The Burning of Isobel Key by Jen McConnel.
Summary:
Lou is in the middle of a quarter-life crisis. Ever since college, she’s lacked direction, working as a clerk in a local bookstore. But when she quits her job just before the winter holidays, Lou must do some serious soul searching to overcome her fears of straying from the mainstream. On a whim, she accompanies her best friend, Tammy, to Scotland for the winter holidays, but the vacation soon turns into an emotional roller coaster.
When she becomes embroiled in a hunt for information about Isobel Key, a woman falsely accused of witchcraft in the seventeenth century, Lou opens up to her intuition and makes a startling discovery about her own heritage.
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Excerpts:
1----------
“I
quit!” Lou’s words echoed around the checkout line, and customers craned their
necks to see what was happening. Red in the face, Lou looked down at her
register in embarrassment. Her manager patted her shoulder.
“Let’s
go back in the office to talk about this.” He turned, expecting her to follow.
“No!”
Louder than she’d intended, Lou stood her ground. “You heard me. I’ve had
enough of this store.” As she spoke, she tossed her nametag on the counter. An
errant brown curl flipped over her eye, and she pushed it away. Under the
shocked gaze of her manager and the curious stares of a snake-like line of
holiday shoppers, Lou fled.
Once
she was outside in the bitter December wind, she headed for the nearest T stop,
acting out of habit more than conscious thought. She’d walked this easy route
between the bookstore and the T for the past four years, and her body took over
while her mind churned.
She
had a college degree, for Pete’s sake! Cum laude from Duke University had landed
her a job selling books and stationary to the snobby suburbanites outside of
Boston. Sighing, she paid her fare and took her seat on the train bound for the
city center.
Suddenly,
the weight of what she had done hit her, and she buried her face in her hands.
What was she thinking, quitting her job like that? Lou replayed the afternoon
in her mind. Nothing had happened today that hadn’t happened a thousand other
times. Maybe it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back: four
years of answering bizarre questions and customers who were always right had
finally taken its toll on her psyche.
But
now what would she do? Lou wasn’t a person who acted on impulse: she was
cautious and considered her options. And now she was unemployed the week before
Christmas. Lou slumped in her seat. Unless she figured something out, and fast,
she might have to move back in with her family. It wasn’t that Lou had anything
against her family, not really: her parents had adopted her shortly after her
birth, and they’d never made her feel like anything but their cherished only
child.
But
Lou was almost 27, and it had never been part of her plan to live at home after
college. Part of her plan: that was funny, she thought. It sounded like she’d
ever had a plan.
Sure,
she always knew that she’d attend college after high school. With parents who
had both made careers in the medical field, Lou had never doubted that she’d
follow their lead and soak up as much education as she could. Money wasn’t an
issue, so when she turned 18 and Duke University accepted her, she thought it
would be ideal. She moved to North Carolina and spent four years studying the
liberal arts, unable to decide on a tangible career path. Nothing seemed to
fit, and even though she earned her degree, she didn’t really know what she was
going to do after college. It was lucky that her best friend needed a roommate
in Boston, Lou mused, or she might have ended up back with her parents four years
ago.
Shaking
her head, Lou glanced up as the train rolled to a stop. Standing unsteadily,
she tried to ignore the raging pity party in her mind. As the doors whooshed
open, the cold winter air assaulted her again. For the first time she realized
that she’d left her coat behind in the employee lounge.
2--------------------------
Hesitating
for a moment, Lou considered taking the train back and getting her things.
“There’s
no going back,” she whispered. Even the excuse of her coat might be enough to put
her back in her manager’s office, begging for her job back. Shivering, Lou
hurried up the stairs and out of the tunnel. The old black light posts were
swathed in candy cane stripes, and every window she passed displayed some
holiday decorations. What a time to be unemployed, Lou thought sourly as she
buzzed the doorman at her apartment.
Unlocking
the door on the seventeenth floor, Lou called out nervously, “Hello? Tammy?”
Her roommate didn’t answer, and Lou felt relieved. She wasn’t ready to face
anyone yet, not until she’d figured out her next step. Checking the kitschy
clock on the wall of the hallway, Lou realized it was only a quarter after
four. Tammy wouldn’t be home ‘til seven or later. Relaxing, Lou stacked her boots
neatly in the hall closet and headed to the kitchen.
The
sleek, modern kitchen was a mess: remnants from Tammy’s last party were still
strewn across the stainless countertops. Sighing, Lou plugged in the electric
kettle and searched for a mug. While she waited for the kettle to whistle, she
started to tidy up. She loaded the dishwasher carelessly and overfilled the
soap container, but when she was done the room looked much more presentable.
Satisfied, Lou added a packet of hot chocolate to the mug. After a moment’s hesitation,
she stirred a hearty dollop of vanilla vodka into the chipped Disney World
souvenir.
Leaning
against the counter, Lou studied the apartment. The kitchen was open to the
rest of the space, and from her vantage point, Lou could see the living room
and the stairs that led to her lofted bedroom. She sighed, wondering how much
longer she’d get to enjoy this apartment with her best friend. Her parents had
helped her out with bills from time to time, but Lou felt certain that all assistance
of this kind would stop if they found out she was no longer employed.
“What’s
the matter with me?” She wondered out loud, tears in her eyes. Taking her mug,
she crossed to the living room and flopped down on the fluffy red sofa. She
began flipping aimlessly through the stack of magazines on the coffee table.
Suddenly,
her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Glancing at the cracked screen, Lou saw
that it was Tammy calling. Sighing, she flipped the phone open.
“Hello?”
Tammy’s
voice was crackly but excited. “Lou? Guess what? You’ll never guess what
happened!”
Lou
sighed, annoyed. “What?”
“They
gave me an account!” Tammy squealed in delight. “Did you hear?”
“Tammy,
that’s amazing!”
“And
the best part is, guess where the account is based? Guess!”
Not
wanting to play games, Lou asked, “Would you just tell me?”
“Scotland!
Isn’t that awesome?”
Stunned
speechless, Lou just stared at the phone.
“Lou!
Louisa! Are you still there?”
She
shook herself. “Yes, I’m here. Tammy, that’s great!”
“I
know! They want me to go over there next week to check things out and meet
everybody.”
“But
isn’t next week Christmas? What about your family?”
3------------------------------
Tammy
laughed. “They won’t care. But Lou, wouldn’t it be perfect to spend Christmas
in Scotland?”
Lou
agreed that it would be. She ignored the small bubble of jealousy starting to
form in her heart.
“Tammy,
I’m really excited for you.”
“For
us, you mean.”
“What
are you talking about?”
Tammy’s
voice broke into a garbled stream of words.
“Tammy!”
Lou shouted. “I can’t hear you.”
“In
the T…we’ll talk… home…”
The
cell phone made a crunching sound and the call dropped. Lou looked at her phone
and leaned back into the couch cushions. Wasn’t it just like fate to give Tammy
something so wonderful, she mused, when she was so miserable? Sniffing, Lou
drained her cup of spiked cocoa and headed upstairs to lie down.
4-----------------------
As
the flames rose, Isobel stopped cursing and instead started to make a shrill,
screaming whine, much like the sound of the sap boiling in the logs at her
feet. It was so eerie, so utterly un-human that even the executioner, a man
long seasoned to the sounds of death, wanted to cover his ears and sob into the
skirt of the nearest woman.
The
sound carried from the village green, through the streets and wynds,
penetrating the windows and doors shut tight against the execution. It was as
if not attending could erase the sin of allowing it to happen in the first
place. No one who heard that sound could reconcile it with the once melodious
voice of the burning woman. The evil thing at the stake was not a woman they remembered
or recognized.
Their
memories were as short as the day, from the morning after her terrible deeds
were revealed and the witch was brought into town bound in the back of a pony
cart. It was suddenly as if none of the villagers knew the poor creature at
all. None could recall seeking her help, and none would avow that she had
always been kind and ready to bake breads for town feasts or to watch the
little ones play while their parents danced together. Kindness lingers less
than murder, for it was obvious to all that the woman had murdered at least
three souls, if not countless others. Justice was being served, and her blood
would not stain the god fearing hands in St. Andrews. She was not their responsibility,
and they wanted to take no claim for her evil.
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That's it! Everyone, go ahead and read this book. It's fantastic.
Introducing… Hannah Fielding
