Length: 144 pages, ebook Genre: Fantasy
The premise (from Goodreads):
A Long Day in Lychford is the third book in Paul Cornell’s increasingly popular Witches of Lychford series.
It’s a period of turmoil in Britain, with the country’s politicians electing to remove the UK from the European Union, despite ever-increasing evidence that the public no longer supports it. And the small town of Lychford is suffering.
But what can three rural witches do to guard against the unknown? And why are unwary hikers being led over the magical borders by their smartphones’ mapping software? And is the European question *really* important enough to kill for?
My thoughts:
This is the third novella in the Lychford Series, each of which alternates between the point-of-view of three fascinating women; a vicar, a witch, and the proprietor of a magic shop.
Surprisingly, this is about the Brexit. And, it was obviously written shortly after because some of the comments Autumn makes near the beginning were the same things bandied around twitter shortly after; how the people who voted to leave are the ones least affected by 
the results (i.e., the elderly who won’t be around long enough to suffer the effects), and/or racists afraid of immigrants. It was incredibly depressing to be thrust back into the earliest days post-Brexit and post-Trump. Not that those issues aren’t important or relevant today, but it was a struggle to get through.
She could see him in her mind’s eye now, a little grin on his face as he’d said it. “Bloody good idea.” That’s what he’d said. “What is?” she’d replied. “A wall,” he’d said. “Trump’s got it right. We should build one too. Keep ’em all out.”
Anyway, as Lychford’s only person of colour, it should be no surprise that Autumn is uncomfortable living in a small town where she’s not sure which of her neighbours are secretly wanting all immigrants, or people like her, out. And thus begins the plot, which as the title suggests, takes place all on the same day.
The story started quite slowly, then galloped along for the last third, only to stop just as the story felt like it was actually getting somewhere. A Long Day in Lychford is fragmented, with all three witches separated for most of the narrative, knotted up and dealing with so much chaos. The story touches on, but doesn’t clearly answer whether it’s better to have a wall or not to separate/protect people, but also hints at inheritance and legacy, aging, and rescuing those that are like and unlike yourself.
Autumn and Judith were featured heavily in this story, while Lizzie was mostly relegated to the background and the occasional Fitbit or Overwatch reference, (which I found amusing). Lizzie was often in the foreground in the earlier books, so her having a smaller presence here was not really a detriment, especially since we finally learned more about Judith.
And that burden had been made worse, of course, by its own potential for change, that someday Judith might bear no burden at all. The weight on her shoulders had grown to be part of her, had informed the malice that often seemed, to those who didn’t know her well, to be what kept her going.
While this was easily the weakest story in the series, it was still enjoyable, and I feel that this story served more as a bridge for future installments, setting up important plot threads that will have big consequences later on. I look forward to seeing where it goes, even as my heart aches as I worry about a certain character.
Interested in reading this book? Check it out on Goodreads, and/or your favourite bookseller.
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