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Witch Trial

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND MOST SHOCKING THRILLER OF 2026, FROM THE MILLION-COPY SELLING AUTHOR

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Witch Trial

By: Harriet Tyce
Narrated by: Angus King
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About this listen

 TWO TEENAGE GIRLS. ONE MURDERED CLASSMATE.
AND A MODERN-DAY WITCH TRIAL THAT WILL DIVIDE THE NATION . . .

'Mind-bending and brilliant' LISA JEWELL
'Deliciously twisted. . . Genius' CLAIRE DOUGLAS
'An utter masterpiece' SOPHIE HANNAH
'Impeccable plotting' FINANCIAL TIMES
_______________________________

When 18-year-old Christian Shaw is found dead in an Edinburgh park, the city reels - and the shock only deepens when police charge her best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with her murder.

As their trial begins and headlines scream for justice, rumours of bullying spiral into something darker: whispers of rituals, obsession, and a teenage pact gone wrong.

But then the girls take the stand - revealing a chilling defence no one saw coming - and the jury must question everything: the motives, the evidence, even their own judgement.

Who's telling the truth? Who can be trusted?
And what really happened to Christian Shaw?

Let the Witch Trial begin . . .
_______________________________

YOU NEED TO READ IT TO BELIEVE IT.

'I have never read a book like it. Exceptional' ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

'Mind-bending and brilliant. I couldn't read it fast enough!' LISA JEWELL

'Gripping, original and so very clever. . . And what an ending! Genius. . .' CLAIRE DOUGLAS

'Daring, different, clever and compulsive, a truly original novel' ANDREA MARA

'Grips like a vice . . . An utter masterpiece' SOPHIE HANNAH

'Such a gripping book with twist after twist' ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

'Dark, wry and slippery, I adored it' SARAH PINBOROUGH

'The best thing I've read this year. An absolute triumph' ABIR MUKHERJEE

'Brilliantly clever and utterly addictive' CLARE LESLIE HALL

'A mind-melting page-turner' ELLERY LLOYD

'I promise you won't see the ending coming' ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

'A tour de force' B.A. PARIS

'A swirling miasma of meaning and counter-meaning' CHRIS BROOKMYRE

'Compulsive reading . . . I was totally immersed' ARAMINTA HALL

'Brilliant and twisting. I flew through it' L.V. MATTHEWS

'Genuinely jaw-dropping' ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reader review

'Like nothing I've ever read . . . I ate this up' CHRIS BRIDGES

'Spellbinding and sinister. A masterclass in plotting' KATE GRAY

'A riveting, rip-roaring ride. Simply brilliant' THE SECRET BARRISTER

MORE PRAISE FOR HARRIET TYCE:

'A classy thriller with complex and compelling characters' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Nothing short of unputdownable' ALEX MICHAELIDES

'A shocking, provocative, standout thriller' CHRIS WHITAKER

'Left me breathless' LUCY CLARKE

'Delicious and addictive - a perfectly crafted treat!' LOUISE CANDLISH

'In the very top tier of psychological thrillers' M. W. CRAVEN©2026 Harriet Tyce Crime Thrillers Horror Psychological Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Witchcraft Heartfelt Magic Magic Users

Critic reviews

Audacious, mind-bending, and brilliant. I couldn't read it fast enough!
Harriet Tyce's best book yet. Gripping, original and so very clever. I was captivated by this deliciously twisted thriller. And what an ending! Genius. I loved it!
Daring, different, clever and compulsive, a truly original novel. Delicious.
Absolutely superb - grips like a vice throughout and has a perfect, bold ending that no one will see coming. An utter masterpiece of the murder mystery and the legal thriller genre.
A legal thriller unlike any you've ever read, this witchy, mind-melting page-turner is Tyce at her whip-smart best.
Brilliantly clever and utterly addictive, I loved it. Courtroom drama at its finest.
Harriet Tyce is a master storyteller unafraid to tackle difficult themes. Supremely plotted, elegantly written and with an ending that will shake you up! An absolute triumph of a book that takes the legal thriller to new heights and which will stay with you for a long time after you've finished it. Best thing I've read this year.
Wow. This courtroom drama is not just compulsive, it's unsettling, creepy and clever, the combination leading to a brilliant finish. This book got fully under my skin. I loved it.
Witch Trial is like the lovechild of Alfred Hitchcock and The Crucible. Dark, wry, and slippery underfoot, I adored it!
Tyce creates a swirling miasma of meaning and counter-meaning that keeps the reader enthralled and tantalised by horrific possibilities, and in its audacious final act, revealing layer beneath confounding layer, Witch Trial pays fitting tribute to the James Hogg classic that inspired it.
Spell-binding. A Russian doll of a thriller which is infused with cunning and dread. Harriet Tyce is so great at seeing the underbellies of life - of ambition, and justice, and being a teenage girl. This is her best.
Compulsive reading . . . I was totally immersed in the story. One of the best courtroom dramas I've read in a long time.
Give me witchcraft, a mind spiralling into madness, and questionable narrators any day - just my cup of tea. A brilliant and twisting new novel from Harriet Tyce. I flew through it.
Cancel all plans because this book is going to grab you by the throat and not let go till you turn the final page. It's a startlingly original courtroom drama story, and a psychologically astute depiction of a man in freefall. Deliciously chilling and like nothing I've ever read. I ate this up.
An unputdownable, twisty legal trial from the queen of the courtroom drama. Spellbinding and sinister. A masterclass in plotting and pace.
All stars
Most relevant
Too dark and unsettling for me ! Characters too creepy or nasty to enable any connection and the overall story much more focused on the supernatural than court room thriller which I found disappointing - also felt Scottish accent a bit over played and contrived but to be fair was well performed . Guess im too much of a wuss to enjoy this type of narrative !

Too dark for me ! More occult than thriller

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Fantastic narration with great characterisation.
The story could have been better if the main character wasn’t so detestable.

Not What was Expected.

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I loved Blood Orange and was expecting a twisty legal story
Started well and interesting premise of a modern day Witch trial - however the second part really let the book down - a totally disbelief-able part two that smacked of Harriet trying to be too clever and alluding to why she went on Traitors
A let down

Disappointed

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Well performed , although obvious what is happening with Matthew, the reader is surprised by the outcome . Thoroughly good audiobook, my dogs have been walked even more this week to allow me to finish it

An excellent twist

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It took a lot to get through this book , the most intriguing part of the book was the end - totally didn’t see that coming . A very interesting twist well done to this author for that .

Witch Trial

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