Category: Gothic mystery
+ fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, illegitimacy, jealousy, marriage, mythology, obsession, review, superstition
House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
Not every house is a home…Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady … Read More House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
+ crime fiction, dark humour, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, List, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Three
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part Three, including audiobooks, as I haven’t listened to enough to have their own post this quarter. As usual quite a disparate selection. The Empty Cradle by Lisa Rookes This was so good. I’m not sure how a story could be scary, creepy, and really funny at the same time. I think that’s because it’s so well … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Three
+ audio book, audio drama, childhood, family, family drama, fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, review, secrets, siblings, sisters, Yorkshire
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious … Read More Mrs England by Stacey Halls
+ 1980s, audio book, family, fiction, ghosts, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, haunting, loss, love, review, siblings, supernatural
The Lincoln House by LB Stimson
It would be a new start – a reincarnation of sorts. Hannah Murphy faces an uncertain future. Her aunt was dead and soon, strangers would take possession of the only home she had ever known. When a letter arrives informing her she is the sole heir to an unknown uncle’s estate, the news seems like a Godsend. #TheLincolnHouse X(Twitter) @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #booktwitterInstagram @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram Days later, she finds herself on … Read More The Lincoln House by LB Stimson
+ crime fiction, dark humour, feel-good, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Two
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part Two, including audiobooks, as I haven’t listened to enough to have their own post this quarter. Again quite a disparate selection. The Cure by Eve Smith I’m so out of my comfort zone here. Firstly, I don’t usually read speculative fiction, sci-fi or dystopian future novels. And secondly, I don’t think this is entirely fiction, … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part Two
The Last Days of Leda Grey by Essie Fox
A bewitching novel about an enigmatic silent film actress, and the volatile love affair that left her a recluse for over half a century – for fans of Sarah Waters and Tracy Chevalier. During the oppressive heat wave of 1976, a young journalist, Ed Peters, finds an Edwardian photograph in a junk shop in the Brighton Lanes. It shows an alluring dark-haired girl, an … Read More The Last Days of Leda Grey by Essie Fox
+ fiction, gothic, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, history, Italy, murder, revenge, review, Venice
Dangerous by Essie Fox
Fiction can be fatal… Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer… #Dangerous X/Twitter @essiefox @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #booktwitter Instagram @essie_fox_author @orendabooks @randomthingstours #bookstagram #blogtour … Read More Dangerous by Essie Fox
+ 1970s, audio book, fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, Ireland, List, review
My 3 Favourite Audiobooks of 2025 – Part One
So far I have only listened to three audiobooks this year and they are all by Jess Kidd. I have just finished her latest so expect to see that in Part Two. The Hoarder by Jess Kidd So this was my second audiobook book by Jess Kidd, with the same Irish narrator. This time I listened on Borrowbox. There is something about the strangeness of … Read More My 3 Favourite Audiobooks of 2025 – Part One
+ audio book, fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, review, supernatural, superstition, witchcraft
The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Kerr
‘There are a lot of shadows at Ravenswood, so you will need to be strong…’ The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged for murder. Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle. To her surprise, the man – Marcus Greybourne – convinces the local … Read More The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Kerr
My 4 Favourite Audiobooks of 2024 – Part Four
Here are my favourite audio books of the year Part Four. There’s always a Gothic mystery in there. Plus Chris Whitaker makes a second appearance of the year. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton I signed up for this as an audio book on Borrowbox. It’s 20 hours long – which is huge – I can see it’s six hours and 48 mins as … Read More My 4 Favourite Audiobooks of 2024 – Part Four
+ crime fiction, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, loss, murder, murder mystery, mystery, mythology, obsession, review, Scandi noir, Sweden
Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner Paperback Tour
This brilliant book is now out in paperback. Art expert Emma Lindhal is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques 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. As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that … Read More Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner Paperback Tour
+ crime fiction, dark humour, feel-good, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, murder mystery, mystery, supernatural, superstition, thriller, Victorian Britain, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Three
Here are my favourite ten books of 2024 Part Three, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Audiobooks to follow. Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr I read this in ten staves with the Pigeonhole online book club. It was almost unbearable waiting for the next instalment. The book was so exciting, the suspense nail-biting. While this is the first in a … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Three
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