“SUNWISE” is the second in the “Widdershins” series by Helen Steadman and is the author’s imagined creation inspired by true events. Sunwise tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world. “When Jane’s lover, Tom returns from the navy to find her unhappily married to his betrayer, Jane is caught in an impossible situation. Still reeling from the loss of her mother at the hands of the witch-finder John Sharpe, Jane has no choice but to continue her dangerous work as a healer while keeping her young daughter safe.
But as Tom searches for a way for him and Jane to be together, the witch-finder is still at large. Filled with vengeance, John will stop at nothing in his quest to rid England of the scourge of witchcraft…………”
 I adored “Widdershins”, as the subject theme of the unlawful witch trials in the seventeenth century has always been an interest of mine. With the book being set in my local area of Newcastle/Northumberland and knowing that the basis of the books was based on actual events (where up to sixteen people were executed on the same day, marking it as the biggest mass execution for witchcraft in the country), increased my intrigue and interest. “Sunwise” can be read as a standalone if desired but I do feel you need to read the first book to understand how cruel a man John Sharpe is and the history of Jane’s mother and her daughter Rose’s father, Tom. I read these two books straight after each other and this resulted in a four day movie playing out in my mind. These were such powerful books, that at times they kept me awake at night thinking on the despicable persecutions that befell women, for doing nothing more than midwifery or supplying herbal remedies. When the author mentions in her afterword that she couldn’t get the characters out of her head when she’d finished writing the first book, I completely understood where she was coming from. And of course pleased she felt the need to write the second in order to conclude this family saga. The denouement literally ripped my heart apart into a million pieces but a satisfying ending helped me to recover from this. Please be advised there is a scene that is quite upsetting but perfectly apt and necessary to the storyline, so be prepared for a very emotional experience. Another fantastic outing from Helen Steadman - author of ‘The Running Wolf’ and ‘God of Fire’ and if this storyline is something that interests you, then I’d highly recommend this series. #Sunwise - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️