The Hemlock Cure

British author Burn (Petals and Stones) makes her U.S. debut with a smoothly written, well-researched if unexceptional historical mystery. When the bubonic plague arrives in the Derbyshire village of Eyam in 1665, it unleashes the mania of Wulfric Housley, the town’s apothecary. A religious zealot devoted to ridding the world of witches, Wulfric believes they are in league with the devil and responsible for all the world’s ills. Meanwhile, Wulfric’s 14-year-old daughter, Mae, who assists him in the preparations of tinctures and potions, has secretly been learning the art of midwifery from Isabel, a woman her father regards as a witch. A melodramatic tale of thwarted love, murderous impulses, and secret crimes unfolds, enriched by entries from Wulfric’s 1645 diary and narration by Mae’s late sister, Leah, who relates scenes from the family’s past and whose spirit tries to warn Mae of the current danger. The plague serves mainly as backdrop to Wulfric’s abuse of his wife, daughters, and other women, and episodes that add nothing much to Mae’s story, such as a trip to London by Isabel’s husband, slow the pace. This works best as a moving portrait of sisterhood. (June)