The Mercies is among the best novels I’ve read in years. In addition to its beautiful writing, its subject matter is both enduring and timely

A gripping novel . . . [Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s] most vital insights are about the human heart: how terrifyingly quickly prejudices can turn into murder, and how desperately we need love and courage to oppose it. Beautiful and chilling

This is a powerful story that gathers ever more momentum as it moves towards its conclusion

The most interesting historical fiction speaks of the time of writing as much as of its subject . . . The Mercies shows us the patriarchal fear of women’s strength and reason

Historical fiction fans looking for a Handmaid’s Tale-style twist will love this novel . . . A story of danger, love and power – with Big Offred Energy

The Mercies is storytelling at its most masterful. This is an exquisite tale of sisterhood, of love, of courage and of what happens when communities turn on each other . . . I raged, I laughed, I cried. I urge you to read this novel

Extraordinary!

A book for our times . . . Millwood Hargrave is a whirlwind, storm-building talent

The Mercies took my breath away . . . Kiran Millwood Hargrave has masterfully built up an incredible claustrophobic atmosphere, shot through with delicate intimacy. On finishing it I pressed the book to me, hoping to absorb some of her skill

Read if you like Circe by Madeline Miller and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Spun from real-life events, this lyrical novel charts the aftermath of a fatal storm in a 17th century Norwegian fishing village: a town almost exclusively composed of women and girls, and the violent witch-burning newcomer hell-bent on their conversion

Based on real events, this is a stunning, intensely told story about sisterhood, superstition and prejudice

The Mercies is a gripping tale of love and obsession, inspired by the real events of a storm on the Norwegian island of Vardø in 1617 that prompted witch trials. Absalom Cornet, the man used to bring the women to submission, is a creepy creation by Millwood, in her debut adult novel

Elegant and chilling . . . an absorbing account of women finding power and grace and love even under the most harrowing circumstances

A dark read filled with suspicion and fear

A mesmerising, heartwrenching novel which had me desperate for the women of Vardø to win through. A perfect book club choice

Passionate, stirring and conveying a terrifying atmosphere of claustrophobic oppression, Hargrave’s gripping tale of courageous women facing overwhelming odds is helped along no end by the vividness of her bleak island location and her depiction of the dynamics of a God-fearing fishing village as opposing factions struggle for control

Kiran Millwood Hargrave illuminates one of the darkest chapters of our history.

Both harrowing and beautiful. Through mesmerizing prose, Kiran Millwood Hargrave depicts the brutality of life for women on an isolated island in 1620 Norway during the witch trials. Yet amidst this horror and within the punishing landscape, she creates a set of brilliant characters and a moving love story full of tenderness and hope. This is a book to be savoured and read time and again.

Absolutely stunning. The Mercies is a very special book.

I loved The Mercies. It opened up a completely new chapter of history to me, and I loved the way it told its story in such beautiful language. I won’t forget this story of these women in a Norway I knew little about. A searing historical novel

Every once in a while, a modern day parable, perfectly told, reflects all that could happen in a world gone mad. Kiran Millwood Hargrave has written a novel for our times with artistry and skill. Maren’s story is powerful, at turns, it is disturbing, and ultimately illuminating. You will ponder it long after you finish this magnificent work

Based on the real-life witch trials of 1621, this is an immersive and beautifully written tale. Highly recommended

Kiran Millwood Hargrave effortlessly transports us across hundreds of years and thousands of miles to a tiny Norwegian Island in the early seventeenth century and throws us into the lives and passions of an extraordinary cast of characters . . . deeply unsettling, entirely pertinent to our contemporary lives, and a completely addictive read. I cannot recommend it enough

This chilling tale of religious persecution is served up with a feminist bite

Caught me from the very first page and held me right to the end. A vivid evocation of time and place and utterly believable, absorbing characters – I felt I breathed the same air . . . The Mercies is a story that will stay with me

Dark and menacing, retelling the story of a witch hunt on the isolated island of Vardo, off the coast of Norway . . . Millwood Hargrave slowly builds an atmosphere of suspicion and superstition as new loyalties and old rivalries rear up.