Excellent book. Well researched. A crime story with many twists and changes that kept you hanging on to the very end. I have nothing to criticise about this book and thoroughly recommend it as one to read.

I have read probably hundreds of romance novels from this period. This novel was a very different proposition though. The level of detail and research that had been undertaken was amazing. I was literally transported to the time in my imagination. The author’s writing was so vivid you could nearly see and smell the filth and drudgery of life in London in the late 18th century. The story itself was brilliantly written and whilst it was quite slow moving it held me gripped throughout. I hadn’t realised it was the 2nd in a series and it could easily be read as a stand-alone novel. It was a truly great mystery that had me guessing right to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley fr an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a fabulous book, very atmospheric, great characters, good setting and plot. I am so looking forward to reading more from this author.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson follows up her stunning debut of Blood and Sugar with an equally enthralling and multilayered historical murder mystery with some familiar characters set a year later in 1782 in the London of Georgian England. The central protagonist this time is the wife of Captain Harry Corsham, Caroline. Harry is away in France after his investigation into the horrors of the slave trade and the brutal murder of a slave. His absence heightens Caro's anxieties, given the unbearable predicament she finds herself in and which threatens to bring her world crumbling down. She is at the Victoria Pleasure Gardens where she hears the whispered last words of the Italian Lady Lucia that give her cause for concern. Lucia's murder is initially taken up by the Bow Street Constables, but dropped like a hot potato when it is revealed that Lucia is in reality a high class prostitute known as Lucy Loveless.

Caro is unwilling to let matters rest there as she instigates an investigation into Lucy's killing, an act that is going to bring threats and obstacles into her life, there are many that are intent on ensuring that she drops her inquiry, with the gentleman who knew Lucy refusing to disclose relevant information. Despite the dangers and terrors she faces, the courageous Caro is determined and continues on her chosen path, aided by the thief taker Peregrine Child, a man struggling with and stalked by his own demons. The reader is immersed into the highest and lowest circles of London society, a London of vast inequalities and extreme poverty, in all its filth, seediness, brothels, crime, desperation, scandals, hypocrisy, secret, lies, corruption and treachery as the lid is lifted on one of the biggest amoral economic earners of the period, the sex trade and prostitution in which women and girls are bought and sold like any other commodity. Women have barely any rights in this historical period, and even women like Caro have limitations placed on their lives, unable to control their finances, face devastating punishments and consequences, disgrace, and ostracism, judged and condemned harshly for any perceived transgressions.

The author beautifully and atmospherically evokes Georgian London with her wide cast of flawed and complicated characters, the well researched historical details, the sharp class, social, economic, political and gender divisions, and the rich descriptions which make the period come vibrantly alive. The highlight of the novel were the strong women and the depth of the characters, multidimensional and flawed, even when it comes to the depiction of 15 year old Pamela. This is a thrilling, entertaining and gripping historical mystery that examines the sex trade, full of suspense and tension, with unexpected twists, informative, educational and insightful of Georgian England, and the position of women in that time. This is high quality historical fiction that I recommend highly. Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC.

Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson is the eagerly-awaited follow-up to the eighteenth century London murder mystery Blood & Sugar.

I enjoyed this book even more than the first, perhaps because the protagonist-sleuth this time was Caro Corsham rather than her husband. Caro is a more morally complex character and Georgian London was very well depicted, particularly the louche atmosphere of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

The mystery was satisfyingly solved, but the end of the novel provides a bit of a cliffhanger which hopefully points to at least one more book in this excellent series?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Absolutely brilliant! Laura is queen of historical fiction! I was a huge fan of the first book so had high expectations of this one, it did not disappoint. Intricately woven murder mystery, brilliant characters and fantastic scene setting. I loved that she kept some characters from the first book but changed perspectives and wasn't 'samey'. The plot in this book was terrific and I couldn't put it down. I loved the lead character, a strong independent woman. I also really respect her historical accuracy, it must take a lot of background work to be able to write like this. I think this is a brilliant book and not just another cliche mystery about a murdered prostitute, she did it with respect and an innovative story. Not as gritty or raw as the first one, but thoroughly enjoyable. Can't wait for the next!

Really great gothic historical mystery set in georgian London, would definitely recommend it. Strong characters and fantastic twists, a book you become immersed in,

Thanks to netgalley for my arc for an honest review.

I loved Daughters of Night by Laura Shephard Robinson . It was a total surprise to me. I hadn’t read her first novel Blood & Sugar which apparently has some of the same character in but they can clearly be read independently.

Daughters of night is a thriller /mystery set in 1780 ish . We follow two timelines throughout and three characters . One a young girl called Pamela, Caro, a well to do lady and Child who is a thief hunter . When a woman called Lucia is found murdered by Caro, Caro recruits Child to find the murderer.

I don’t want to go in to too much detail as am worried I will give away a spoiler but it’s a great tale. The writing it great. It gives your the atmosphere of London in those times without being pretentious or difficult to read. The main characters are so well crafted and I was really engrossed by the story and their journey. This is a super super long book at nearly 600 pages but I think it was worth it? By being such a long book, there ended up being multiple layers of mysteries and the end was so good!

Loved this and will definitely read more from this author

Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd- Robinson is a gripping page turner of a mystery but it is also so much more. This wonderful work of historical fiction set in Georgian era London delves into the social mores of the time and brings the sights (and often the smells) of the time vividly to life on the page. Readers familiar with the author's previous book " Blood and Sugar" may remember the character of Caroline " Caro" Corsham and I am delighted to report that her story lies at the heart of Daughters of Night.
The book opens with the brutal murder of a woman in Vauxhall Gardens just minutes before she was due to meet with Caroline. When the investigation into the murder begins, Caroline is shocked to discover that the woman is not a society lady as she had assumed, but rather a high class lady of the night. Since the police seem to have little interest in solving the crime, Caroline decides to hire another familiar face, thief taker Peregrine Child to uncover the truth of what happened to the woman she considered a friend. Soon both she and Peregrine are out of their depth in a world of vice, brothels , money lenders and secret societies with links to the highest levels of society and are soon under pressure to abandon their investigation or risk the most devastating of consequences.,
To say any more about the details of the story would do the reader a disservice as the book is a masterclass of intricate plotting and vividly drawn characters. The author has clearly spent time researching the era and has put the research to good use in bringing the time to life for the reader in a way that feels very authentic . The characters are wonderfully real, they feel well developed and are nuanced in their opinions and behaviour. The pacing is excellent, even with all the historical detail, the book never felt slow or bogged down, and there were so many moments of suspense and surprising twists that it was difficult to put down . I was worried that having loved Blood and Sugar I might have been let down by this book, but in fact I enjoyed it even more than I could have hoped and I eagerly await more .
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Caroline is shocked to find the friend she thought she had known turns out to be a complete stranger, someone who, she finds out told webs of lies. A fabricated life.
After coming across the dead women Carolines life is forever changed. She decided that even though the women was a complete stranger, in the end her murder still needed to be investigated. she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Her investigation takes her deep down in the dark underworld of London. I loved the vivid picture of what Georgian London was like, the politics, the difference between classes.

This thriller gave us both sides of what life was like in Georgian life in London, the rich and the poor. The added mystery set in a historical background gives it that Sherlock Holmes- esk feel, but way darker.
With so many twists and turns you won't be disappointed.

This was an evocatively atmospheric mystery set in Georgian England and revolving around a murdered prostitute. The language is beautiful and the setting is richly detailed. The plot was well-paced and managed to completely surprise me more than once. I hope the series continues soon.

I love that book, very long but so entertaining! new twists at every chapter and that until the last moment! did not see the end coming!
great atmosphere and description of the 18th London/England.
interesting characters with nice back stories
i strongly recommend to read this novel!

London, 18th century. A lady of society comes across her brutally murdered friend in the bowers of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. She employs a thieftaker to help her find the murderer, but there are depths to this murder case reaching far into the powerhouses of England and with her husband away on a diplomatic mission, is she too exposed to be safe?
A nicely constructed plot, fleshed-out characters, a writing style that rarely strays from the period-appropriate makes this book an easy enough read, alas, for me it is lacking the visceral quality of 18th century London, the squalor, abject poverty and existence on a knife edge. It all seems a bit too slick, too sanitised as if to spare the readers’ feelings. The TV series “Harlots” gives a more “honest” portrait of those debauched times.
Still an enjoyable read.

I’m new to the work of Laura Shepherd-Robinson and while Daughter’s of Night continues on from Blood & Sugar, I didn’t feel at a disadvantage for not having read Blood & Sugar first. The authors great character descriptions and development throughout the book contributes to this.

Caro is the female lead character in Daughters of Night. One evening, Caro comes across a women dying only to discover it is her trusted friend. The woman dies but not before saying “he knows” to Caro. Everyone in the story has their own secrets including Caro so who is he and what does he know??

Caro sets out to discover who murdered her friend when it’s revealed that unknown to Caro, her friend had been a prostitute. Suddenly she is the only one interested in who was responsible for the murder.

There are many suspects and motives that it keeps you guessing until the end.

Dim the lights and settle in to a great gothic murder mystery. Full of atmosphere and believable characters this is a satisfying read for a cold dark winters day in lock down. Very enjoyable read more please.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Daughters of Night was my first Caroline Horsham book, but I definitely look forward to reading Blood & Sugar and any future books that this author comes out with. This book is atmospheric, immersive and vivid with such rich descriptions that you could imagine every detail and I felt as if I were in this dark and gritty Georgian London, which enhanced the intrigue of the story.
This book takes you on a journey of solving this crime and that suspenseful doubting of who can and can’t be trusted, and I was hooked right up to the end to see how it played out. It’s a well-written, compulsive page turner even though I did find that the middle meandered a little for my liking. However, there were many twists and turns as the murder investigation is undertaken that definitely kept me guessing.
Highly recommend Daughters of Night to those who enjoy historical fiction or crime thrillers, and if you love both, then this is the perfect book for you.

What a refreshing exciting murder mystery. Historically brilliant and really enjoyed the gothic feel of this novel. Characters were slowly built upon and it kept me wanting more throughout. Would recommend.

Another dark and atmospheric story set in historical England. I love Laura's writing. She manages to draw a dark and tense mystery alongside real attention to detail and stunning research. She is definitely one of my favourite finds of 2020 and have been busy recommending her to my library users. Excellent story!

A really enjoyable book. I hadn't read the first book in the series with Caroline Corsham, Blood and Sugar but I didn't feel I'd missed anything. Caro employs Peregrine Child to help her investigate a murder. The plot is quite convoluted as they end up with 3 more deaths. The author has obviously researched the late 18th century very well and paints a detailed picture. I look forward to the sequel.

One of those excellent Historical Fiction murder stories that make you feel as though you are there. Very real and a great read..