What a page-turner!!!

I started this book Saturday night....and read until 3:30 am!!! It's quite a page-turner...and there are 700+ pages to turn! :)

The year is 1699...the place is Fount Royal in the Carolina colony...a beautiful young woman who in the gaol accused of being a witch---she's blamed for the bad weather, for deaths of the locals, for people moving away, for the crops failing and for the murder of her husband. Several people claim to have seen her performing sex acts on devils. Naturally, the town leaders what her burned at the stake...as quickly as possible, however, they do feel the need to abide by the law, so a magistrate is summoned and he happens to bring with him a young clerk named Matthew Corbett. Matthew is secretly told by the housekeeper of the town town founder that Rachel is innocent and that she needs a "champion of truth." Matthew tends to have a natural curiosity coupled with a logical mind, so he finds himself walking a fine line with the magistrate and his role of Rachel's champion.

Right now I'm in the middle of witnesses being questioned, the magistrate falling quite ill which delays the trial, Matthew having to spend 3 days in jail, and various strange happenings going on the the town...nothing is quite as it seems to be.

I've also got the sequel to read--The Queen of Bedlam.