Category: gothic
+ fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, superstition, thriller, twins, witchcraft, witches
The Murmurs by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #1) revisited
Book two, The Torments, in the Annie Jackson Mysteries is out soon, so I’m reposting my original review. On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die. How she … Read More The Murmurs by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #1) revisited
+ audio book, gothic, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, murder, review, secrets, Victorian Britain
The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Doll Factory, The Burial Plot is an unstoppable historical thriller about murder, manipulation, and a young woman trying to wrestle power from the hands of a dangerous man. But he’s always one step ahead . . . London, 1839. Where the cemeteries are full and there is money to be made in death, Bonnie and Crawford … Read More The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
+ cult, dark humour, feel-good, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, murder mystery, mystery, thriller, Victorian Britain, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Two
Here are my favourite 10 books of 2024 Part Two, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Away Weekend by Lesley Fernández-Armesto Geraldine is divorced. Her military ex-husband Jonty has run off with Sally, leaving Geraldine with only her apricot poodle Bolly. She now lives in a tiny mews house in St John’s Wood. Then she meets Ellis, smooth, handsome, American, … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Two
Small Fires by Ronnie Turner Cover Reveal
Small Fires by Ronnie Turner will be published by Orenda Books in February 2025. Poison runs through this land like blood… When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the … Read More Small Fires by Ronnie Turner Cover Reveal
+ audio book, fiction, gothic, grief, Historical fiction, literature, mental illness, review, secrets, sisters, twins, whimsical, writer
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield narrated by Jenny Agutter
All children mythologize their birth…So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter’s collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist. The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself — all of them inventions that have brought … Read More The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield narrated by Jenny Agutter
+ adventure, child abuse, devil worship, family, fiction, gothic, Historical fiction, literature, London, loss, love, obsession, sisters, twins
The Fascination by Essie Fox Paperback Out Now
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father’s quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. #TheFascination @essiefox @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #paperback Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, … Read More The Fascination by Essie Fox Paperback Out Now
+ audio book, fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, review, superstition, witchcraft
Fyneshade by Kate Griffin narrated by Charlie Sanderson
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 grandmother’s funeral, Marta discovers that she is to be sent to be governess at Fyneshade, her charge the young daughter of the owner, Sir William Pritchard. All is not … Read More Fyneshade by Kate Griffin narrated by Charlie Sanderson
Estella’s Revenge by Barbara Havelocke
Think you know Great Expectations? Think again Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave. She knows she doesn’t feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing? As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, … Read More Estella’s Revenge by Barbara Havelocke
+ devil worship, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, magic, mythology, review, superstition, wales
The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
There’s something mysterious about the village of Penhelyg. Will unlocking its truth bring light or darkness? Meirionydd, 1783. Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. The only job he can find is as a physician in the backwaters of Wales where he can’t speak the language, belief in myth and magic is rife, and the villagers treat him … Read More The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
+ family, female friendship, fiction, Ghost story, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, lies, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, psychic, review, secrets, supernatural
The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley
Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . . When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her. She is mistaken. Edward’s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers – claiming that they mark … Read More The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley
+ fiction, folklore, gothic, grief, poetry, review, Scotland, superstition, thriller, witchcraft, witches
Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed… Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire. Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when … Read More Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
+ fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, Greek mythology, illegitimacy, jealousy, marriage, mythology, obsession, review, superstition, Victorian Britain
The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping tale of obsession, superstition and ambition, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Victorian London. Be careful what you wish for it may just come true. At The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic … Read More The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
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