Victorian gothic: possibly my favourite genre. Here, Jess Kidd creates a darkly poetic and watery tale. At it’s heart: Bridie Devine, formerly a resurrectionist’s girl, then a medic’s trusted extra hands, and finally a private detective with a penchant for mind altering blends of tobacco and the odd nip of Madeira. I felt like I […]
As the autumn chill deepens and Christmas approaches, it’s lovely to snuggle up with a hot drink and read books with a chilly setting. This is the first Anne Perry book I’ve tried, but I understand that ‘A Christmas Promise’ is the seventh in a series of Christmas themed novellas penned by the author, all […]
‘Reader, I murdered him.’ So begins Jane Steele’s tale, a tale which includes a multitude of elements familiar to readers of Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’: an unfairly treated orphan girl; a terrible experience at boarding school; life as a governess; falling in love with a powerful, rich man who is flawed. But, make no mistake, this […]
London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. What if you were a jobbing detective who lived at the same time as the great Sherlock Holmes? What might you think of this so-called genius with an eye for the significant clue and a general dislike of people? Would you respect […]
I’ve always enjoyed fiction written in, about or around the Victorian period. This means I was delighted to discover Octavius Guy, known as ‘Octopus’ to his friends, developing his detective skills in a convincingly imagined Victorian London. Author Michael Gallagher has published two mysteries following Octopus’ adventures and the third instalment in the series, ‘Big […]
Last year I read and LOVED ‘Gooseberry: The Case of The Thieving Maharajah’. Since then, I have been waiting as patiently as possible for author Michael Gallagher to release the next in the series. Today, it is finally published in full (the first few chapters have been steadily made available over the last few weeks […]
If you like murder mysteries, detective stories and mock Victorian fiction, Lynn Shepherd has a treat for you. Meet Charles Maddox, an honourable man fighting for truth and justice in a world where money means power and lack of either can be deadly. What’s it about? London, 1850. Charles Maddox has been forced to leave […]
Sometimes you see a book and just know you’re going to love it. That’s how I felt when I spotted ‘Gooseberry’ by Michael Gallagher on Librarything. The fact that I had yet to read either Wilkie Collins’ ‘The Moonstone’, which is the inspiration and touchstone for Gallagher’s novel, or anything previously written by Gallagher himself, […]