Tag: theatre
+ 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, 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
All Our Yesterdays by Guy Hale
Act I I Stratford-upon-Avon, spring 1932 Six years after a fire destroyed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, a new troupe of actors is taking Stratford by storm. But offstage, Felix Richards suspects something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Read Along: 28th March – 29th AprilGenre: Crime FictionPublisher: The Bullington Press Morris Oxford feels he needs no introduction, he’s the greatest actor of a generation. The theatre … Read More All Our Yesterdays by Guy Hale
+ female friendship, fiction, Ireland, jealousy, marriage, motherhood, music, obsession, piano, review
The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden
If a therapist promised they could fix your selfish husband, but only if you followed their dangerously unorthodox methods, would you do it? Eliza’s playwright husband Richard Sheridan has accepted the career opportunity of a lifetime: running a prestigious theatre in Dublin. Eliza plays the role of the supportive wife – uprooting their daughter Mara, relocating from England to Dublin, running the household and … Read More The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
Hollywood to Kentish Town by Patrice Chaplin
Patrice Chaplin takes us on a tour of the unknown lives of the stars of glamorous Hollywood, starting in the 1970s. The swimming pools are shimmering with talent, but Goddess Hollywood looks further afield and finds its next protege amongst the puddles of Kentish Town. When Patrice Chaplin left Kentish Town for Hollywood she did not envisage the extent of the excitement of the … Read More Hollywood to Kentish Town by Patrice Chaplin
+ 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
The Theatre of Glass & Shadows by Anne Corlett
Sometimes the greatest spectacle hides the darkest secrets . . . In an alternate London, the city’s Theatre District is a walled area south of the river where an immersive production – the Show – has been running for centuries, growing ever bigger, more sprawling and lavish. The Show is open to anyone who can afford a ticket but the District itself is a … Read More The Theatre of Glass & Shadows by Anne Corlett
Mr Magenta by Christopher Bowden
Stephen Marling thought he knew his aunt Flora. But when he inherits her house in a quiet south London square a series of discoveries among her papers brings to light another person entirely. Who, for example, is ‘Mr Magenta’ and what part did he play in her life? In the process of uncovering the secrets of one life, Stephen is forced to re-evaluate his own … Read More Mr Magenta by Christopher Bowden
+ 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
Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit 