Anna of Denmark is to marry the King of Scotland but he is afraid of witchcraft and there have been witch burnings in her homeland. When her ship is forced to turn back by a wild storm, there are many that blame witchcraft. Anna's companion, Kristin, is also very keen to get to Scotland but will not say why. As Anna tries to reconcile love and duty, Kristin tries to protect her child and poor young Jura becomes the centre of wild accusations about a plot to kill the king.
The paranoia of James I around witchcraft and demonology is well-known and the North Berwick witch trials have been explored in a number of recent novels but this is a great story. Foster has built a compelling fiction around a little fact and it works incredibly well. Probably the least believable part is that of Kristin and Jura's relationship but as a narrative driver it's acceptable. A very readable novel. ( )

The King's Witches follows three women over the course of a couple of tumultuous years. Princess Anna of Denmark leaves her country to travel to Scotland for a trial period before hopefully becoming the wife of King James VI of Scotland. She travels with her maid, Kirsten, a trustworthy companion to Anna but she has her own reasons for wanting to be in Scotland. The third woman is Jura Craig, a young Scottish woman trying to find her own way in the world, using the healing skills and charms her late mother, a so-called cunning woman, taught her.

Eventually the paths of these woman converge and I was wondering what the catalyst for that would be. The author did a brilliant job at pulling each strand together and there were plot points that I never guessed at. This was a worrying time for everybody, but particularly for women, as the witch trials were gathering pace. There are some shocking scenes in this book and it's hard to comprehend that anyone with an ounce of sense could have believed any of it. Sadly, history tells us that it's all true.

After loving Kate Foster's debut, The Maiden, last year, I was really looking forward to The King's Witches and I wasn't disappointed. It's so well-written and the kind of historical fiction that I like, where it's full of atmosphere and true to the time it's set in but has a contemporary feel to the language used. This story of three strong women, determined to survive in turbulent times, had me completely gripped from start to finish. I needed to know what would happen to them and hoped so hard that their outcome would be a good one, although it often seemed impossible. Foster has become a favourite author of mine and I'm now very much looking forward to book three. ( )