Published January 12th, 2023 by Harvill Secker Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women Sleuths, Lesbian Literature
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SYNOPSIS:
In this witch story unlike any other, Lux and Else join forces to take their revenge on a powerful man. Their journey through the wild world will uncover both secrets and danger.
Lux has lost everything when Else finds her, alone in the woods. Her family, her lover, her home – all burned. The world is suspicious of women like her. But Lux is cunning; she knows how to exploit people’s expectations, how to blend into the background. And she knows a lot about poisons.
Else has not found Lux by accident. She needs her help to seek revenge against the man who wronged her, and together they pursue him north. But on their hunt they will uncover dark secrets that entangle them with dangerous adversaries.
From the snowy winter woods to the bright midnight sun; from lost and powerless to finding your path, Now She is Witch conjures a world of violence and beauty – a world where women grasp at power through witchcraft, sexuality and performance, and most of all through throwing each other to the wolves.
‘Mesmerising and evocative…an imaginative triumph’ Observer
‘‘An impassioned reclaiming of female desire. Stuffed, Russian-doll like, with stories,… an absorbingly atmospheric adventure’ Daily Mail
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MY REVIEW:
“Beauty is dangerous. Beauty has power. Beauty has violence.”
When Else finds Lux in the woods she has nothing. Everything she had was burned. The world is suspicious of women like Lux but she is cunning and knows how to blend into the background. Lux also knows a lot about poisons, which is perfect for Else because she needs her help to destroy the man who wronged her. But it will take them on a dangerous path where dark secrets are revealed…
It’s the first day of Booksta Review Week and I’m using it as an excuse to finally catch up on the many reviews I still have to write. Most of them are for books I listened to on audiobook, including Now She Is Witch, which I listened to back in October.
Atmospheric, evocative and enthralling, this is a dark and witchy feminist fairytale about power, love, loss, bravery, wisdom, and magic. It’s a timely story about disempowered women finally taking back what is theirs, utilising the magic that can be found in nature to do it. Kirsty Logan’s bewitching and poetic prose is transporting and stirring, telling truths that feel as real today as they did in history, helping the reader to connect with Lux and her story. I didn’t take many notes while listening, choosing instead to just enjoy the experience and what stays with me is the bawdy humour, compelling characters and riveting storytelling.
Powerful, alluring, eerie, and unexpected, I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 🧙🏻♀️🧙🏻♀️🧙🏻♀️🧙🏻♀️
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kirsty Logan is the author of three novels, three story collections, a memoir, two chapbooks, a 10-hour audio play for Audible, and several collaborative projects with musicians and visual artists. Her books have won the Lambda, Polari, Saboteur, Scott and Gavin Wallace awards. Her work has been optioned for TV, adapted for stage, recorded for radio and podcasts, exhibited in galleries and distributed from a vintage Wurlitzer cigarette machine. She lives in Glasgow with her wife, baby and rescue dog.
Published January 18th, 2024by Bedford Square Publishers Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Historical Fantasy Fiction, Alternative History, LGBTQ Romance
Welcome to my review for the gorgeous gothic debut, The Knowing , which was the first Squadpod Book Club book for 2024. Thank you to Bedford Square Publishers and EDpr for the gifted copy of the book. Join us here on Instagram Live at 7.30pm tonight (22nd January) for our live discussion with the author.
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SYNOPSIS:
‘If you love Sarah Waters and dark historical fiction, you will no doubt be hooked.’ – Diva magazine
‘Vivid, visceral and utterly immersive. Extraordinary’ Liz Hyder
In the slums of 19th-century New York.
A tattooed mystic fights for her life.
Her survival hangs on the turn of a tarot card.
Powerful, intoxicating and full of suspense. The Knowing is a darkly spellbinding novel about a girl fighting for her survival in the decaying criminal underworlds.
Whilst working as a living canvas for an abusive tattoo artist, Flora meets Minnie, an enigmatic circus performer who offers her love and refuge in an opulent townhouse, home to the menacing Mr Chester Merton. Flora earns her keep reading tarot cards for his guests whilst struggling to harness her gift, the Knowing – an ability to summon the dead. Caught in a dark love triangle between Minnie and Chester, Flora begins to unravel the secrets inside their house. Then at her first public séance, Flora hears the spirit of a murdered boy prostitute and exposes his killer, setting off a train of events which put her life at risk.
The Knowing is a stunning debut inspired by real historical characters including Maud Wagner, one of the first known female tattoo artists, New York gang the Dead Rabbits, and characters from PT Barnum’s circus.
Something Powerful Is Coming.
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MY REVIEW:
Something powerful is coming… 🔮🐉💜
Darkly atmospheric, intoxicating, unapologetic and consuming, The Knowing is pure gothic escapism. This magnificent debut brought the past to life in a breathtaking story of love, passion, self-discovery, secrets, lies, betrayal and murder that is inspired by real people from history including Maud Wagner, one of the first known female tattoo artists, New York gang the Dead Rabbits, and characters from PT Barnum’s circus.
Flora, the only female tattoo artist in New York, lives in the slums with her abusive tattoo artist boyfriend and reads cards for a living. She meets Minnie, a charismatic circus performer, who offers Flora a new life in her upmarket home. Still earning cards to read her keep while struggling to harness the Knowing – her gift for summoning the dead. When the Knowing begins to whisper dark secrets that some don’t want revealed it sparks a chain of events that sees Flora fighting for her life.
Wow! What a phenomenal start to 2024’s Squadpod Book Club. This is one of those decadent reads that you want to luxuriate in and savour every word, providing a sensory experience that makes you forget the world around you and lose yourself in the one the author created. Emma Hinds has immediately secured a place on my autobuy list with this magnificent tale and I still can’t believe this is a debut. The writing is exquisite and evocative, transporting me back in time and across the ocean to Flora’s world. It was like the story had been conjured into being around me in vivid technicolour and I could see the grimy streets, smell the stench of the slum, and hear the whispers of the dead from the shadows. From the opening pages there’s a sinister suspense that pervades every page which comes from the Knowing and the ghosts who lurk in the shadows and I loved the memorable moments where Flora’s gift takes centre stage and the atmosphere is at its darkest. It leaves shivers down your spine and I read most of the book in a sense of breathless anticipation.
“I’d learned to turn my eyes away from dark corners where spirits might lurk. The Knowing was like having a broken bone that never healed quite right. It twinged. Occasionally the world would show and the shadows would lengthen, my breath would catch in my windpipe and my heart would lurch, but I would look away. Growing up in Five Points had knocked the truth into me: there was safety in not knowing.”
The book is filled with richly drawn characters that I loved reading. The women are strong, fierce, courageous, and inspiring who have a fire that can’t be extinguished whatever they are put through. They have the misfortune to be born in an era where men own and control them but they fight for their power and independence wherever they can. On the flip side, most of the men were vile, menacing, dominating and predatory. These are the kinds of men who see women as things, not people, and care only about power and control, using them as reasons to subject women to terrible things. Much of what is on these pages is taken from history, so of course the women who refused to be submissive or behaved in a way they didn’t like were labelled as ‘hysterical’ or ‘insane’. No matter how often I read this kind of behaviour it always enrages me. Heaven forbid women have their own thoughts and feelings.
Unsettling, haunting, potent and mesmerising, I was bewitched by this gorgeous gothic debut. It is the kind of book that is just screaming for an adaptation and I’m going to need that to happen ASAP. An absolute must-read, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Emma is a Queer playwright and author living and working in Manchester. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews. She focuses on historical narratives, female voices, and Queer stories. Emma’s debut novel, The Knowing, is an exploration of female trauma in the vivid and cruel world of the Victorian freak show. Her latest play, PURE, was featured in Turn On festival at Hope Mill Theatre Manchester and she was the recipient of the Artist Development grant at Hope Mill Theatre. She has written a few previous non-fiction books in her capacity as an academic (in another life she was a theologian) with an essay published, Tarantino and Theology; with Gray Matter Books and her book, Ineffable Love: Christian Themes in Good Omens; published by Darton Longman Todd. Emma uses she/her pronouns.
Published November 23rd, 2023 by Orenda Books Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Gothic Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Hard-boiled Mystery, Horror Fiction, Occult Horror, Translated Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the unsettling Yule Island. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Karen at Orenda for the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
An art expert joins a detective to investigate a horrific murder on a Swedish island, leading them to a mystery rooted in Viking rites and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter. The Queen of French Noir returns with a chilling, utterly captivating gothic thriller, based on a true story. FIRST in a new series.
‘Gustawsson’s writing is so vivid, it’s electrifying’ Peter James
‘Remember her name. Johana Gustawsson has become a leading figure in French crime fiction [and] Yule Island is impossible to put down’ Le Monde
***Winner of the Cultura Ligue de l’Imaginaire Award 2023***
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Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
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MY REVIEW:
OMG. My mind is completely blown and I’m still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor after reading this mesmerising gothic thriller. Darkly atmospheric, unsettling and original, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Art expert Emma Lindahl has come to the manor house on the island of Storholmen to appraise the artwork belonging to the Gussman family. But that isn’t all this house is famous for. It is also the place where the infamous hanging girl was found nine years ago. A brutal murder that remains unsolved. And when the body of another young woman is found in the icy waters that surround the island, it looks like Detective Karl Rosen might have found a connection between the crimes. What follows is a breathtaking story of murder, dark secrets and Norse mythology that you won’t be able to put down.
You know when you pick up one of Johana Gustawsson’s books that you should expect the unexpected; a heart-stopping thrill-ride that you can’t put down. Yule Island is all that and more. From the moment I read the author’s note at the start I was in Gustawsson’s thrall, feeling like I’d actually stepped inside the book as I read in breathless anticipation. Expertly written and cleverly plotted, this is a masterclass in storytelling. I was blindsided as she pulled the rug from under me again and again, not giving me time to catch my breath before delivering yet another shocking revelation. As
tension builds, Gustawsson intricately interweaves meticulously researched Norse mythology and Swedish history to keep you on the edge of your seat. ‘The Queen of French Noir’ is living up to her title and it’s easy to see why this book has already received so much acclaim.
Gothic fiction is one of my favourite genres and Gustawsson absolutely nailed the dark, gothic vibes of this story from the start: the cold weather, an isolated island shrouded in silence, an old, echoing manor house filled with mysterious residents and the trappings of faded opulence, the screams that can be heard randomly, and the haunting history of the hanging tree. Knowing that Storholmen is a real island and this is all based on a true story adds to the unease that permeates every page. This is one of those books that will have you looking for the monsters that lurk in the shadows and I loved every second.
Told from multiple points of view, the characters are fascinating, relatable and richly drawn. The two protagonists, Emma and Karl, are very different in terms of age, circumstance and perspective. I enjoyed their distinct voices and seeing the investigation from both a professional and lay perspective. But they have similarities too: both are intelligent, determined and have a sober air that surrounds them. I enjoyed how Gustawsson slowly teased their backstories, allowing us to feel invested in their lives and root for them before making us question everything as we wonder if they are unreliable after all. There was a third narrator, Viktoria, who was a housekeeper at the manor. Her chapters gave us a glimpse of life behind the closed doors of the manor and added to the mystery that surrounds it. The background characters are just as well written and I loved the sense of community that existed on the island and how they welcomed Emma into their midst when a lot of small communities will make outsiders feel like just that. But it did make me wonder about the killer as it surely had to be one of the three hundred residents on Storholmen. Could one of them really commit vicious crimes like these while looking their neighbours in the eye? Or was there another explanation?
Claustrophobic, eerie, sinister and unnerving, Yule Island is an absolute must-read. An outstanding Gothic thriller that is perfect for this time of year, I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.
Rating: ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Published November 9th, 2023 by Head of Zeus Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Historical Romance, Ancient World History
Welcome to my review of The Temple of Fortuna, the final instalment in the mesmerising series, The Wolf Den Trilogy. Thank you to Head of Zeus for the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
The final instalment in Elodie Harper’s Sunday Times bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy
A courtesan in Rome. Playing for power. Haunted by her past. Her name is Amara. How will her fortunes fall?
Amara’s journey has taken her far, from a lowly slave in Pompeii’s brothel to a high-powered courtesan in Rome. She is now a freedwoman with wealth and influence, yet she is still drawn back to her past.
For while Amara is caught up in the political scheming of the Imperial palace, her daughter remains in Pompeii, raised by the only man she ever truly loved. Although she longs for her family, Amara knows they are safest while she is far away. Perhaps, with enough cunning and courage, she will manage to turn Fortuna’s wheel in their favour.
But the year is ad 79, and Mount Vesuvius is preparing to make itself known…
The Temple of Fortuna is the dramatic final instalment in Elodie Harper’s Sunday Times-bestselling Wolf Den trilogy, which reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.
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MY REVIEW:
“Even the most powerful woman can be broken by love.”
The Temple of Fortuna was my most anticipated book this autumn, but picking it up felt bittersweet as it meant reaching the end of what has become one of my favourite series ever. But I needed to know how things concluded for Amara and if she or any of the others survived the catastrophic eruption.
Amara is now a high-powered courtesan living in Rome. It’s a far cry from her time as a slave at Pomepeii’s brothel alongside the other she-wolves. But her past continues to haunt her and secrets that could destroy everything she’s built still hover over her. Her heart also remains in Pompeii as her young daughter is still living there and being raised by Amara’s true love. She heads back for a visit, trying to find a solution that will free her from the shackles of her past and reunite her family for good, never suspecting that there is an even greater threat to their lives. It’s October 79, and Mount Versuvius is about to erupt…
“Then the light starts to fade, as if dusk is falling with supernatural speed. Amara looks up. Above the mountain, a black column has risedn is still rising, piercing the sky like a spear thrown from the kingdom of Vulcan, god of fire. Dark fingers spread out from its summit, reaching for the city of Pompeii… Amara realizes people are screaming.”
Once again, Elodie Harper has delivered a masterpiece. Lush, vibrant and alluring, The Temple of Fortuna is an extraordinary ending to a magnificent series. Intricately woven, gorgeously written and transportive, this gloriously rich tapestry of a novel brings ancient Rome to life in three-dimensional technicolour. As Mount Vesuvius rumbles in the background, slowly building to its violent destruction, Harper takes the reader on an emotional journey alongside the characters as they go about their ordinary lives in blissful oblivion of what is to come. Harper humansies the catastrophic destruction of an entire city, reminding us that those lost were people with lives, family, love, hopes and dreams, and brings to life the horror and fear experienced by those in Pompeii that fateful day; the terrible reality of fleeing for your life as the world turns dark and ash rains down on your city.
The novel is meticulously researched with great attention paid to even the smallest of details and I loved how she wove historical fact with fiction to create a book that feels so real it was like I was walking in the characters’ footsteps. Having visited both Rome and Pompeii this past summer the story felt especially visceral to me. I could see things even more clearly and had imagined Amara on the cobbled streets when I visited the broken remains of Pompeii. I read the first ⅔ of the book in one sitting but as I arrived at the third part at 1am – Vesuvius, 24th October 79AD – I had to put the book down until the next day. The anticipation had reached fever pitch, my heart racing as I wished I could reach into the book and rescue them all.
“All the layers of respectability that Amara has wrapped around herself with as much painstaking care as the folds of her expensive robes, fall away. She is back in the Wolf Den, enraged by any attempt to confine her.”
Amara is one of my favourite characters of all time. Despite the fact that she lived a life nothing like anything I’ll experience in a time so long ago, everything about her feels so relatable and I was rooting for her at every step of her journey. I love her feistiness and determination, and how she’s so rich with nuance. In this book we feel her anguish, heartache, longing and determination radiating from the pages as she wrestles with complex situations and emotions. Amara’s daughter, Rufina, was a joy to read and stole my heart completely, tugging on my heart strings one moment and making me laugh the next. She was a great addition to the cast and I also loved seeing this side of Amara and the complexities of all the emotions it stirred in her. Harper has created a rich and compelling cast of characters that you can really connect with and villains you will love to hate. There are some genuine friendships, beautiful love stories and terrible feuds, but will all have you hooked. Harper also explores sensitive subjects such as abusive relationships and the effects of trauma which made them feel even more relatable. There’s a feeling of sisterhood through survival that can be felt whoever you are and whenever you lived. When the volcano erupts I nervously awaited the fate of the characters I’d grown to love. Would any of them get out alive?
Atmospheric, moving, illuminating and unforgettable, The Temple of Fortuna is a masterpiece of historical fiction. I lived every moment while reading and am utterly bereft that this series is over. But it’s certainly ended on the highest of notes. This is one not to be missed.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Elodie Harper is a journalist and author whose bestselling Wolf Den trilogy has won wide acclaim. The first book The Wolf Den, won the Glass Bell Award and was shortlisted for Page turner of the year at the British Book Awards. The second in the series, The House with the Golden Door, was a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller.
The Wolf Den trilogy has sold into 20 territories worldwide and has been optioned for TV. The third and final instalment, The Temple of Fortuna, will be published in the UK and the US in November 2023. Elodie is currently a reporter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer at Channel 4 News.
Published September 19th, 2019 by Raven Books Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror Fiction, Ghost Story, Medical Thriller, Romance
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SYNOPSIS:
A Daphne Du Maurier-esque chiller set on the mysterious Cornish coast, from the award-winning author of The Silent Companions.
‘Du Maurier-tastic’ GUARDIAN
‘Deliciously sinister’ HEAT
‘A clever, creepy read’ SUNDAY EXPRESS
Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken.
But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home.
Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as nurse to the now partially paralysed and almost entirely mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester has fled to Cornwall to try and escape her past, but she soon discovers that her new home may be just as dangerous as her last.
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MY REVIEW:
Laura Purcell has done it again. Gloriously sinister, gothic and eerie, Bone China is an unsettling tale from the queen of the gothic mystery. The Cornish coast and Morvoren House provide a haunting backdrop that is the perfect setting for Purcell’s unmistakable chilling and malevolent gothic style. You feel yourself in the grip of a master storyteller as she pulls you into the world she created with her meticulous and darkly poetic prose, compelling characters and strong sense of place. Filled with folklore, mystery, suspicion and foreboding, there’s a lingering atmosphere of unease and the sense of dread deepens as Purcell expertly blurs the lines between reality, imagination and the supernatural. All of this merged with the expressive narration of the audiobook to create a truly visceral and immersive experience.
Told in three timelines we follow Hester Why in the present as she arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as Lady’s Maid and Nurse to Miss Pinecroft, the strange and reclusive Lady of the house. A second timeline flashes back to Ms. Why’s past and slowly reveals her secrets. Lastly, we go back forty years before Hester’s arrival at Morvoren House to follow the story of Miss Louise Pinecroft and her father, Dr. ErnestPinecroft. The Pinecrofts have come to Morvoren to continue his quest to perfect his radical cure for consumption. Purcell seamlessly weaves the many threads together, holding me in her thrall and keeping me guessing right up until the end.
Purcell’s research is detailed, delving into Cornish folklore and the origins of bone china, which are surprisingly morbid. Integral to the story are the unsettling local tales of changelings and faeries, seen as a serious matter at the time. Faeries were dark and dangerous creatures with limitless power and were blamed for everything and anything: pregnancy loss, stillbirth, disability, famine, mental illness, and sickness, such as tuberculosis which is a central part of the storyline. Then known as consumption, tuberculosis is the illness that shattered the Prichard family which has led Dr. Ernest Prichard to Morvoren House so he can perfect his innovative cure with the assistance of his daughter, Louise. It was hard to read about the barbaric ‘cures’ people were subjected to in the name of so-called modern medicine at that time knowing it was based in historical fact.
The characters are intriguing and well-written. Purcell allows us greater insight into who many of them are by having them appear in multiple timelines so we really get to know them and their backstories. While the characters appear very different, they are all deeply flawed people who are consumed by guilt and inner turmoil. Hester is a secretive, impulsive and obsessive young woman who oozes desperation. We know she’s fleeing from a tragic event and is plagued not only by regret but also fear of being discovered. I found her intriguing but was frustrated she refused to learn from her past mistakes and kept going in circles. Miss Pinecroft is a much more sympathetic character with a moving backstory. But it takes some time to unravel that and in the present we see her as a feeble and mute old woman who is confined to her bed or the parlour. Flashbacks tell us the fascinating story of an intelligent and determined young woman who is working hard to overcome the tragedies she has lived through and help others through working with her father on his cure for consumption. But the character who stood out most for me was Creeda, Miss Pinecroft’s servant who has been at Morvoren house for many years. Creeda is well versed in folklore and wholeheartedly believes the stories are true. In her world there are faeries waiting to steal people and changelings live amongst us. Needless to say, she’s a strange character. She is also shrouded in mystery and seems to be at the centre of everything that happens at Morvoren House, adding to the overall feeling of unease that surrounds her. I loved that the more we learned about her tragic past the more unnerving she became and her backstory was one of my favourite storylines.
Darkly atmospheric, insidious, menacing and utterly magnificent, Bone China is a DuMarier-esque gothic novel that is one of Laura Purcell’s best books yet. Highly recommended, especially on audiobook.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Laura Purcell is a former bookseller living in Colchester, Essex with her husband and pet guinea pigs.
She began her career with two historical novels about the Hanoverian monarchs, Queen of Bedlam and Mistress of the Court before her break-out Gothic ghost story The Silent Companions.
The Silent Companions won the WHSmith Thumping Good Read Award in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell. It was selected for both the Radio 2 Book Club and Zoe Ball’s ITV Book Club.
The Shape of Darkness won a Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Book of the Year 2022 and was shortlisted for both an Edgar Award and a Dead Good Readers’ Award.
Laura’s short stories have been published in a number of collections including the Sunday Times best-selling The Haunting Season. She recently worked as lead writer on Roanoke Falls, a Realm podcast executive produced by John Carpenter and Sandy King Carpenter. It won a silver Signal Award for Best Scripted Fiction.
Please note that in the USA Laura is published by Penguin Books, where The Corset is titled The Poison Thread and Bone China is called The House of Whispers.
Published July 21st, 2022 by Simon & Schuster UK Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adventure Fiction
Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for the proof copy of this outstanding historical fiction novel.
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SYNOPSIS:
‘What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating – if bumpy – ride through a man’s world. I laughed, cried and most of all cheered! Can’t stop thinking about it… an absolute cruncher of a tale’ Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal
‘A complete joy of a novel that, like it’s wonderful protagonist’s namesake, is a story of endurance against all odds. Full of heart and so eloquently written, THAT BONESETTER WOMAN had me cheering Durie on from start to finish – I absolutely loved it’ Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora
It’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all.
Meet Endurance Proudfoot: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie wants one thing in life: to become a bonesetter like her father. It’s physically demanding work, requiring nerves of steel, and he’s adamant it’s not a job for a woman.
Strong-willed and stubborn, Durie’s certain that in bonesetting, her big, usually clumsy hands have found their natural calling. So when she’s bundled off to London with her beautiful sister, she won’t let it stop her realising her dream. As her sister finds fame on the stage, Durie becomes England’s most celebrated bonesetter – but what goes up must come down, and her success may become her undoing.
Inspired by the true stories of two of Georgian England’s most famous celebrities, That Bonesetter Woman is an uplifting tale about finding the courage to go your own way, when everyone says you can’t – and about realising that what makes you different can also make you strong.
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MY REVIEW:
“She was going to be a bonesetter. She was going to fix people.”
I was delighted when That Bonesetter Woman was chosen as the September book by the Historical Fiction Book Club as it has been on my TBR since receiving a proof last year (yes, this review is very late). It was also one of the 12 backlist books I added to my ‘12 in 2023’ list back in January and I haven’t been good at getting to those so I was pleased to tick another off that list.
Endurance (Durie) Proudfoot has never fit in. Instead of being beautiful, graceful, and tactful like other girls, she’s clumsy, unusually strong, tactless, and has a face only a mother could love. She also has an unusual dream: to be a bonesetter like her father. But bonesetting is seen as a job for boys, so a frustrated Durie is carted off to London with her younger sister, Lucinda. But she’s determined that this isn’t the end of her bonesetting dreams and carves out a path to accomplish becoming England’s most celebrated bonsetter. But traditionalists don’t like that a woman is taking up space in a man’s world and set out to put her back in her place.
Mesmerising, immersive, and absorbing, That Bonesetter Woman is another outstanding novel from the pen of masterful storyteller Frances Quinn. Her magnificent debut, The Smallest Man, was one of my favourite books of 2020, so I had high expectations for this book. And she surpassed them all. As she did in her debut, Quinn has created fictional characters inspired by real historical people and then merged fact with fiction to craft an unforgettable story about those who are different. Meticulously researched and rich in fascinating historical details that I loved—did you know you used to get free zoo entry to the London Zoo with a dead cat?—it feels so real that I had to keep reminding myself this wasn’t biographical fiction and Durie is a fictional character. Exquisitely written and perfectly paced, Quinn puts our emotions through the wringer with some heartwarming, heartbreaking and wonderful subplots that are woven into Durie’s story. She brings history to life, wrenching you out of your own reality and into the one she’s created.
“Each time seemed like a reminder that she just didn’t fit in the world like other people did. Except when she was doing the one thing age wasn’t clumsy and cack-handed at, and what was she going to do if she wasn’t allowed to do that?”
Durie Proudfoot is a truly original heroine. I can promise you will have never read anyone quite like her. She’s headstrong, stubborn, determined, plain-speaking, and honest. Someone with heart and morality who has no time for flattery, lies, or greed. And though Durie lives a life that is extraordinary and memorable, it is also a life marred by anguish and misfortune. Quinn creates a strong connection between the reader and protagonist, making us feel deeply the pain that inhabits her as she struggles with being different, trying to understand the behaviours of others, and other challenging events in her life. Also palpable is her frustration at being caged by the expectations of society as they attempt to put her in a box she has never and will never fit in. I loved how she fought for what she wanted and knew was right for her from a young age, even when facing what seemed like increasingly insurmountable odds as she got older. She was a truly remarkable and fascinating woman and I loved watching her metamorphosis from clumsy outcast to celebrated bonesetter.
Though no other character shone as brightly as Durie, the book has a cast of richly drawn background characters that I enjoyed. George stands out as one I particularly liked, probably because of his kind, thoughtful character and the sweet relationship he shared with Durie. Like her, he is straightforward and is one of the few people she really connects with. He’s the kind of love-interest we dream of: someone who really gets you and accepts you for who you are. Their scenes together were some of my favourite in the book and I was rooting for them every step of the way.
Atmospheric, evocative, ambitious and compelling, That Bonesetter Woman is an epic masterpiece of historical fiction that I highly recommend.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Frances Quinn grew up in London and read English at King’s College, Cambridge, realising too late that the course would require more than lying around reading novels for three years. After snatching a degree from the jaws of laziness, she became a journalist, writing for magazines including Prima, Good Housekeeping, She, Woman’s Weekly and Ideal Home, and later branched out into copywriting, producing words for everything from Waitrose pizza packaging to the EasyJet in-flight brochure.
In 2013, she won a place on the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course, and started work on her first novel. The Smallest Man was published in 2021 by Simon & Schuster with her follow up, That Bonesetter Woman, published in 2022.
She lives in Brighton, with her husband and two Tonkinese cats.
Published May 18th, 2023 by Viper Books Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Supernatural Fiction, Mystery, Suspsense
Today I’m sharing my review for this gorgeous gothic novel. Thank you Viper Books for the proof.
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SYNOPSIS:
*A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF 2023*
‘A dark, inventive story’ – SUNDAY TIMES ‘A gloriously foreboding Gothic tale’ – HEAT
Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me…
On the day of her beloved grandmother’s funeral, Marta discovers that she is to become governess to the young daughter of Sir William Pritchard. Separated from her lover and discarded by her family, Marta has no choice but to journey to Pritchard’s ancient and crumbling house, Fyneshade, in the wilds of Derbyshire.
All is not well at Fyneshade. Marta’s pupil, little Grace, can be taught nothing, and Marta takes no comfort from the silent servants who will not meet her eye. More intriguing is that Sir William is mysteriously absent, and his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house. Marta finds herself drawn to Vaughan, despite the warnings of the housekeeper that he is a danger to all around him. But Marta is no innocent to be preyed upon. Guided by the dark gift taught to her by her grandmother, she has made her own plans. And it will take more than a family riven by murderous secrets to stop her…
Perfect for readers of Laura Purcell, Jessie Burton and Stacey Halls, Fyneshade is a dark and twisted gothic novel unlike any you’ve read before…
‘A thrillingly dark page-turner’ – MAIL ON SUNDAY ‘Marta is Jane Eyre’s black-hearted alter ego’ – THE TIMES
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MY REVIEW:
“Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me.”
Atmospheric, haunting and disquieting, Fyneshade is, quite simply, one of the best gothic novels I’ve ever read.
This is a story of dark secrets, betrayal, temptation, and the supernatural. It’s a game of smoke and mirrors; a cryptic maze where the monsters don’t only lurk in the shadows, but inside our own minds as others try desperately to keep the truth hidden. This was my first time reading a book by Kate Griffin and I am in awe of her talent. She is an exceptional storyteller who weaves together darkly poetic prose, evocative imagery, compelling characters and a chilling atmosphere to cast a spell on her reader. I was transfixed and would have devoured it in just one sitting if exhaustion hadn’t forced me to tear myself away.
Marta is a fascinating protagonist and I loved reading her. Intelligent, determined, wiley and sensual, this complex character is the antithesis of the innocent, meek and trusting protagonist we often see in gothic fiction. She knows how to play the game and isn’t afraid of using her dark craft to do so, making her more than a match for the untrustworthy staff and residents of Fyneshade. We understand that it is these parts of her personality combined with the suspicion, desire and secrecy surrounding her that motivate her actions and allow us to keep rooting for Marta even as she plotted deeds that were increasingly dark.
Fyneshade is an ancient, bleak and decaying house located in the wilds of Derbyshire. Isolated and eerie, it is the kind of place where the walls bleed malice and the air is thick for foreboding. It feels alive, chilling your bones and sending fear up your spine. I would have been out of there before the first night fell. And the unsettling atmosphere that surrounds Fyneshade only increases with the mystery that surrounds the house, its history, and those who live there, creating a heart-pounding, edge-of-your seat read that I was powerless to put down.
Bewitching, claustrophobic and deliciously diabolical, Fyneshade is a literary gothic masterpiece that will linger long after reading. Perfect for Halloween, this needs to be on your TBR!
Rating: 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kate Griffin was born within the sound of Bow bells, making her a true-born cockney. She has worked as an assistant to an antiques dealer, a journalist for local newspapers and now works for The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders, Kate’s first book, won the Stylist/Faber crime writing competition. Kate lives in St Albans.
Published September 15th, 2022 by Orenda Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Mystery, Noir Fiction, Hardboiled Mystery, Horror Fiction, Occult Horror, Translated Fiction
Today I’m sharing a review for a magnificent gothic thriller that’s perfect for spooky season.
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SYNOPSIS:
Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle Époque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart … FIRST in a bewitching new series
**Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**
`A wonderfully dark, intricately woven historical thriller spanning three generations … it will have you hooked from the very first page’ B A Paris
`A gripping story of murder and black magic …Gustawsson slowly weaves together three seemingly disparate strands of her narrative with a skill that shows why she is such an admired crime writer in her native France´ The Times BOOK OF THE MONTH
`Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly told through three different time frames´ Essie Fox
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Three women Three eras One extraordinary mystery… 1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.
1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.
2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.
Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…
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MY REVIEW:
“It’s like in Macbeth. Everything begins with an encounter, a prophetic encounter with a witch. If Macbeth’s path had never crossed that of the three witches, he would have never killed King Duncan. Lady Macbeth or no Lady Macbeth.”
Halloween is almost upon us and we’re almost at the end of Orentober, so I thought this was the perfect time to finally read The Bleeding, which I’ve been highly anticipating for a long time. I mean, just look at that cover. How was I supposed to resist such beauty? And those spredges! Absolute heaven. But it wasn’t just the outside of this book that drew me to it. The synopsis immediately grabbed me and I’ve been even more excited to read it since having the pleasure of author Johana Gustawasson talking about the book at an event last year. And what a book! Reading anything published by Orenda is always a joy, but this is an absolute masterpiece. Unnerving, haunting, and macabre, it is one of my favourite books this year.
This is a story of three women in three different timelines who are all connected by a single thread. Paris, 1899, Lucienne is devastated when her two young daughters are believed dead after a fire burns her mansion to the ground. Searching for certainly, she is introduced to Spiritualism by one of her society friends. Then in post-war Quebec, teenager Lina is an outcast at school who strikes up a friendship with an elderly resident at the rest home where her single mother works that will have life-changing consequences. In 2002, a famous Quebec university professor was found brutally murdered and his wife, a former schoolteacher, is the only suspect. Detective Maxine Grant is called in to investigate the baffling and bizarre crime, making a series of gruesomediscoveries that raise more questions than answers.
“Don’t be expecting to unearth a logical reason for their barbaric acts. This quest sheds light on just one aspect of their psychopathy… a psychopath’s logic is theirs and theirs alone. And it defies all other logic.”
Though I own many of Ms. Gustawasson’s books, I’m ashamed to say that this was my first time reading one of them, and I’m so mad at myself for sleeping on this author for so long. She is a master sinister storyteller, living up to her title of the Queen of French Noir as she weaves a cunningly crafted gothic thriller laced with emotion, drama, secrets, and the supernatural. Gustawasson pulled no punches as she dived head-first into the action and I was enrapt from start to finish. The characters are memorable and compelling, and I loved the unique voices of each narrator. They were a trio of troubled, fractured women who draw the reader into their stories and make you care what happens to them. I also loved Pauline’s character who is an enigma. To Maxine she’s her kind, former teacher, but there are horrific discoveries made at her home that she may have been part of. Her refusal to talk only adds to the mystery and I could never be sure if I sensed a darkness about her or if she was in shock. I had my suspicions, but for most of the book I had no idea if they were correct, adding to the tension and making Pauline a stand-out character even though she barely utters a word.
This is definitely one of those books you need to read with the lights on. Darkly atmospheric, ominous and forbidding, fear snaked its way up my spine as I searched the pages for clues that would connect the women and timelines. But I was stumped for the most part, Ms. Gustawasson proves herself to be a master of misdirection and disguise as she slowly weaves her intricate, tangled web. The story is shrewdly choreographed and only gives up its secrets when Gustawasoon decides the time is right, delivering jaw-dropping revelations that hit me out of the blue. Of the many scenarios I had in my head I never came close to guessing the truth and I’m still reeling.
Bewitching, eerie, unsettling and sinister, The Bleeding is a phenomenal gothic thriller that I can’t recommend highly enough. So if you’re looking for a witchy or supernatural read that’s perfect for the spooky season, read this book!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Published June 22nd, 2023 by Headline Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Welcome to my review for the gorgeously gothic The Birdcage Library. This was one of our summer Squadpod Book Club picks, so I’m late with this review. But this book was more than worth the wait for me. Thank you to Headline for the proof copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS: Dear Reader, the man I love is trying to kill me…
A mesmerising tale of buried secrets and dark obsession with shades of Daphne du Maurier, The Birdcage Library will hold you in its spell until the final page.
‘A delicious page-turning mystery within a mystery’ LIZ HYDER ‘A twisty treasure hunt of a novel… Utterly beguiling’ LIZZIE POOK ‘It glistens with a hint of the danger that lurks within‘ CHARLOTTE PHILBY ‘Dark, claustrophobic and clever storytelling’ JANE SHEMILT _________
1932. Emily Blackwood, adventuress and plant hunter, travels north for a curious new commission. A gentleman has written to request she catalogue his vast collection of taxidermied creatures before sale.
On arrival, Emily finds a ruined castle, its owner haunted by a woman who vanished five decades before. And when she discovers the ripped pages of a diary, crammed into the walls, she realises dark secrets lie here, waiting to entrap her too…
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MY REVIEW:
“Welcome, dear reader. You have found me, and I you. The diary you hold in your hands is a treasure map. It will lead you to what you ought to seek. Like all such maps, the trail is cryptic. The reason for this is simple. The man I love is trying to kill me.”
Gorgeously gothic, dark and forbidding, The Birdcage Library is an absolute masterpiece. Set in 1930s Scotland, Botanist and Adventuress Emily Blackwood is about to begin a new commission cataloguing the collection of creatures for sale. When she arrives at Castle Parras she finds a remote and ruined place inhabited by a peculiar nonagenarian and haunted by the memory of a woman who disappeared fifty years ago. After finding the pages of an old diary hidden in the walls, Emily sets out to solve the mystery in its pages. But alongside its secrets, a darkness lurks in the crevices of this old castle. Can she discover the truth before it entraps her?
Enthralling, eerie and suspenseful, this had everything I want in a Gothic mystery. This was one of our summer Squadpod Book Club picks so I’m late reading it, but it feels perfect for this time of year. Castle Parras is a cold, uninviting place but it lures you in, tempting you to try and be the one to make it give up its secrets. There’s a hint of malevolence and a nameless dread that hovers over the pages, making tendrils of fear creep up your spine as you read. With her exquisite storytelling and evocative imagery, Freya Berry takes you on a literary treasure hunt that wrenches you out of your own world and into the one she’s created as you try to solve the decades-old mystery. I was utterly captivated, not wanting to put the book down even to sleep as I desperately needed answers.
“The summer solstice, with its sliver of dark, seemed a strange time of year for a haunting. But perhaps it was not the creatures of night that were most terrifying – at least with those you knew that day would come. Worse, perhaps, were the monsters that rose while the sun was high.”
Emily and Hester were great protagonists. While they lived very different lives fifty years apart there were many similarities between them. Both women are strong yet vulnerable. They are plagued by inner torment, fear, and regret while also possessing a fierce resolve and determination. They are also both surrounded by mystery. For Hester, this is her disappearance, while for Emily it is her past and the secrets she’s keeping from the reader. While you are never completely sure if either woman is a reliable narrator, they are easy to like and I was cheering them on at every step. We can’t talk about the characters without mentioning Heinrich Vogel, Emily’s employer and Hester’s brother-in-law. The nonagenarian is a strange man who gets increasingly creepy as the story goes on. I didn’t trust him or his nephew, Yves, one bit, and was worried for Emily’s safety as she’s trapped in the castle with them.
“The best most of us can hope for is to find comfort in our cages.”
One of the themes running through this book is cages as Berry explores the ways in which they are a metaphor in our lives. She discusses how we can be caged by society, relationships, or even ourselves, vividly capturing how it feels to be trapped in an invisible prison, being desperate to escape but having no idea how to free yourself. She also weaves in literal cages in the form of the castle walls, birdcages and the boxes that hold the various creatures, both alive and dead, adding to the claustrophobic feeling radiating from the pages.
Darkly atmospheric, chilling and immersive, this clever and twisty puzzle gets all the stars. One of my favourite books so far this year, The Birdcage Library is a mesmerising gothic mystery that will haunt you long after reading.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Freya Berry worked as a journalist at Reuters, covering everything from corporate M&A to Brexit. After a stint in New York reporting on the 2016 US election she left to write her first novel, The Dictator’s Wife, published by Headline in 2022. She received a double starred first in English from Trinity College, Cambridge and her writing has appeared in the TLS, the Guardian, the Independent and the Mail Online among others. She also works as an investigative corporate researcher. Her time is split between London and the Welsh coast, where she spends an inadvisable amount of time in the sea.
Published September 28th, 2023 by Headline Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Romance
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Figurine, the enthralling new book from Victoria Hislop. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Headline for the copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
In her irresistible new novel, Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people – and countries – will pay to cling on to them.
Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors – and looters – alike.
When Helena inherits her grandparents’ apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship. Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime’s generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them?
Helena’s desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island. Their finds fuel her determination to protect the precious fragments recovered from the baked earth – and to understand the origins of her grandfather’s collection.
Helena’s attempt to make amends for some of her grandfather’s actions sees her wrestle with the meaning of ‘home’, both in relation to looted objects of antiquity … and herself.
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MY REVIEW:
“Beauty has always cast its spell, but down the ages has always driven some to crime.”
Smooth, comforting and utterly glorious, The Figurine is a rich tapestry of a novel. Part historical fiction, part love story, part criminal caper, and part wanderlust adventure, this is an absolute masterpiece. It has a bit of everything: love, lies, family, friendship, secrets, betrayal, greed, corruption, death, and vengeance. Plus some history, Greek mythology and nostalgia is thrown in there too. There’s no denying that at 528 pages this book is a chonker, and I’ll admit,I found it intimidating at first. But I needn’t have worried and flew through it quickly, every page holding my attention hostage as I was educated and enthralled by this epic tale.
“They say Greece was created by the gods. But it’s been ruled by devil’s for the past few years.””
When she is eight-years-old Helena goes to visit her grandparents in their Athens apartment for the first time. It is 1968 and Greece is still under a brutal dictatorship so it is a very different place than she is used to. While her grandmother, Eleni, is kind, Helena finds her grandfather, Stamatis, to be severe and cruel. He is also one of the regime’s generals, and over the course of multiple summer visits, Helena witnesses things her young mind doesn’t yet understand. As she gets older, Helena becomes increasingly inquisitive about her heritage, even spending time volunteering on archeological digs on small Greek islands to connect with her mother’s home country.
But it is when Helena inherits her grandparents apartment years later that the truth about her family’s past will be revealed. While sorting through her grandparents’ possessions she makes a startling discovery that calls into question how her grandfather amassed the vast array of treasures in his home.Determined to do the right thing, she sets out to discover the true origins of these items and make amends for the sins her grandfather and others have committed.
“Every object, whether it’s old, new, beautiful or even ugly, has a life. A starting point, a journey, a story. Whatever you want to call it. Some have places where they really belong, which is different from the location where they find themselves.”
This book was literary heaven from beginning to end. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by this author but it has reignited my love of her writing and reminded me why she is still one of my auto-buy authors. Victoria Hislop’s writing is beautiful and evocative, bringing the culture, history and landscape of Greece to life in vivid, meticulously researched detail. The stunning imagery made me feel like I could feel the sun beating down on my skin, see the Acropolis, and taste the bitter coffee. It made me want to immediately book a flight and experience it all for myself – if only my bank account would allow it – *sighs*
“She found Stamatis Papagiannis quietly sinister, like a dormant volcano. If and when he was going to erupt was unknowable, but the threat felt constant.”
The book contains a cast of detailed and compelling characters that draw you into their lives and make you care about them. Our main character is Helena, and I enjoyed following her for so many years as she grew from little girl to young woman, watching as she faced familiar challenges and experiences such as going to university, falling in love, having your heart broken, and choosing the path you want to take in life. But Helena faces all of these alongside an extraordinary family history that made my heart break for her and her mother. It was a reminder that people who do terrible things have ordinary families who are also affected by their behaviour in many ways. But there were also some really beautiful observations and moments about family relationships in the story. Helena’s parents were great characters and I loved their relationship with Helena. The family trip to Greece was my favourite part of the book and I could have read twice as much of these three together. I also loved Dina, her grandparents’ maid, and the sweet bond she formed with Helena during her summers in Greece. On the opposite end of the spectrum there were some truly vile and evil villains such as Stamis and Arsenis, who turned my stomach every time they were on the page. And then there’s Nick. I couldn’t stand that slimy dirtbagand wanted to shout at Helena to run away from him as she ignored every single red flag he was sending.
One of the things I love most about reading historical fiction is learning while I read, and I learned a lot while reading this book. I will readily admit that while Greece has long been a country I’m fascinated by and long to visit, I knew nothing about its post-war struggles, civil war and the brutal regime that its people were forced to live under for many years. And while I’d seen Cycladic figurines, I knew very little about them or the illegal trade of priceless artefacts. It is also here that Ms. Hislop’s extensive research shines through, expertly weaving historical fact with fiction to create a truly remarkable story. I was so mesmerised by the topics explored in this book that I’ve been going down rabbit holes googling Greek history, and its ancient artefacts. And after reading small fragments of Medea’s myth, I am bumping up the novel I have about her up my TBR.
Ambitious, emotional, and utterly gorgeous, The Figurine is a story you won’t be able to put down once you start reading. A must for the TBR of any historical fiction lover.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Victoria Hislop is the international bestselling author of The Island and The Return. In the United Kingdom, she writes travel features for The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, House & Garden, and Woman & Home. The Island sold over a million copies in the UK and has been translated into 24 languages. Victoria’s second novel, The Return, has been published in more than a dozen languages. She lives in Kent, with her husband Ian and their two children.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 