Tag: superstition
+ 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, cosy mystery, crime fiction, dark humour, Historical fiction, humour fiction, List, murder mystery, psychiatric hospital, Sci-Fi, superstition, thriller, time travel
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Four
Here are my favourite ten books of 2024 Part Four, not counting audio books. Quite a disparate selection for a change. The Portrait Girl by Nicole Swengley I had no idea what to expect when I started reading The Portrait Girl. What we know is that Freya’s mother has just died and Freya needs to clear out her cottage and then decide whether to sell it, … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part Four
+ audio book, childhood, fiction, gothic, Historical fiction, kidnapping, review, supernatural, superstition, Victorian Britain
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
Bridie Devine, female detective extraordinaire, is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors trading curiosities in this age of discovery. Winding her way through the labyrinthine, sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds … Read More Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
+ 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
+ fiction, Ghost story, grief, haunting, loss, love, Magical realism, motherhood, mythology, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, supernatural, superstition
Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato
She came to write, but the island has its own story . . . Off the windswept coast of Scotland lies Finish Island, rugged and remote. Once a home, it now stands abandoned, a place of dark history and deep memory, a place that holds its stories close. Unable to write since her daughter’s death, it’s here that Seren comes to work, hoping that … Read More Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato
+ crime fiction, female friendship, fiction, friendship, grief, loss, love, murder, review, superstition, thriller, witchcraft
Death Rites by Sarah Ward
Professor Carla James is an archaeologist with an interest in more than just bones and stones. She wants to understand the emotions behind the sites she investigates. Desperate for a change of scene following the death of her husband, Carla takes a job at Jericho, an elite New England college. On her first day, Carla is asked to represent the department at an unusual … Read More Death Rites by Sarah Ward
+ fiction, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, obsession, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, superstition, thriller, twins, witchcraft, witches
The Torments by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #2)
Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries. While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the … Read More The Torments by Michael J Malone (Annie Jackson Mysteries #2)
+ 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, 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
+ audio book, child abduction, fantasy, folklore, Historical fiction, kidnapping, Magical realism, mythology, review, superstition
Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it … Read More Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
+ 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
Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell
In 18th century London, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of knowledge is deadly. When ambitious apprentice chemist and secret alchemist Peter Woulfe is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book, the Mutus Liber, he quickly realises that the grimy underworld of Georgian London is even more dangerous than he first believed. #SparksOfBrightMatter #LeeanneODonnell @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour Soon the book is stolen … Read More Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell
+ 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
