Category: Historical fiction
+ 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
Estella’s Fury by Barbara Havelocke Cover Reveal
I’m so excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for Estella’s Fury, the new dark, gothic historical thriller by Barbara Havelocke. Instagram@BarbaraCopperthwaite It’s the sequel to Estella’s Revenge, a twisted tale of dark deeds, which I loved when I reviewed it last year – and this sounds even better! Daughter. Murderer. Saviour.London, 1835. To high society, Estella is the perfect lady. But … Read More Estella’s Fury by Barbara Havelocke Cover Reveal
+ fiction, Historical fiction, journalist, mental illness, murder, obsession, prostitution, revenge, review, secrets, Victorian Britain
Murder At The Lunatic’s Ball by R S Leonard
A Victorian asylum. A woman imprisoned. A deadly secret. England, 1875. London journalist, Harris Mortimer, visits a Hampshire lunatic asylum to investigate society’s treatment of the insane, only to find himself in a fateful encounter with a beautiful woman claiming to be wrongly incarcerated. Horrified by a series of murders, he soon becomes drawn into the strange world of the asylum and begins to … Read More Murder At The Lunatic’s Ball by R S Leonard
+ 1920s, audio book, audio drama, fiction, Historical fiction, London, review, siblings, sisters, WW1
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet’s suicide. Ghosts … Read More The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper
When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures. Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books … Read More The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper
Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian readalong
Boy With Wings follows the extraordinary journey of Johnny Cruel, a boy born with mysterious appendages on his back. What does it mean to be different? When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s years-long struggle to … Read More Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian readalong
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
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker
In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the … Read More The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker
+ 1950s, audio book, cosy mystery, fiction, Historical fiction, murder, murder mystery, review, superstition
Murder At Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd Nora Breen Investigates Book #1
A cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears 1954: When her former novice’s dependable letters stop, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in Frieda’s letter, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. A seaside town, a place … Read More Murder At Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd Nora Breen Investigates Book #1
+ 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
+ crime fiction, folklore, Historical fiction, List, murder mystery, Nordic noir, Scandi noir, supernatural, superstition, thriller, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part One
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part One, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Audiobooks to follow. Late Venetian by GN Lawson If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, Late Venetian is not for you. But it’s already one of my favourite books of 2025 so far. I’m not sure why – maybe because the two main characters … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part One
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