I'm not sure this series is aging well. Like a lot of series, now that the couple has overcome the obstacles keeping them apart, Simon and Magdalena are a lot less exciting together. I found her petty and whiny at times in this book. I also found a lot of things to be repetitive, like references to Jacob's age, etc.

The story itself was interesting in its exploration of faith vs science and how science at the time was often equated to witchcraft. However the central mysteries were often a letdown due to the way twists and resolutions were telegraphed, taking away the element of surprise. The biggest question for me was how they'd resolve the status of the Hangman's wife and her illness at the end. No spoilers here - don't want to give away the only thing the book doesn't spoil for you.