Lucifer's Mistress

Lucifer's Mistress is the story of an expedition to the Massachusetts frontier ten years after the Salem trials to determine if a witch can be scientifically proved; of the mystery of the accused witch's presence on the frontier; and of a man torn between the sins of his past, a scarred young widow in Boston, and the accused witch.

It is 1702 and Elizabeth Parker, found living on the Massachusetts frontier, is called out as a witch. It is ten years after Salem and nobody, other than Edward Sharpe who calls her out, wants a trial, but the accusation requires a response. It comes as an expedition, to be sent from Boston, to determine if the witch can be scientifically proved. Isaac Hill agrees to journey ahead of the expedition to prepare for its arrival, though his real mission is to convince Elizabeth to leave the province. Burdened by memories of his past, Isaac is in search of diversion. If he finds it in Felicity Brown, a scarred young widow he meets in Boston on his way to the frontier, and then in Elizabeth at his arrival, he also discovers there is no escaping his own demons. As the mystery of Elizabeth and her presence on the frontier unfolds, she is put to the test of whether she can overcome her past, Isaac to the test of whether he can find refuge from his past, and the expedition members to the test of whether they have learned the lessons of the province's past.

K.Z. Owens is a Pennsylvania lawyer with an interest in early American history.