Witch Hunts, a Novel

The setting is the Massachusetts north shore. The Whitakers trace their roots to the one man executed in the Salem Witch trials, pressed to death beneath a heavy door piled high with stones. The family has survived three centuries with some success. They have a gift for finance. Ben Whitaker, the sole remaining male heir, inherited this gift. He married into a prominent Boston family and runs a leading hedge fund outfit.

Ben moves into the family's historic estate. Ben’s grandmother, Gamma, ...