The Shadow Key is a captivating tale that seamlessly blends elements of mystery, romance and Gothic ambiance all in the enchanting rural landscapes of Wales,
Set in the 1700's the story starts with the arrival of Henry Talbot, the new doctor tasked with filling the shoes of his predecessor in a remote Welsh village and Manor. The stage is set in a locale rich with Gothic undertones, where a diverse cast of characters, both virtuous and malevolent, takes centre stage. The grand house is home to Julian Tresillian, his cousin Linette, and her mother Gwen, each harbouring secrets that add layers of intrigue to the plot.

With language being a barrier and the deep mistrust of the English, Henry finds himself facing the scepticism and hostility from the villagers.as he tries to do his job as a doctor whilst also trying to uncover the mysteries concealed within the folds of the rural Welsh landscape.

The budding romance, potential crimes, and the palpable tension between the characters create a gripping atmosphere that makes "The Shadow Key" a hard-to-put-down read.

Dismissed from his post in London after a patient dies, doctor Henry Talbot takes up a new position in a rural Welsh mining town.

His employer – Lord Julian Tresilian – needs a doctor on site to take care of his incapacitated cousin Lady Gwen and to keep an eye on her unconventional daughter, Linette. Whilst Julian owns the mines, Linette owns Plas Helyg and is mistress of the estates.

The neglected villagers are reluctant to accept Henry’s help, especially as an Englishman, trusting more deeply in traditional cures and superstitions. Teaming up with Linette and traditional healer, Rowena, Henry works to earn their trust.

However, something deadly is afoot. The previous doctor died in mysterious circumstances, and Gwen’s illness is not as it seems. Julian’s library of occult tomes points to something more sinister, as does the gold ring which some of his elite acquaintances wear.

Fighting against a shadowy network and an ancient force, Henry and Linette must solve the mystery of Plas Helyg before it’s too late.

An eighteenth century tale of monsters and myths.

A gothic horror that's surrounded with mystery, set in 18th century Wales.

The story follows young physician, Henry Talbot, and the mistress of Plas Helyg, Linette. After a fall from grace in London, Linette's cousin, Julian Tresilian, offers Henry a position in this small village to act as the local physician.

Right from the start, everybody in the village, including Plas Helyg's servants, are hostile toward him, but Henry is determined to figure out the mysteries that have revealed themselves, posing lots of unanswered questions.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
I do love a mystery, especially a gothic one. I must admit, it was definitely a slow burner and took me some time to get into it, but once it picked up I was so excited to see how the story unfolded.

I loved the links to Welsh folklore, alongside the Welsh language used throughout - and of course, the beautiful descriptions of the Welsh countryside.

The twists, the mystery, the writing and the atmosphere were all captivating, and this was a joy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this copy. This review is voluntary.

Whilst I enjoyed this novel and felt compelled to keep reading until the end I did however feel that is was lacking in some respects. The storyline was intriguing and was certainly based on some historical truth I.e the formation of the notorious ‘hellfire ‘ clubs of the period Unfortunately the author took too long to get to this point and a lot of time was wasted. When the book finally reached its climax I felt it was all a bit forced and unsatisfying.

This is one of those books that has gothic horror screaming all over it, and it does not disappoint.

The story follows Doctor Henry Talbot, a London doctor and surgeon who is practically banished to Wales after a mishap in his work. He arrives in a small provincial port to discover the locals despise him and the Lord of the Manor is more than a little vague. Linette Tresilian is the estate's heir and the estate manager, who runs herself ragged to make it both profitable and fair to the welsh miners who are her tenants. Everyone is grieving the loss of the local doctor, though Henry seems unconvinced that the man's death was an accident. And as Henry and Linette form a friendship, things start to take a strange turn around them.

This was a lovely, detailed well-written story, full of twists and turns that leave you guessing at every juncture. A five-star read.

Henry Talbot, though young, is a much revered doctor, surgeon and teacher. That is until he isn’t. After performing an operation that had a tragic outcome, he is no longer the go to surgeon, and his work both at Guy’s Hospital and helping out with the Bow Street cases is cut off. Without work and unable to find another hospital to take him on, Henry accepts an offer to become the local doctor in a remote area of North Wales. He will be doctor of Plas Helyg and its village Penhelyg. Unfortunately Henry’s welcome to the village is not as he expected and he soon realises that being an English man in this particular village is more of a hindrance than a help, regardless of how good his skills are. With help from Linette Tresilian, the lady of the manor, Henry makes every endeavour to learn the language and the ways of the locals, but it takes a tragedy for him to make any headway. As the secrets and lies unfurl, Henry and Linette discover that Henry’s arrival may not be as happen chance as first thought, and that Sir Julian, a Tresilian cousin, is not the man Henry thought he knew.

This is not my usual go to genre, but I did enjoy it. The writing is skilful and descriptive, with well developed, if somewhat stereotypical, characters, and the subject matter extremely well researched.

A bit of a slow burn that gathered pace in the second half of the book.

This is probably the ideal book for historical book lovers. I personally would have preferred more dark goth and less romance, but happy with my first read from this author. I was heading towards a 4* review, but the ending was too predictable and neat.

3.5*

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK.

Oooh this is a goody! The Shadow Key is a great read, full of characters both good and bad. A touch of Gothic in the setting, budding romance, possible crimes- what's not to love.
Set in rural Wales the focus is the arrival of Henry Talbot to this remote backwater to replace the previous doctor in the village and Manor. The residents of the big house consist of Julian Tresillian, his cousin Linette and her mother Gwen. The villagers are highly suspicious of Henry and give him a hard time, there are discontented miners, a slightly mad mother and other excellent peripheral characters to get to know. I read this over just a few days, it is hard to put down. This is the first book I have read from this author and I will definitely watch for more, she has a descriptive style which instantly evokes a rural Wales redolent of Hardy. Really recommend The Shadow Key.

This book had me hooked! From the start I just wanted to know what was going on, and there were so many plot twists! The characters were all really well written, and I loved the sinister tone the book had.

This was a fun read and was headed for 4 stars until a disappointing ending.

The author sets the scene nicely in this gothic period novel set in a remote village in Wales. Henry Talbot, an English doctor moves to the area and is met with suspicion and resentment by the villagers. There's hints of cultish goings-on and the local gentry are a very odd bunch too.

Stokes-Chapman introduces and paints her characters well, including Wales itself, which clearly holds a dear place in her heart. And there's a nice. pervasive air of spookiness.

The story bubbles along nicely, even if I saw a couple of the twists coming (I often don't), but the denouement slipped into the unintentionally comical for me. Baddies reveal themselves with a flourish...and extensive backstory infodumps that are very silly. ("I'm holding this knife to your throat and I'm going to kill you now...but first let me tell you my life story and all the reasons why I turned out to be the baddie! You might want to make a tea, I'll be a while...").

A quick note on editing: I think all writers have little tics, or phrases they tend use too often. If not picked up by an editor, this will grate on whingers like me. Surely if I've noticed the phrase "A beat." has been used 20 times, an editor could spot the same thing and suggest alternatives? Similarly, "beau monde", although I didn't know what that meant, so at least I learned something when I looked it up!

Anyway, despite the let-down at the end, I did enjoy this book and I'm sure others will too. It has a nice mix of mystery, (possibly supernatural) gothic goings-on, romance and interesting characters.

In the 18th century, Henry Talbot goes to Waled to be the doctor for the local community but also to care for his employer's sick relative.

What I liked about this book: The Welsh setting was very evocative and I liked the use of the Welsh language and how the author didn't patronise us by translating it word for word, The descriptions of the house and surrounding countryside are beautiful and the book is very well written.. The twist at the end was good and I didn't see it coming. The cover is gorgeous.

What I didn't like or was unsure about: Although I liked the references to the Hellfire clubs of that period I didn't particularly like the supernatural element and probably wouldn't have chosen to read the book if I'd realised how much of that there was.. Overall although the novel was well written I didn't warm to it and this is because of the subject matter.

I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction and would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6159695531

Enjoyed this one. Fun, twisty gothic mystery and a page turner. Also made me want to visit Wales!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was intrigued by The Shadow Key 's sumptuous cover and the plot description. It's essentially a Gothic historical fiction/murder mystery set in 18th century Wales. The story is told from two viewpoints- firstly Henry, a young London physician. Following a inexplicable fall from grace, and without any other options, he takes a position as the doctor in a remote Welsh village. His employer, the mysterious Julian Tresilian, also tasks him with looking after the second protagonist- that is, Julian's cousin Linette. Linette is the independent and unconventional mistress of Plas Helyg, a spooky manor house full of secrets and shadows, including hostile servants, questionable art work, and her elderly, ailing mother.

The pace of this book felt really uneven to me- it starts off briskly enough with a series of unfortunate events surrounding Henry and his arrival. Both Henry and Linette, and many of the supporting characters are interesting and well drawn. The set up of the mystery around the death of Henry's predecessor and the strange goings on in the village- why is everyone so hostile? what do those weird symbols mean?- is very engaging. For most of the first half I couldn't put it down, and then I felt it lagged a bit. The pace picks up again, but as the story canters to a thrilling conclusion, there is an info-dump so big and cheesy I did roll my eyes a little. Despite this, I had great fun reading it. The author Susan Stokes-Chapman skilfully meshes Welsh language, folklore, superstition together with some ambiguous supernatural elements into her tale- and overall, it works. It held my interest all the way through, although I do wish the big reveal was slightly less cartoonish. A recommended 4 stars overall.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Henry, a surgeon living in London, who after a mistake is invited to take a job in Wales to look after Linette and her mother.
After a little while Henry realises things aren’t quite what they seem and between him and Linette they investigate to find out the truth.

This book is a dark, gothic read based in Wales. The descriptions of the settings are beautiful and you can tell a lot of time, effort and research has been put into this book by the author.

It took me a little while to actually get into this book and the story. From half way through I felt the story really picked up and by the end it was fast paced and exciting!

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House UK & Vintage Books for the advanced reading copy of this book.

I LOVED this book. So much so I got about three hours sleep last night as I was nearing the end of the book when I began reading. Then, gripped by the build up to the thrilling, climactic finale I couldn’t put it down. Afterwards, wide eyed and head buzzing with thought, I couldn’t sleep.

The book took me a very short while to settle into, probably because it was different to my recent reading and some general fatigue, but all of a sudden it gripped me and I struggled to put it down.

The setting was bewitching and it was a lovely change to read some Welsh lore - dark, occult and mysterious. The secrets of the Plas Helyg came spilling out in twists and turns throughout the book, the resentments of the residents of Penhelyg deep rooted and dangerous and the characters wonderfully complex and brought to life by the author. I ended the book with shock written all over mv face. I’ve been recommending the book to my coworkers all day. It has everything - mystery, well researched, complex satisfying characters and a great story. Looking forward to reading more by Susan Stokes-Chapman

Ooooh I really liked this book. Compelling right from the off it tells a fascinating tale. I enjoyed the writing and I could imagine this as a Sunday night period drama on TV. It’s very atmospheric with vivid descriptions of the landscape as well as the house where most of the story was set.

Henry Talbot was an esteemed doctor at a famous London hospital until he fell from grace, so to find himself in a rural Welsh village where most of the villagers aimed unfounded animosity towards him and where Welsh was the first language making communication even harder for him, it all came as quite a shock to his system.

But he wasn’t the kind of person to shy away from his duties and was determined to gain the confidence of those in the village who needed his medical help.

The plotting of the book is excellent with many mysteries to solve. With each closing chapter the reader, along with Henry Talbot will come a little closer to solving one mystery, only for it to pose further unanswered questions, thus making it a real page turner. Within the incidents that follow there is some quite vivid imagery in the descriptions of events and at times, especially towards the end it gets very tense.

Overall this was an intriguing book, with some surprising reveals as the reader approaches the final chapters. A fabulous book that I would highly recommend.

The Shadow is a gothic novel set in Meirionydd, Wales, in 1783. The plot revolves around Henry Talbot, a doctor who, after being dismissed from a prestigious London hospital, takes a job as a physician in a small Welsh town. The town is steeped in superstition, Welsh folklore, and pagan cults, and the villagers are not the most welcoming!
I loved this gothic mystery and having lived in Wales for most of my life love the Welsh, culture, folklore and myths, so this ticked all the right boxes for me.

Oh, I LOVED this book. Much more than the first novel, this one captured my imagination and kept me enthralled. It's a wonderfully layered book with secrets coming to light throughout. The characters are well-formed, and it reads well. Loved the hint of Gothic.

Beautifully written, this is a slow burn suspense, full of mystery and gothic vibes, set in the rural Welsh countryside in the 18th Century.

With subtle hints at something dark and dangerous, the author weaves a tale filled with beautiful prose in a small community rural setting.

Creating a series of intriguing characters including the strong and fiercely independent female protagonist Linette, who defies the expectations of 'ladies' of her time and runs her own estate. Along with the new Doctor, Henry, recently appointed from London as the local physician in a mixture of suspicious circumstances

I enjoyed cosying up with this book. I loved the subtle ways the story unfolded in the first half, before escalating into darker more sinister situations of suspense, danger and plot twists in the second half.

With true gothic / folktale vibes, this was a book to relish and enjoy. Atmospheric and chilling, there were definitely aspects of the story I did not see coming at all. And I loved the darker and darker twists the author revealed the more you read on.

A perfect Autumn vibes reads that you can imagine snuggling up reading by a roaring fire while a storm rages outside.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
A gripping read, with some good twists and turns, set in the late 18th/early 19th century.
Dr Henry Talbot is a renowned, young surgeon who has lost his job in London following the death of a patient during an operation. Unable to find other employment in London, he accepts a role in a remote part of Wales. He is to look after a wealthy family and act as physician to their mineworkers.
However, as soon as he arrives, strange things start to happen.
This is a well-woven tale, with engaging characters, that will keep you turning the pages.

I cannot recommend this book enough! Steeped in Welsh mythology, this dark Georgian tale is full of mystery, deception and intrigue.

Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his position at a prestigious London hospital, with his reputation in tatters he is forced to take a position in a rural Welsh mining village.

All is not is as it seems in this village. The villagers despise Henry for an unknown reason, the lady of Plas Helyg is considered a mad woman, the gatehouse is destroyed just before Henry is due to move in, and Henry discovers that his predecessor died under mysterious circumstances. Henry and Linette set off to unravel these mysteries, but cannot fathom where it will lead.

This is a brilliantly layered novel, with Welsh language throughout, I really appreciate the links to Welsh mythology, how beautifully the Welsh countryside is brought to life and how much research went into it. This novel will keep you gripped and keep you guessing throughout and you will not see it coming!