Victorian gothic spooky mysteries are not my usual thing, and yet I cannot get enough of Laura Purcell's stories! I absolutely devoured The Shape of Darkness, and found myself both surprised and satisfied by the ending. I recommend her other books, particularly The Corset, a LOT, and will be recommending this one, too!

The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

Genre: General Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)

Publish Date: 28 January 2021

Laura Purcell is a modern giant when it comes to writing a chilling gothic tale! I have no idea in all honesty how to write a review of this book without giving out any spoilers, so I’ll have to give a very watered downed version…

Three women make this story: Agnes, a silhouette artist, Pearl, a child spiritual medium and Miss West, Pearl’s older half-sister. Each woman has her own story and struggles but the way Purcell presents these stories and then mashes them together in a slow burning read is addictive. What brings these three women together, you ask? Why, murder of course.

The supporting characters are all extremely well developed, the depiction of Victorian Bath is exceptional, the confrontation with Phossy Jaw is shocking and the raw relationship of sisterhood is emotional. The ending, like all of Purcell’s endings, is a twist which I did not see coming and after I closed the book, I needed a cup of tea and a good long think about what just happened. Purcell keeps putting me in this position and I keep coming back for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Another excellent novel from Laura Purcell. The Shape Of Darkness is just as creepy and unsettling as her previous works, but the nice twist here is that you’re never sure whether the murderer is human or not until the very end. 
A very compulsive read.

Another great book by Laura Purcell. ‘The Shape of Darkness’ is a fabulous read with a twist at the end. Once again the author brings to life the Victorian era with all  its sights and smells.

This is not my first Laura Purcell novel. I previously tried to read The Silent Companions but had to give up part way through due to utter frustration and boredom. This one was definitely a big improvement but I still had some issues with it.

The Shape Of Darkness is a Victorian era novel about a woman called Agnes who earns her living through her craft of cutting paper silhouettes. When a murderer stars targeting her clients causing her business to struggle she enlists the help of a spirit medium to try and contact the victims and catch the killer.

What I loved about this book was that concept. The hunt for a killer using medium abilities and contacting the dead. I loved the highlight of silhouette art which was such an interesting staple in Victorian society, I have never read a book that included it so it was really interesting to learn more about the craft.

The seance scenes were definitely the best moments in this novel. Those were the moments that really made this feel like a gothic novel that sends a chill up your spine.

What didn't work in this book was pretty much everything else. For a book that is set in Bath, an area near where I live that is so rich in history, this novel really didn't capture it at all. The setting never felt unique or alive it just felt like your run of the mill Victorian setting that isn't really distinguishable. The characters felt the same. Although I could see the potential in them, they all fell flat and never felt truly alive, I didn't connect with any of them and my emotions never felt tied into their story. I also found a lot of the story to be very implausible, there are many plot points that just don't make sense and I really couldn't see happening.

I know Laura Purcell is a very popular author and I am in the minority here but after now reading my second novel of hers I see a theme in her work where the ideas behind the novel are so promising but they are just not executed properly. This book had a great concept and I believe in another's hands could have been a brilliant read but unfortunately it was really disappointing.

It's about three years since I read Laura Purcell's first historical supernatural thriller, 'The Silent Companions', and it still sends a shiver down my spine when I think about it.  That's a sure sign of a very effective novel.  In fact, it was so good I thought it unlikely she would ever write a book quite as good.  Her follow-up, 'The Corset' was good but not quite in the same league, and her most recent 'Bone China' was a bit disappointing.  So I was worried she might be on a downward trend.

Then I read 'The Shape of Darkness' and realised it was not only possible to write a book as good as 'The Silent Companions', it was actually possible to write one better.  This book is set in Victorian Bath.  Agnes Darken is a silhouette artist.  Her business is failing as people turn to the new art of photography for their portraits, and she needs money to support her widowed mother and young nephew.  Then several of her sitters die in mysterious circumstances.  Desperate, she turns to child medium Pearl, hoping the ghosts of the dead men will reveal who killed them and why.  Pearl has her own problems, including a dying father and controlling sister.  Events soon spiral out of control of both women.

This is such a clever thriller, the perfect balance of 'whodunnit' and ghost story.  It is extremely gripping.  I looked forwards all day to reading on and once I'd picked it up it was very hard to stop and go to sleep.  There is such a strong sense of peril and urgency which completely sweeps you along.  It's creepy in a subtle way - there is always that bit of doubt sown about how much can be explained rationally and how much is truly supernatural, which adds to the sense of uncertainty and is  more psychologically disturbing.  Both Pearl and Agnes are interesting and sympathetic characters.  As with Purcell's other books (including her non-ghostly historical novels) you feel an acute sense of frustration at how women were dismissed and disempowered in the past.  Often the situations the characters find themselves would not occur if women were treated equally to men.  Poverty is also shown as a source of inequality and the gruesome descriptions of the grim reality of being poor in the 19th century are believable and well done.  

The plot is tight and there were a couple of things that I didn't expect.  Purcell combines a well timed and paced plot with an unrivaled ability to create atmosphere, and genuinely likeable characters.  It's hugely impressive that she can produce books of this quality as frequently as she does.  I look forwards to more excellent spine-tingling gothic thrillers to come!

I absolutely flew through this glorious piece of historical fiction. Purcell's writing drops you straight in to 1800s Bath from the first page and the descriptions of the city to the séances were so richly crafted it was hard to put this book down. 

The Shape of Darkness follows Agnes Darken and the West sisters and how their lives intersect with silhouettes, mesmerism and mysterious murders. This is the perfect read for cold Winter evenings and I look forward to reading it again upon release in January.

This is my first Purcell but it most certainly will not be my last.

It's rare for a book to stop me in my tracks, trap me in a chair, away from all else and where I keep saying 'just one more chapter, just one more chapter.'  But 'The Shape of Darkness' by Laura Purcell did just that. And now it is over, I am sad, and wondering what could possibly fill the Agnes shaped gap in my life.

Let's get it right up front that I love all the books Laura Purcell has written and so I was thrilled to find myself with an early copy of her latest book, courtesy of the author, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley. 

I'm not sure how many copies of 'The Corset' I have gifted to others and how many people I have recommended her books to. This book will be the same.

This story ticks all my boxes.

- Victorian setting 
- Large gothic style houses in Bath
- Agnes, the main character who is Silhouette Artist
- Mesmerism, Seances, and a child medium
- Mysterious deaths and ghostly goings-on
- A dead sister who won't let go
- Dark Shadows
- Oh and let's not forget a pug called Morpheus

I'm not going to share with you what happens, other than to say if you like books with a supernatural element, evocative settings, intriguing characters and with a plot that keeps you turning the pages right until the very end with some twists that make you go ooh - then this is the book for you.

There was also some gorgeous writing along the way, some of which I took the time to highlight so I could return to reread these sentences at a later time.

It's out in January 2021. Make sure you save some Christmas money so you can get your hands on it on the release date or pre-order now. The cover looks a beauty too.

Courtesy of NetGalley, I was grateful for the opportunity to preview Laura Purcell's latest book, The Shape of Darkness.  The good news is she's delivered yet another winner.  I've been in an historical spooky mystery phase for a while and her books fit right in.  

These days authors such as ES Thomson, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Katherine Stansfield publish stories full of rich detail, accurate portrayals of 18th and 19th century Britain, and  fully rounded characters, all of which paint a vivid backdrop to the story.  Laura does the same.  From cold, dreary houses, to stuffy, Victorian society, it's all drawn beautifully.

This time, we're in Victorian Bath, meeting Agnes,  a struggling silhouette maker, with a lovely Dickensian story of penury and family responsibilities. A series of events prompt her to consult a child medium in order to determine if her silhouettes are responsible for a series of deaths.  It's all there - séances, dark, claustrophobic rooms, gullible Victorian ladies, real and not so real ghosts, and an intricate plot that gradually unfolds in a series of events that will satisfy readers new and old.

Despite already enjoying the Netgalley ARC, I'll definitely be rushing out to buy my own hardback copy as soon as I can, and I recommend you do the same.

Possible spoiler.


Every time I read a Purcell book,I think it's the best one she's written,and this is no different.
It had the right blend of ghostly goings on,that you couldn't tell if they were real or not,and real life mysteries.
There were a few surprises along the way,and once they were all laid to rest and I marvelled at how well it had all come together,the final one was thrown at me.
I saw none of it coming,and that's such an unusual thing for me to say.
Another cracking read

Once again a wonderful book by Laura Purcell. I have read every one of her books and to date I did not think she could better the Silent Companions however this story does just that. The writing conjures up the period setting fantastically and the topics of seances and mesmerising are wonderfully descriptive. I really felt for both Agnes and Pearl but never saw the reveal when it came, the book was that well written it gave nothing away. Thanks to the publisher for this book and I will be sure to sing its praises to everyone I know. A truly fantastic read.

*A big thank-you to Laura Purcell, Bloomsbury Publishing, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Ms Purcell has become one of my favourite Victorian ghotic authors, and I was delighted to have been offered the lastest of her books to read. 
Bath, 1854. The times of increased interest in mesmerism, spiritual seanses and the art of making silhuettes that is becoming less and less popular due to new techniques, namely, daguerreotype and photography. 
The plot is most engaging and intriguing, and the climax as unpredicatble as may be expected in a novel by Ms Purcell. I especially appreciated the motifs from her three other ghotic books delicately included in The Shape of Darkness, 
A sheer feast for the fans of the genre!

This is a haunting story that will remain with me for some time. The sign of a great book, for me, is a plot that makes you think and sticks with you. The Shape of Darkness definitely does these things.

The characters are richly described, from the complex Agnes to the mysterious and fragile Pearl. Not a single character is there without reason. The interweaving of their lives is the most enjoyable part of this novel.

I loved the depictions of the era, houses, and streets. Laura Purcell has a talent for description, casting a highly visual scene in every chapter. I also learned more about society and particular afflictions.

The meshing of a silhouette artist, mesmerist, medium, ghostly happenings, and tumultuous relationships is inspired. As an author, I'm often ahead in spotting what links characters. It can be disappointing. I didn't detect this at all within this novel. The surprises are brilliant!

This is the first Laura Purcell novel I've read. It certainly won't be the last.

I have been following and reading Laura Purcell since the novel The Silent Companions was published, and I must admit that she has become one of my favourite modern-day writers when it comes to the gothic.  All of her novels since the one mentioned have been brilliant, but here she has really excelled herself, giving us so far, the best one yet.

Here then we are transported back to Bath in 1854 and we meet two families, our main character Agnes Darken, who has to bring up her nephew and look after her ailing mother on the money she makes with her silhouette art business, and the other family has Pearl a talented medium who is brought up by her elder half-sister, and they have to look after their father, who has phossy jaw.

For Agnes, she is starting to become a bit paranoid, after all she creates her silhouettes for clients only to find that they seem to have started dying, and then there are mysterious and rather threatening notes that she keeps finding, looking like they have been written in the hand of her long dead sister.  Pearl on the other hand, who is still only a child wants to communicate with her mother, who died when she was giving birth to her, and also make her father well.  With Agnes wanting to be a client so things start to become explosive.

With what always used to be called smoke and mirrors, so we have a thrilling gothic psychological thriller with more than enough twists and excitement to keep even a jaded reader enthralled.  We all know that Ms Purcell can write good characters, stories and scenes, and is more than able to keep up suspense, but she has really pulled out all the stops here with a tale full of manipulation, madness, jealousy and the cruel tricks that the mind can play on us all.  Here we have a web of deception and you will not know where the story will take us.  Is this all just some mad and hallucinatory tale of wish fulfilment and delusion – or is there at least one malign spirit on the loose?  I could not put this down until I had reached the conclusion as this is just such a great read.  A thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC for reviewing purposes.