie Elland, author of THE LADIE UPSTAIRS
I tore through this bloody, bodily book, gripped and aghast. It is poetic and shocking, and I both wanted and feared the drawing together of Thomasin, our apathetic, unmoored contemporary heroine and Kate, the wild, joyous servant girl accused of witchcraft in 1715. I loved the horrific, unholy slipping of time, the events of this novel resting on the unchangeable nature of the Scottish landscape and its historic towns. Tense and disgusting and beautiful. I loved it.
Emma van Straaten, author of THIS IMMACULATE BODY
Reading [The Last Witch on the Knock] offers a physical experience, both horrifying and enjoyable. MacDonald is a skilled writer. She is also wonderfully funny, in that deadpan, Gen Z way. This is an unpredictable novel, full of stylistic and narrative flair. . . an extremely strong, at times mesmerising, debut.
Irish Times
Author Aimée MacDonald
Narrator Sara Vickers
Duration 9 hours and 38 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781399821308
Format Audiobook
Publisher John Murray Press
Genre Contemporary horror and ghost stories, Horror and supernatural fiction, Speculative fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE

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