It’s official - Laura Purcell is the queen of modern gothic historical fiction, there is nothing she can do wrong. ‘The Shape of Darkness’ is a riveting tale that has all the hallmarks of this genre - the dark and dirty bleakness of Victorian Britain, a supernatural storyline and characters that pop off the page. It’s prose is claustrophobic but divine, there are enough red herrings and twists to make sure the reader is captivated, and when you read the final page you just want to dive straight back into the world which Laura has created.

Agnes is a silhouette portrait maker as a means to help support herself, her mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric. However, in the age of Victorian photographer less people are wanting her services. Agnes still gets a few clients but suddenly her clients are being murdered and she has no idea why?! Agnes has heard of mediums and spiritualism and attends a seance where we find Pearl an albino 9 year old who acts as the medium.

It is the characters in this book that makes it shine, especially those of Agnes and Pearl. They both share the same innocence and naivety. I personally don’t believe in spiritualism, even when my mum did, to me there is always an explanation and so many of the practitioners of this time period were charlatans. But even so this story sucks you in and you want to believe that Pearl actually has the gift, especially with her blackouts and memory loss. You want to believe that she is special and has a gift and not just being exploited by her elder half-sister. The resolution to the story for both these characters made me gasp, I totally wasn’t expecting either of them in all honesty. I thought the story was going in another direction but then that’s what I love. When an author surprises you it’s truly a magical moment and there were many of those moments in this book.

Truly this book is great - just read it peeps.

Laura Purcell is making gothic fiction cool again.

I loved the characters, the descriptions of the shadow makers and the end felt unexpected and satisfying. A perfect book for those cold winter nights.

After upgrading my kindle this title was lost from my library and I was unable to re-download it in order to review (I had stupidly put an incorrect email address in my net galley account). For this reason, I won't be reviewing this title.

I have really enjoyed Laura Purcell's previous novels. She is fantastic at writing modern gothic mysteries with a supernatural twist.
The Shape of Darkness is another gripping mystery that really surprised me right until the end. I often find that I can guess what is going to happen but not with this one.
Being from Bath (where the novel is set) I thought the atmosphere was perfect and the writer had really done her research with the sense of the place and its history.

This is such a brilliantly dark and chilling tale that kept me gripped til the very end. Jealousy and revenge between characters, a mysterious accident and the gloomy, atmospheric setting were perfect for making the hairs on the back of neck rise time and time again whilst reading. Another masterpiece from Laura Purcell.

I can’t rate this as intended due to the fact the PDF copy is completely unreadable on Kindle and I don’t enjoy reading via my phone.

I hope to review this properly in the future as it really does sound right up my street.

Set in Bath in 1854, The Shape of Darkness is a atmospheric historical novel from Leah Purcell.

Agnes Darken supports her ailing mother and orphaned nephew with her work as a silhouette artist, but with the growing popularity of the daguerreotypes, she’s finding it harder to attract clients. She is shocked when the local Sergeant calls on her to ask questions about a recent sitter who was brutally murdered shortly after their appointment, and worried that notoriety might attach to her business. Her physician and brother in law, Simon, is quick to assure her that all is fine, but when a second and then third client dies, Agnes fears she may somehow be connected to their deaths. Desperate for answers to both the current circumstances and a past tragedy, Agnes reaches out to a mesmerist Myrtle West and her young half sister, Pearl, known as ‘The White Sylph’ who is said to communicate with the dead.

The Shape of Darkness embraces all the elements of a Victorian gothic tale - a physically and emotionally frail heroine, high emotion, a bleak, wintry setting, murder, and the supernatural. Purcell deftly builds suspense and dread as she develops the plot, revealing dark secrets and making good use of misdirect to ensure the final twist is a surprise.

Fragile and high strung, Agnes has an nervous energy that plays into the narrative. Her suspicions about the connection between the dead and her silhouettes seems fanciful, but her panic is almost contagious as she becomes more certain she, and her family are in danger from an unknown foe. With hints of a tragic background, involving a doomed romance, and a grievous accident, she is exactly what you’d expect as a gothic heroine, except for perhaps her age.

Pearl is a desperately sympathetic character, used terribly by her her half sister, Myrtle. Blamed for her mother’s death during her birth, her father now lays dying gruesomely, a victim of phosphorus poisoning. An albino, eleven year old Pearl is easily envisioned as a medium, but there is an ambiguity to her ability that Purcell exploits, so that you’re never quite sure where the line between this world and the next lies.

Though overall I found it a touch melodramatic for my taste, The Shape of Darkness is evocative, haunting and enthralling.

'The whole affair was about power, manipulation, ownership'.

Agnes lives in mid-Victorian Bath with her mother and young nephew, Cedric. Times are hard and she struggles to make ends meet, earning a precarious living by cutting silhouettes. But that craft is increasingly being crowded out by the new craze for photography. Perhaps Agnes will be forced to accept help from her brother in law, Simon Carfax?

I loved the characters of this book. The self-reliant but dreamy Agnes. The reserved Simon - doing all he can to help, but yet... and the two sisters, Pearl ("the White Sylph") and older Myrtle, who make their living from seances and consultations. Pearl and Myrtle seem to have secrets - who are they and what are they about?

And I loved the setting. This isn't the elegant city of Jane Austen, rather a Bath that's had fifty years of coal smoke bled into it, and fifty years of decay for the fancy buildings. It's a town of soot, railways, rot and mould, seen in the depths of a gloomy English winter. Agnes' house is shabby and unkempt: Pearl and Myrtle's lodgings damp and draughty. The reader senses just how tenuous are the lives of these women in a patriarchal society. The point is brought home when, through ghastly coincidence, Agnes has to report a strange death to the police and her home and business become of interest to the unpleasant (and suspicious) Sergeant Redmayne.

But that's only the beginning. It seems there's a killer loose in Bath, a killer who seems to be threatening Agnes and her family. Unable to trust the police, Agnes turns to Pearl, the young medium, for the help she needs. As the two investigate - observed closely by the jealous and restful Myrtle - we gradually learn more about the tragedy in Agnes' now family, and the mysterious (and missing) naval officer, Montague, who seems to be at the heart of it all.

In Purcell's latest Gothic romp, the supernatural - if that's what it is - isn't confined to remote dwelling but is intertwined with the bustling street life and grimy streets of a provincial town. Just as the fashionable Spritualism in which Agnes seeks answers is located in comfortable parlours and fashionable salons. Contrasts are everything here - between the past and the present; science (represented by the medicine and rational outlook of Dr Carfax) and the supernatural; men and women. It's a churning, teeming world that Agnes, infirm after a recent bout of pneumonia, has to negotiate. Her sister Charlotte, Cedric's mother, may have been dead twelve years, but her shadow still looms over the Agnes's haunted life.

The Shape of Darkness is the perfect Gothic novel, a book that combines an elusive but growing sense of dread with an uneasy atmosphere of confinement - despite the proximity of the sprawling streets and parks of Bath, it mostly takes place in shut-up rooms, and more, there is a palpable sense of limitedness, of confinement by and obedience to the rules of society, of choices made and sealed years before. And it's confinement with - or very near to - a monster, whose form, motives and methods are as shifting as all that fog. In asking pearl for her help, Agnes is leaning on someone who is still a young girl and who is also ill (nearly everybody in this book is ill!)

Purcell is the absolute master of this sort of thing, playing detective story like tricks with red herrings, subplots and dead ends, until the reader is - well I was! - totally muddled, wound up with tension and fearful for everyone in the book. Then, the hammer falls...

If you enjoyed this author's previous books, you'll love The Shape of Darkness. If you didn't, that must mean you haven't read them, so you have a treat in store and The Shape of Darkness would be a good place to begin.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A dark and gothic story with atmospheric and intense writing.
A good read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Raven Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At this point, Laura Purcell is an auto-buy author for me. The particular sort of Gothic Historical Fiction that she writes is just exactly my sort of fiction, and so this was one of the most anticipated releases of 2021 for me, and I have to say, she didn't disappoint.

There are a couple of interwoven storylines here that fit together wonderfully; that of our MC Agnes a struggling silhouette artist, and that of spiritual seances and mesmerism. I found both to be fascinating, along with some gruesome happenings in 1854 Bath which kept my attention throughout.

If you've enjoyed any of Purcell's previous novels then I think you'll enjoy this one too. It has all the same hallmarks, and I'll be recommending this one to anyone who will listen.

4 enthralling stars

Laura Purcell is great at creating a dark, creepy atmosphere in all of her writing. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but the clarity in which Purcell writes, along with her ability to get you gripped straight away, keeps me coming back for more. The Shape of Darkness did not disappoint in this regard and was a great winter night read!

Laura Purcell is one of my favourite authors! Her Gothic fiction is the absolute perfect thing to curl up with on a cold wintery night. This is exactly what I did when I read her latest book, The Shape of Darkness, in one sitting.

Set in 1850's Bath, this book switches between two perspectives -- an ageing silhouette artist and a child medium. As Agnes begins to realise that a murderer is targeting her customers after they sit for her, she seeks out Pearl, a young girl with a gift, to figure out who the murderer is before her livelihood is destroyed.

Agnes and Pearl are fascinating characters, though nearly complete opposites. Agnes, a woman in her 50s, is trying desperately to hold her remaining loved ones close after tragedy robbed her of her sister. Pearl is struggling to contain her gift as her ability to communicate across the veil grows stronger and stronger. They compliment each other perfectly with their differences and similarities, and I found both of their perspectives incredibly compelling.

The mystery of the killer and why they are seemingly targeting Agnes is great, but what I really loved about this book is the fact that it really digs into everyday tragedy and how it impacts a person, regardless of age. The Shape of Darkness is a totally compulsive read that will delight Purcell's fans, as well as readers of historical fiction, Gothic fiction, and horror. I highly recommend it!

CW: Medical gore, abuse

Brilliant read! Laura doesn't disappoint yet again. I just love her spookiness! The seances are written with great atmosphere. Her stories always make me believe in things I shouldn't! I don't believe in ghosts but maybe I do after this.

Chapters switch from Agnes to Pearl living with her half sister Myrtle. Agnes cuts silhouettes from people who come to sit for her. Myrtle tries to bring in money by getting her albino sister to perform seances. They are trying to solve who is killing Agnes' customers by contacting them once they have passed over. Secrecy and promises ensue. That person isn't given away until right at the very end.

Right from the start the plot makes you wonder where it could possibly go and its was always something that I never expected. Always a pleasure.

An author that I pounce on when I see on the shelves, maybe you should too!!

This story, another gothic thriller as Laura Purcell does so well, features the art of silhouettes, ghost mediums and unexplained murders. As always there’s a thin line between realistic and supernatural, and there’s an explanation for everything, though the ghostly ones are the more engaging. Despite the twist having been done before, I somehow did not see it coming. There is a sense of dread woven through even the most mundane of activities, which creates a gloomy atmosphere. Somehow I struggled to imagine a dark and gothic Bath rather than the beautiful old streets I know!

I adore a Victorian spirit medium, so I was delighted to see that Purcell's latest book was on this topic. I was a big fan of <i>The Silent Companions</i> and, although I didn't enjoy <i>The Corset</i> so much, I was eager to read more from the author.

<i>The Shape of Darkness</i> is set in Victorian Bath - another draw for me, as someone with connections to the area. I haven't seen much historical fiction set in Bath, surprisingly, and there are so many interesting features in the city to draw on, from the Roman baths to the gorgeous architecture. Purcell roots the story well into this setting, especially evoking the mud and muck of the time period.

The plot follows Agnes, a silhouette artist with a troubled family history, and a girl named Pearl, who is a powerful spirit medium. When Agnes' clients start to be murdered in ways that seem to connect to her work, their fates cross over and things get deliciously Gothic.

As the story progresses, there are constant twists. Some of these were agonisingly predictable (e.g. some revelations about Agnes' family that could be seen coming a mile away), but there were one or two that did make me gasp - the fate of Pearl's father, for example. I did feel a little too much was left up to coincidence as well.

All in all, this was a decent enough read, but didn't quite live up to Purcell's first book.

Purcell has done it again! Although this wasn't my favourite of her novels (Silent Companions will be incredibly hard to beat), I couldn't put this book down. A compelling story with a cast of complex and well written characters and plenty of plot twists along the way to keep you guessing. The Shape of Darkness cements Purcell as the Queen of unsettling historical fiction.

Since she was jilted by her fiance over a decade ago, silhouette artist Agnes is the only one bringing in money to provide for her household consisting of herself, her widowed mother, and her nephew Cedric, in Bath. It barely brings in enough money for one, and this is not made easier when two of her most recent sitters are found murdered. The victims were killed not long after sitting for their silhouette portraits and Agnes worries that this will drive away desperately needed custom. She decides to visit a spirit medium, Pearl - a young girl who lives with her half-sister and very ill father. Agnes hopes that the victims will be able to tell her who killed them, but instead the meeting starts a chain of events that leads to more deaths and shocking revelations.

Laura Purcell has done it again! The plot takes in mesmerists, spirit mediums and seances, and the subject of phosphorus poisoning or phossy jaw - an all too real risk to those who worked in the match factories in the 1850s and beyond. I had worked out two or three possible scenarios for the ending in my head, but none of them equalled the actual ending. Absolutely recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC / Raven Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Welcome to Bath of the late 1800’s. The spa and naval town is not quite as glamorous as once it was and there is air of abandonment hanging heavy in the air.

This is reflected in the footsteps of characters we follow. Agnes Darken, is a middle aged silhouette cutter, struggling to make ends meet. Her lover has deserted her years before but still she is quietly hoping for his return. References to past tragedy and illness add to the air of mystery and decay. Agnes’ concerns now centre around how to support her elderly mother and young orphaned nephew, Cedric . Her widowed brother in law Dr Simon Carfax, is a constant support but the memory of his wife, Agnes own sister Constance, is shrouded in secrecy and darkness.

And life suddenly takes an even darker turn when Agnes’ clients seem to be falling victim to murder, each case more gruesome and chilling than the last. Why are her clients being targeted in this way and are the people Agnes loves in danger from this unseen menace?

As Agnes becomes increasingly desperate and the boundaries between the real and the imagined become increasingly blurred, Agnes finds herself drawn to look for answers in the most unlikely of places.

Enter Myrtle and her young albino half sister Pearl. Having lost her mother at birth Pearl is left at the mercy of her own, forceful sister. Having moved to Bath for the health of her father, a victim of the notorious match factories which have left him maimed and dying, the sisters are making a living through the increasingly popular art of Spiritualism. But her increasingly powerful talent terrifies 11 year old Pearl and her world seems to be getting darker by the day.
When the world’s of Agnes and Pearl unexpectedly collide the scene is set for a gothic tale of unimaginable proportions.

Once again Laura Purcell has created a story that will keep the pages turning and your interest alive to the very last minute. Each detail, each turn of fate is woven skilfully into a plot that both chills and delights at every turn. The sense of family and bonds that bind is a recurring theme. The need for love, security and comfort is close to the hearts of both Agnes and Pearl, but their quest continues to take darker paths, each turn more desperate than the last.

When family is not the haven it should be, where will Agnes and Pearl find the protection and affection they need? And has the past finished with both of them or is the worst still to come?

In short Laura Purcell has, yet again produced a novel of true gothic beauty. If you are looking for something which will immerse you in delicious darkness this one is your winner.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2021/01/28/th...
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Laura Purcell Does It Again

The Shape of Darkness is Laura Purcell’s latest novel and is another fine display of her wonderful writing ability. I started with her Silent Companions novel and was blown away and consequently devour everything she writes.

As the title suggests, this story is dark indeed and is a perfect combination of Victorian superstition and fascination with the macabre. This is not the Bath of the Regency period with women in empire dresses and bonnets sashaying around the Pump Rooms gossiping about the latest fashions and the militia. This is a period of industry with the grime, poor sanitary conditions and bleak working conditions associated with the period and Purcell uses this to enhance her story displaying the disparity between the rich and the poor, using the horrors of a period where decent working conditions were non-existent and offsetting this with the change in psyche at a time when invention and change were paramount.

As SoD beings we meet Agnes Darken. Bath is in the grips of winter and Agnes is struggling in more ways than one. She isn’t 100% fit having almost died from pneumonia and having suffered family loss is now responsible for the care of her mother and young nephew. On top of this work is harder to come by. Times are changing and people want the new and modern. Photography is the new rage and very few people are interested in having their silhouette taken – which is the profession that Agnes excels at and indeed loves. Times are tough, the cupboards are bare, the tea caddy empty and the house cold and unwelcoming. Agnes needs to work but when her customers start dying under strange circumstances her livelihood is really threatened and Agnes finally seeks the help of a spiritualist.

I will confess that when I first started SoD I struggled a little to connect as the beginning is undoubtedly bleak. But, let me be clear, this uncertainty only lasted a few pages before Purcell had hooked me with the strange coincidences that surrounded each death.

What I really loved about this was the different povs. We have Agnes, an older woman, unhappy in love, who is struggling to cope. We then have a young girl called Pearl, only 11 or 12 I think, an albino who apparently is a gifted spiritualist. Pearl lives with her sister and the two take care of their father who is slowly dying from Phossy Jaw. Agnes would have been considered a genteel woman, educated and well spoken but fallen upon hard times. Pearl and her family are working class, also struggling to survive with low wages and harsh conditions and resort to doing whatever it takes to survive. A strange connection links the two families and slowly but surely they become more involved.

Purcell absolutely excels at the gothic. She is a word magician when it comes to deliciously dark mysteries and using the Victorian era, which is positively oozing with creepiness. She manages to conjure a time and a place with perfect ease. The house, cold and dark, only the ticking of the clock to break the silence. The time of year, freezing cold, icy fingers, threadbare clothes and sooty fireplaces. But, more than that it’s the quiet sense of unease that prevails throughout the read. You’re swept up in the story, so busy putting (or trying to put) together the pieces to make a whole, becoming more excited as you chase the clues, that you don’t realise you’ve missed something until the gloriously twisted end. To be honest, even now I’m in two minds about the ending – and yes, that is a deliberate play on words.

This is an author that continues to impress, she continually comes up with curious phenomenon that leaves me with the desire to learn more once I finish reading and I find myself, again, desperately waiting to see what she comes up with next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This historical novel is set in Victorian Bath, where Agnes Darken lives with her widowed mother and nephew, Cedric. Agnes is a silhouette artist in a time of change, when most of her customers are more interested in having a photographic portrait taken than having their outline snipped. Before long, we learn that not all is well with Agnes; she suffers frail health from an incident in her past, we discover a tale of tangled romance and financial hardship and her only real help comes from local doctor Simon, who was married to her sister, Constance.

As the book progresses, it becomes apparent that Agnes customers are meeting with untimely ends. She meets up with Myrtle West, a mesmerist, whose half-sister, Pearl, is a spirit guide. Although she does not believe in spiritualism, events make her desperate to discover why she is being linked to murder. She fears her business will fail and, despite Simon’s obvious interest, she is unwilling to accept marriage for the sake of security.

I really liked, “The Silent Companions,” a previous novel by Laura Purcell and, although I hadn’t read anything else by her until now, I was looking forward to this and was sad to find I did not enjoy it more than I did. I found the characters somewhat melodramatic and struggled to get to grips with the mystery element of the novel and the later coincidences. Although the setting was creepy; complete with séances and Pearl’s father, suffering silently off stage, I could not engage with, or feel enough sympathy, with the characters to make this work for me. There was too much faintness – legs giving way, spots in front of eyes, physical weakness. I much preferred the fiery Myrtle, for all her faults.

The author does manage to pull off a surprise with the ending, but, overall, I found this novel dragged a little. Rated 3.5 overall.