I picked up The Women of Wild Hill on audio, and that turned out to be the right call. The narration smooths over some structural bumps and makes things more entertaining. We get multiple timelines, a long family history, and a present-day plot built more on mood and reckoning than on action. 

Wild Hill is a place where power pools, and the Duncan women have been shaped by it for generations. When Brigid, Phoebe, and Sybil are called back, it isn’t a cozy homecoming. They're not exactly a poster family. Heck, they're barely on speaking terms. 

The characters are the novel’s greatest strength. Brigid, Phoebe, and Sybil are three-dimensional and emotionally distinct. In contrast, many of the men are villains, exploiters, or smug enablers. That feels intentional, by the way. This is an angry book about the damage men in power have done to women, to the planet, to history itself. Subtlety is not the goal, and fairness isn’t either.

Structurally, the novel jumps often into the past, telling the stories of earlier Duncan witches. These sections are interesting but they come at a cost. The constant time-hopping kills momentum in the present-day plot. Just when things start to move, the narrative detours again. Still, those historical chapters stand well on their own. They’re grim, clever, and often more focused than the main storyline.

The present-day arc builds slowly and resolves quickly. The ending feels compressed after such a long setup, which is frustrating, but not fatal. Anyway, the present-day plot revolves around reunion of the witches and its purpose. Brigid and Phoebe return after decades of estrangement, and Sybil (Phoebe's daughter) arrives without the full truth of who she is or what she might become. Then there is the Old One, a furious, ancient force that has decided powerful men has pushed the world too far. Climate collapse and systemic abuse are the reason things get into motion.

This isn’t a perfect book. It’s uneven, occasionally indulgent, and very pointed in its politics. But it’s also confident, character-driven, and unapologetic about its anger. And thanks to the audiobook format, it’s easy to stay engaged even when the pacing wobbles.

In short it's a good character-driven story.