Under cover of teaching children to read, Minister’s daughter Clara Dahl is following witch hunter Angus Hill to Berg, South Eastern Norway. She intends to stop his activity of hunting down and declaring innocent women witches, to have them burned. In her work to keep others safe, Clara gets an ally in local nobleman Christian Ivershall.

Trailing the Hunter by Heidi Eljarbo is continuing the theme from book 1, Catching a Witch. The story is set in South Eastern Norway 1661 and is about minister’s daughter Clara Dahl as she travels from her home town to settle in small village Berg (modern day Halden). Under the cover of teaching children to read, Clara is on a mission to save the lives of innocent women. English witch-finder Angus Hill is in town eager to blame village women for anything from too much knowledge of herbs to unattractive moles. He starts with convincing town councilmen to support the witch hunts, and with their approval the hunts begin again…

Main character minister’s daughter Clara Dahl is philanthropically minded and extremely well educated for a woman of the 1600s. She seems quite independent and has a mindset resembling a woman of today. I find it impressive how she manages to gather a group of trusted friends to help her cause.

Supporting character Christian Ivershall is an ex-soldier who has been born into privilege and is Lord of the Manor Ivershall. He seems to have a lot of local influence and filters every decision through what is best for the village and its people. He is as impressive as he is kind, which is why he is my favorite of this story.

I find the writing of this story to be both descriptive and vivid. I particularly enjoyed descriptions of village environments of 1661 Berg. Some extensive research of lifestyle and conditions in South Eastern Norway and area around Fredrikstad at the time must have gone into writing this story. The descriptions and character building of the women knowledgeable about herbs, healing and midwifery was a particular favorite. The story is told from different characters’ perspectives which I enjoyed a lot and I feel added depth to the plot. The story reads like a standalone but includes hints to characters and events in Catching a Witch.

My favorite part of the story was the vivid descriptions of Clara’s luxurious and abundant dinner at Ivershall, while the worst part was description of the chase of a pregnant woman through the woods. I appreciated the dramatic effect and it probably was a good element in a story from 1661. I very much enjoyed the author’s research notes at the back.

Conclusion: This is the captivating story of a strong, capable and caring woman who fights against a witch hunter for the lives of innocent women in 1661 South Eastern Norway.

Anyone who like historical fiction genre would enjoy Trailing the Hunter with its descriptions of life in the 1600s.
Similar authors to explore might be Catherine Taylor and Anne Easter Smith
Thank you to author Heidi Eljarbo for gifting me this book in return for my honest review.

Rating: 4 stars / 5 ( )

A witch hunter is on his way to the small town of Berg, Norway in 1661. Clara Dahl is already a few steps ahead of him. Clara has seen the destruction and murder that Angus Hill imposes on a town after he decided that several of Clara friends are witches and burned them at the stake. On her way into Berg, Clara notices a young and heavily pregnant woman escape from imprisonment. Clara follows her into the woods offering help. She can't find the woman, but does find Christian of Ivershall, the Lord of Berg. Christian helps Clara and Clara finds a friend in Christian and his mother Dorthea. Once Clara is set up in town as a teacher, she sets on her mission to educated the women of the town of Angus Hill's true nature. With help from Dorthea, Clara is able to reach a few women in town. However, some women have their own motives and will use the witch hunter for their own gain.
Trailing the Hunter is a historical fiction novel that shows the impact and destruction that one person with their own agenda and air of authority can inflict on a town. I had no idea that this book was a continuation of Clara's story from Catching a Witch, which I haven't read. I had no problem getting a sense of Clara's past experiences with the witch hunter and the Clara's motivation for following him. I loved Clara's character from the very beginning, she was determined, motivated in her cause and had a well thought out plan for how to help. Her compassion allowed Clara to connect with and care for the young women that Angus typically accused and give them the skills to stay out of his grasp. Angus Hill's character showed just how easy it is for one person to infiltrate and poison the minds of people against one another just by using confidence and authority, something that still happens today. Through the writing I was also able to get a sense of life in 17th century Norway, the towns, dress, politics and religions were all part of the intriguing plot. The suspense of the witch hunt along with a bit of romance made Trailing the Hunter an intriguing historical fiction read.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )