3.5
The Shape of Darkness
By Laura PurcellPublisher Description
Edgar Award Finalist
A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try and identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from the queen of Gothic fiction, Laura Purcell
As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another... Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?
Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back.
A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try and identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from the queen of Gothic fiction, Laura Purcell
As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another... Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?
Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities93 Reviews
3.5
Brittany A
Created 13 days agoShare
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Piya
Created 3 months agoShare
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“the book was suitably eerie.
loved exploring this gothic/ horror historical fiction genre”
Bookish Gigi
Created 4 months agoShare
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“I love Laura Purcell’s writing in general, she’s easily one of my most favorite and auto buy authors, and while I love almost all of what she’s come up with so far, this was the one that satisfied me the least amongst her works. It was still beautifully written, no question ever about that, but the character and plot work were a bit behind than her other works. Laura Purcell’s main characters are always women, mostly unfortunate and left to struggle through a life that considers little for them, but they’re always strong and self sufficient. However, Agnes was the weakest of her characters so far, in both personality and general intrigue. The plot was vague for a reason, but still leaves the reader with more questions, even though I liked the path it seemed to have taken. Overall, a superb writing that wasn’t supported by strong characterization this time around. Still one of my favorite authors, and still highly recommend her works, especially The Corset. I’ll be forever recommending that book to everyone.”Beautifully writtenSuspensefulRealistic settingDark
Kristine Martin
Created 4 months agoShare
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Scuppers The Sailor
Created 4 months agoShare
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“This ticked a lot of boxes for me-Victorian era, seances, hauntings,eerie gaslit atmosphere. Add to it a couple of troubled, very unreliable narrators, I am so in. Our story follows two characters: Agnes, a struggling middle aged silhouette artist who is trying to support her family and Pearl, a young girl who is forced to become a medium by her much older sister to help her dying father. Purcell is very good at weaving a twisty tale, leaving you wondering if what is happening plot wise is supernatural or has a more rational explanation. I have read one other book by this author- the Silent Companions, and while this didn’t quite live up to that book, it was still a very riveting read.”Multi-layered charactersDescriptive writingSuspensefulDark settingThought-provoking
About Laura Purcell
Laura Purcell is the author of The Silent Companions, The Poison Thread, and The House of Whispers. She worked in local government, the financial industry and a bookshop before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Colchester, the oldest recorded town in England, with her husband and pet guinea pigs. Fascinated by the darker side of royal history, Laura has also written two historical fiction novels about the Hanoverian dynasty.
Other books by Laura Purcell
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