Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Laura Carlin for my ARC of The Wicked Cometh in exchange for an honest review.

I’m really cheering Laura on as an author since I found out that like me, she lives in Derbyshire! It’s always great to discover an author from your own area, but anyway, I digress, on to the review!

The Wicked Cometh is the debut novel from author Laura Carlin. Set in 1831 during the short reign of William IV and people are going missing. But only poor people, so it doesn’t really matter right? But somebody has noticed, and somebody cares. Thrown together by chance, Hester White a young woman whom fortune has dealt a difficult hand, and Rebekah Brock a young woman fighting to be heard and respected in a man’s world, begin their own investigation into what is happening on the murky streets of London’s underworld.


I loved the character of Hester right away. She’s down on her luck and in a position that she doesn’t deserve to be in, but there’s no sense of entitlement or ‘woe is me’ with her. She sees improving her position as working her way up there her dreams reach as far as becoming a ladies’ maid or a dairy maid, never does she think she deserves to be in some elevated status. I also liked Rebekah who is a fiesty feminist who clearly wants to be recognised for her intelligence and personality. Definitely not your typical woman.


I loved the way the romance was handled too. I’m not going to say who it was between as I don’t like giving spoilers but I will say that for the time period this was set, it was so well written. It didn’t feel obligatory, or forced, it fitted into the story as a side story to the main event and played out perfectly. Happening naturally and with plenty of shipping from me, the reader.


The writing style is impeccable and the storyline kept me engaged throughout, I didn’t feel it was ever losing my attention, it was very clearly well thought out and I loved the twists! I didn’t see a lot of what is coming which is rare for me lately.

Overall a fantastic debut and I’ll be looking out for more from Laura.

I found the start of this book very atmospheric. Set in the London of 1831,it talks about the reported disappearance of Master Hogget. He is not the only person to have gone missing recently. We are then introduced to Hester and her life in much reduced circumstances. The story revolves around Hester, Miss Rebekah and their concerns about the missing people. Through a stroke of luck - ill or otherwise, Hester has an accident and is looked after by Calder who is Rebekah's brother. He is a physician. As part of her care Hester takes lessons from Rebekah.

The sexual tension between the two women is obviously very early on and forms an important part of this story. Rebekah's family who are a little unusual are the other strand together with the missing people. The basic story idea here is fine with me and is well fleshed out. I found this perfectly readable however it seemed to take a while to get going.

The setting, time and place, felt real and quite vivid to me. The writing is fairly simple and makes for easy and well paced reading - I was never bored by this story. I liked the characters too. Once again they felt mostly real though I think the brother and his friend were less well developed and one dimensional. Indeed generally I found the female roles more engaging and interesting than the male ones

All in all I found this a good enough read though I was not blown away by it. I'd say this was better than 3 stars though not 4 stars to me but I'd be happy to read another book by this author.

Excellent book. I adored the storyline and the characters. A real page turner. I would this recommend this book.

This was just ok for me, I enjoyed the beautiful writing style and how it flowed, also enjoyed the descriptions but I grew a little bored with the story it self and didn't really care to much what happened. But it was enjoyable to read.

So the circle is closed; the merchants have become the goods.

I enjoyed this story greatly. It was atmospheric and an interesting storyline. I didn't guess what was going on to well into the second half of the book. The crimes were definitely of the age. The pace was a bit slow in the middle. I enjoyed the blossoming romance too.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own

Incredible. Atmospheric and thrilling debut. This is one to watch in months, years to come - going to be one of the best and biggest releases of next year, no doubt

Following closely in Sarah Waters' footsteps, this is a Victorian pastiche that returns to those perennials of murder, identity, prostitution and female survival. Carlin writes with fluency and conjures up a grim, dank, seedy London where the only sanctuary for our heroine is in female friendship.

This is an enjoyable read but it does feel more generic than original, and there are some clumsy tricks such as the extended death-bed confession/life-story at the end. Entertaining for Victoriana fans.

With overtones of FINGERSMITH and THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, this is a historical read for anyone who wants diversity in their gritty Dickensian rags-to-riches-and-back-again coming of age novel. Slow to start, it quickly picks up the pace and was a delightful romp. I can't wait to see what Carlin writes next. This luxurious cover hides dark depths within.

I loved the premise and indeed the first third of this book. As a long time fan of Sarah Waters there was enough to engage my interest in a similar vein, the grim poverty of nineteenth century London is particularly well imagined and the prose is undeniably well written.

However I just found it ultimately too long winded and a little convoluted. The ending was contrived and my interest was flagging by then.

However I would be very interested in reading anything else by this author in future.

This would usually be just my kind of book - a historical mystery set in the Victorian era with a female lead. In this case the focus is on Hester White, a young woman living in abject poverty in London after falling on hard times. A carriage accident changes her fate and introduces her to Rebekah Brock and her family. Against a backdrop of a spate of missing people in London, Hester and Rebekah scramble to solve the mystery which gets increasingly dangerous.


The historical setting was particularly grim and realistic, which worked well, but was a bit stomach-churning at times. The characterisation of the women and the relationship between them was also well done.


However, I just didn't find the book very satisfying, especially the skimming over time to get to the (slightly unbelievable) resolution. I also found the mix of genres a bit unevenly balanced - the mystery took a long time to get going and the relationship element was also slow. Finally, I just found so much of it grim - I realise it's intended to present the seedy underworld of London, but it was just unrelentingly bleak and cheerless, which made it hard reading.


Overall, I can't deny that this is well written and researched, but approach with caution if you are anticipating a light or easy historical read.