Gothic thriller with some very well-drawn characters and beautifully depicted scenes switching between the horrors of slum life in Victorian London and the more refined way of life of the well-to-do. Hester’s life has been one long downward spiral from the genteel Lincolnshire vicarage to the London slums following the death of her parents. This changes dramatically when she is run over by a Doctor’s carriage and taken to his sister Rebekah in the country as part of an experiment to see if the poor can be educated. In true gothic tradition underneath the surface there is a terrible undercurrent surrounding the mysterious disappearance of people from both Rebekah’s house and the London slums. I alternated between loving and hating this book but in the end found the plot too convoluted and the connections between such disparate characters too unbelievable to reall enjoy it.

This had all the right ingredients for me with a dark Victorian setting, mysterious disappearances, hidden secrets and romance but somehow it didn't deliver. I set off into the book full of anticipation and enjoyed the setting of the scene but I think a bit of editing would have been good - I found my attention wandering in the first part of the book - although the pace increases in the last third. I enjoyed the historical details, the body-snatcher stuff and the descriptions of the life of London's poorest and I know it is a book that will be greatly enjoyed by many,

Laura Carlin’s debut novel is set in 1830’s Victorian Britain and is the tale of Hester White. Hester is orphaned when her father, a parson, dies in their Lincolnshire parish. She then lives with the gardener and his wife (Jacob and Meg) who relocate to London when their services are no longer required by the new priest. Hester’s life changes drastically as the small family fall on increasingly difficult times resulting in their living in the lowliest slum and often lacking in food.

However, her situation improves when she is involved in an accident with a horse drawn cab which leaves her badly injured. Fortunately the passenger, Calder Brock is a physician and he takes her home to treat her wounds and convalesce. Here, she is introduced to his sister Rebekah who is charged with ‘educating’ Hester as an experiment. Cleverly Hester seizes upon this chance to improve her situation and she conceals her background and pretends to be a cockney with the hope that eventually she will be able to obtain a position as a maid.

From the outset Hester is fascinated by Rebekah and as the story develops they become involved in a mystery. The mystery of the many people, always poor and invisible, that have disappeared.

This is a beautifully written, atmospheric book which invokes the mystery of the dangerous slum areas of London wreathed in smog and grime whilst the rich and aristocratic pursue their own greedy ends, oblivious and uncaring about the misfortune of the poor and marginalised. If you like takes of ‘Jack the Ripper’ and ‘Fingersmith’ you will not be disappointed with The Wicked Cometh.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

In Victorian London Hester, an educated young woman fallen on hard times, is taken on as an educational project by Dr Calder Brock. Moved to the Brock family home she is given to the haughty Rebekah Brock to teach. Gradually truths are revealed, and dangers faced which changes their relationship forever. The author brings out the limited roles of women, and the limited choices of the poor, the downward spiral Hester is struggling to escape. They have captured clearly one aspect of the history of early victorian medicine. The descriptions of the characters, and of London, the varying areas of the city and of life in the slums rang true.
The book is well paced with many twists and turns as secrets come to light, we are led to believe one thing then realise the truth is other; The final terrible events, and then....
This is a mystery, adventure and love story; I devoured the book in three short evenings, very enjoyable.

This Dickensian ode to Victorian London was well-written and descriptive. We follow the journey of a young woman from relative comfort in the countryside to abject city poverty and onwards to a change of fortunes brought about by a carriage accident. It's a little contrived in places, too many coincidences possibly but I love a bit of historical fiction and this debut from Laura Carlin was full of grim Victorian squalor and bleak intensity.

It's at least partially a whodunnit and while there are few surprises on that front, the complexity of the shenanigans afoot keep the reader interested throughout. I wondered if the romance wasn't a little tortured, but it added a poignancy to what might otherwise have felt a bit overwrought, so I give it a pass!

Great title, and seriously interesting characters, I love to read about women in the 19th century who pursue their own ideas.
However, the plot of this book regarding the disappearances was rather complicated and the story that came after that was even more far fetched.

But again: the characters Hester and Rebekah, and their musings and interaction was what kept me turning those pages.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Wicked Cometh set in pre-Victorian London.

Hester White, an orphan of gentle folk but fallen on hard times, is knocked down by a carriage. The gentleman doctor, Calder Brock, insists of treating her wounds and using her in an experiment to see if education is better than the workhouse. To this end he enlists the help of his sister Rebekah who is trying to investigate the disappearance of two of her maids in the midst of a rash of disappearances. Hester and Rebekah join forces.

The Wicked Cometh is an interesting read. It has a convoluted web of characters as Hester and Rebekah try to unravel the truth but it is also the tale of a romance between them and a picture of 1834 London. I must admit that I found it a difficult novel to read and it didn't really hold my attention. It is written in the style of the time so it is wordy rather than sharp and to the point. I also think the incipient romance between Hester and Rebekah is an unnecessary distraction to the investigation and not particularly interesting but I'm a crime fiction reader so perhaps this is unfair.

The plot is fairly slow to get going but heats up in the second half as the ladies make more discoveries and see a fair amount of action. It may be melodramatic in parts but again this is in keeping with the setting.

What I particularly liked about the novel is the descriptions of the poverty, filth and degradation of lower class London. It is extremely well done and Ms Carlin really brings it to life. I felt myself holding my nose at the stench and tiptoeing through the muck.

The Wicked Cometh is a good historical novel, just not to my taste.

You can see that a lot of research has gone into this book. I really enjoyed the description of the slums of London in the 1830's. It is very atmospheric. The story tailed off towards the end which I felt was a bit contrived. As I continued reading I found I did not really care for the story. Not for me.

THE WICKED COMETH

A most accomplished evocation of early nineteenth century England, written in prose that dazzles. Such erudition is the result of Laura Carlin’s impeccable research into life in the 1830s in London and the provinces.

Hester White, a parson’s daughter, has fallen on hard times following her parents’ untimely demise at their Lincolnshire parish. Circumstances dictate her remove to London to live with her father’s gardener Jacob and his wife, Meg, whose services are no longer required by the incoming priest. The slum life that Hester endures is accompanied by the alarming disappearance of vulnerable innocents from London’s streets.

When fate takes a hand Hester’s fortunes are changed for the better following an accident with a horse drawn cab. The occupant, Calder Brock, is a physician and Hester soon finds herself convalescing in an aristocratic world and seizes the chance to improve her wellbeing under the tutelage of the intelligent Rebekah Brock.

Past events soon thrust Hester and Rebekah into a sinister world. Do the disappearances of persons in London have repercussions closer to home? What will happen when they are faced with unfathomable evil? Evil described in such graphic detail. There is a whiff of Edgar Allan Poe here, amidst the pallor of murky London: <i>”London Particular; it tastes of coddles eggs and coal-smoke, smells of quenched fires and horse-dirt…”</i>

And passages that have even Wikipedia confused: <i>”…sells you the best and most fashionable frocks and sutes of Fustian, Ticken and Holland, stript Dimmity, flannel and canvas…”</i>

The Wicked Cometh is a remarkable book, particularly as it is Carlin’s debut novel. It is like reading something published in the nineteenth century and yet with great lucidity; part romance, part Gothic terror and a final redemption that is totally satisfying.

I loved this book and recommend it without reservation.

With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton, Laura Carlin and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love a good historical fiction, especially those set in Victorian England. What a dark, dreary world it was. The Wicked Cometh looks at the era through both a poor and a privileged lens. Hester is an orphan, brought low when her parents died and living with their old gardener, whose past criminality tries to drag Hester down even further. Rebecca comes from a wealthy family, and is instructed to become Hester's teacher, when Rebecca's brother brings her back to their family home.

Both are women, suffering from the pressures that were put upon women at the time. They may be separated by class, but their experience is similar enough for them to find common ground, as women tend to do. They join together to solve the mystery of various disappearances, and find a deep friendship is blossoming between them.

This is a great book, similar to others of the same ilk, but it stands apart as an enjoyable, exciting piece of fiction.

Didn't hold my interest,too convoluted ans wandered.

As a debut novel this book is epic.
The setting is England in the 1830s. Lovely green swathes of countryside complete with manor houses with maids, gardeners, boot boys and dressing for dinner. Also London...from town houses and carriages to slum dwelling of the lowest order.
As always it is where there is least that people care most. Sickness takes whole families but something else is disappearing many individuals. All poverty stricken with nothing to indicate where they have gone and only a few folk beyond their immediate family and friends who care.
Rebeka cares. Hester cares.
At one point I thought the book was going to head off in a direction that I do not care for. I almost stopped reading. Fortunately the situation was mainly alluded to and did not overwhelm the main storyline. Even so it lost a star.
The book is wonderfully descriptive. Midden Lane in London and blocked up backyard privvies make me glad that scratch and sniff is not available!!

Reviewed on my blog.
https://wordpress.com/post/whereathousandwordspaintapicture.wordpress.com/1526

I really enjoyed this book, a historical novel set in 1831 full of the language of the day and with a mystery thrown in for good measure.

This will appeal to readers of historical fiction,not least because of the contextual consistency. You can believe you have been transported to this cruel, brutal world. It is very well written and the strength of the story us maintained throughout. The ending is unexpected. The depicted relationship between the two main characters is unusual for the historical context and convincingly written.

So dark and depressing to read I had to stop for a while and read something lighter. Compelling but...

The author really evokes the mire and grime of 19th century London well. I could see and feel every unpleasant inch of her setting, similarly relaxing in the joy of a change of scene when action moves on to Waterford. However, I was a bit up and down about this book throughout. The action seems quite disjointed, meandering from one point to the next without a clear sense of purpose; that is until the latter stages of the book where the pace picks up and the mystery unravels - which I really enjoyed. Yet I never feel like I really got to know Hester. I could tell you about her family history no end but nothing about her character. This was a shame. I really wanted to like this more than I did.

This is an atmospheric story of dastardly wicked deeds in the early to mid nineteenth century. The baddies are very, very bad indeed. The main character, Hester, has a riches to rags (and hopefully back again), story with a maybe unexpected romance thrown in. I thought that it was well-written but over-long, and a little florid in its description in places. It was not really my sort of thing, but I'm sure it will do well.

What a beautifully written book this is. The prose has an authentic depth that just takes you right back in time to the sights, sounds and smells of 19th century London. But don't let that statement lull you into a false sense of security. This book isn't a sedate little number to soothe you to sleep. It's a hard hitting, surprising and brilliant novel and all the components are there to make it a book club favourite.
Hester White's once comfortable young life has spiralled downwards and, through no fault of her own, tragic circumstances and unfortunate events have left her washed up in the slums of 1830s London where disease is rife and danger looms around every corner. Desperate to escape, Hester longs to regain her previous privileges and - most importantly - her dignity. Luckily, Hester is plucked from the foul streets and transported to a world of aristocratic riches and opportunity by the mysterious Brock clan. Watch out for Rebekah Brock, who is utterly compelling as a character and cleverly crafted.
So, as Hester begins to live the life she believes she deserves, she vows to do all she can to ensure she doesn't return to her previous miserable existence and the foul smelling, disease ridden streets of London.
Be prepared for some twists, turns and heartbreak as Hester fights to stay on top! This book is dark yet at times uplifting, serious yet enlightening. It's a story of hope, fear, triumph over tragedy and resilience. It's also a story about love which the writer explores well and trusts the reader to draw our own conclusions in terms of interpretation of the themes and motifs of this book.
Overall, 'The Wicked Cometh' is a great read and I would recommend it, particularly for lovers of historical fiction. Cleverly plotted with good characterisation and great description, I particularly enjoyed the shock factor that came through as I was reading which added extra depth to this book.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This blew my mind, it was full of intensity and i usually do not read historical books but this was a winner!