The quick background
Salem’s Fall is a dark, witchy legal-thriller-romance mashup released on August 5, 2025. It follows James Woodsen, a young Boston attorney, who’s assigned to defend tech billionaire Damien Blackhollow after he’s accused of murder. The case draws her to a New England town steeped in occult lore, ritual killings, and very Halloween energy. Think glossy courtroom prep meets small-town superstition and secret societies.
About the author: Rektok Ross is the pen name of Liani Kotcher, a trial attorney turned author and producer. She studied journalism at the University of Florida and earned a law degree from the University of Miami, which explains why the legal scaffolding in the book often reads confidently. She’s previously written across YA and thriller spaces and has a hefty online presence.
Notable characters
- James “Jamie” Woodsen: A sharp, stubborn up-and-comer whose drive is fueled by her mother’s murder and her father’s conviction. The mix of courtroom grind and personal ghosts makes her compelling even when she barrels past common sense.
- Madison Woodsen: James’s younger sister and emotional anchor, or as we learn, tether. She’s the person James should be looping in, not shutting out, especially as she consistently wonders how Jamie is doing but rarely ever asks.
- Quinn Kensington: James’s boss and the steadier, kinder romantic option. He respects her and actually tries to keep her safe, which matters in a story littered with red flags.
- Damien Blackhollow: Charismatic client with secrets for days. The pull he exerts on James is the book’s most volatile current.
- The town of Salem’s Fall: Essentially a character. Small-town whispers, secret societies, and a history of ritualistic violence set the mood.
My read
I grabbed this because BookTok kept chanting “witchy thriller” and honestly, I’m craving that vibe as fall creeps in. Early chapters are brutal and bloody, with clear occult ties. I’m squeamish, but I love casework and legal puzzles, so I stuck with it. For a while, it snaps: brisk pacing, glossy legal detail, a heroine you want to root for.
Then credibility frays. James is nearly killed multiple times and still isolates herself, keeping her sister, Madison, her best friend Katie and the law firm in the dark. It feels off for a junior associate in a high-stakes case, and that undercuts the realism that the legal setup works hard to build.
Spoilers ahead
I clocked the professor early, so that reveal didn’t surprise me. The bigger swing is the knife-with-a-will angle. I don’t mind supernatural in a thriller, but the rules around it stay fuzzy, which leaves the climax feeling convenient instead of chilling. Is the knife-wielding itself against others, or is it this unknown “The Veil” group that we keep hearing about?
The romance choices frustrated me most. Two men orbit James, and she chooses the wrong one. Damien knows far too much about the deaths and rituals and consistently does nothing. Attraction aside, those are blaring sirens. I found myself quietly voting for Quinn, who actually cares about her safety and doesn’t read like a walking hazard sign.
And the ending. We rocket from a near-fatal Halloween sequence to a time jump in December, with the promise that a memo ties up the loose ends. That glosses over consequences I wanted to see: the case’s outcome, firm fallout, full scope of the rituals. After so much momentum, the fade felt like pulling the curtain before the final scene.
Bottom line
Moody atmosphere? Absolutely. Witchy New England texture? Delicious. A propulsive legal mystery with glossy edges? For a while, yes. But the last third never coheres for me, and the supernatural twist needed clearer scaffolding. I still read it fast and had fun in parts, yet I closed the cover disappointed.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Verdict: 3 stars. If you’re here for Halloween energy, occult breadcrumbs, and a headstrong heroine, you’ll probably devour it. If you need airtight cause-and-effect and an ending that lands clean, manage expectations.
Pair-it-with song
“Seven Devils” by Florence + The Machine. It’s lush, witchy, and simmering, which fits a town of rituals and a heroine skating too close to danger.
