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Piers Morgan is a celebrated interior decorator, however, her home life is far from perfect.  Piers' husband, Henry is abusive, controlling and has threatened to kill her. In order to escape, Piers implements a complex plan to make it look like she has killed herself and escape to her Aunt Myrtle's in the remote Crow Lake, New York. Piers has never understood her PICA diagnosis, her proclivity for the poisonous pokeweed. Arriving in Crow Lake, Myrtle takes Piers under her wing, slowly explaining the ways of the women in her family.  Their family is a Venery of Bane Witches, poison eaters, each woman is called to ingest a poison in order to dispatch bad men.  Piers may have missed the chance with her husband, but with Myrtle's help, she might stop the serial killer terrorizing the community. 

The Bane Witch combines fantasy, mystery and the irresistible pull of powerful women for a thrilling story of growth and acceptance. Piers' story is filled with trauma: a childhood of shame, her mother's death, and an abusive marriage.  This was difficult to read, but it was central to Piers' story, as well as so many other women's stories.  Piers' escape was harrowing and I marveled at her bravery and rooted for her as she made her way to her Aunt's house.  As an avid forager, I was intrigued by the idea of eating poisonous foods and passing the effects along to others. I liked Myrtle's description of them being a family of crows, feeding off of what others can't, as well as being instinctive, not impulsive.  I absolutely loved the women of the Venery, their personalities, and their take on their work.  Most of all, I enjoyed watching Piers' journey from a woman escaping an abusive man to a feared hunter of men. 

​In 2062, President Vince Quinto challenges America to conquer death before the turn of the century.  Technology has advanced significantly, featuring increased lifespans, medical breakthroughs, transportation upgrades and AI that works with people.  However, no one has come close to resurrecting the dead until the young physicist, Deeley Carr publishes her breakthrough, the Theory of Everything, which suggests a path forward.  Deeley is recruited to work on Quinto's challenge for the government.  With the help of two androids, Xina and Xara, Deeley makes progress quickly.  With progress comes danger.  The same technology that could conquer death could also be used to spy on and control others.  

Quinto's Challenge is a cerebral work of speculative fiction.  The style of writing did not engage me, but I was very interested in the plot.  The writing relies more on telling than showing, using news broadcasts, speeches and transcripts to deliver information.    I was very interested in the science behind the resurrection process and there is definitely a lot of science involved.  I was surprised at how quickly everything was solved, often with a successful trial the first time or perhaps a quick tweak followed by success.  Deeley's character was endearing and I did enjoy her view on life as well as her relationships with the Androids.  The story did a good job of raising questions about science ethics, government agencies' power and control, Artificial Intelligence standards and how science fits into government process. I enjoyed the last several chapters the most, as they focused on resurrecting a human and interacting with her. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.