Just about every twist here caught me off guard, and every prediction I had turned out to be unfounded. The story was so intrinsically layered, that I couldn't focus on another while immersed in this world. Everything from the differences of social classes, medicinal practices, factory conditions, and horrible deaths that could wipe out an entire family in moments are brought to our attention. This is not a look at the glamour of the Victorian times, but of the lesser fortunate. There is a murderer loose in Bath and he is targeting the clients of a silhouette artist. As Agnes is worried of losing her livelihood if her clients turn up dead one by one, she decides to seek help from an eleven year old spirit medium known as The White Sylph. This book is everything that you would expect from Laura Purcell, the gothic and shadowy setting in Bath, a chilling plot, unnerving characters with secrets, and a creeping sense of dread. I especially loved the seance scenes, the tension and mystery add to the dark atmosphere.

Shade/Shadow – Free Exercise - Lingolia

The Shape of Darkness is a glorious gothic tale, set in the prime setting of Victorian Bath. Agnes is a silhouette artist and takes care of her mother and nephew. Pearl is an eleven-year old medium, and lives with her ailing father and half-sister. Purcell builds the picture of each’s life, layer by layer, and I was riveted by those spellbinding worlds. This woman and child come to join efforts when Agnes’s clients all start to be murdered... Silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another...Shapechange: The vampire can assume the shape of an animal roughly the same size as their original mass. The vampire can only change into one type of animal (usually a wolf, sometimes a large feline or a giant snake), usually one associated with their clan or the type of prey they most commonly feed on. The animal, while usually a spectacular example of their species, shows no signs to a mundane observer of being supernatural. The Shape of Darkness is another gothic tale from Laura Purcell and arguably her darkest yet. Agnes make a silhouettes but with the rise of the photography her business is failing and when the people she captures in shadow begin to die she endeavours to find the cause be it earthly or otherwise. Laura Purcell has a well-deserved reputation for historical Gothic chillers. The Shape of Darkness delivers all the elements her fans have come to expect: women in difficult situations, a sideways look at the restrictions and strictures of their society, a creeping supernatural menace and a final – jaw-dropping – twist. After a couple of her clients are murdered, she ends up consulting a medium to see if her ex-clients can tell her who has killed them and why she is being targeted. I loved this book! I felt transported to Bath in the Victorian era by the language used. It was spooky gothic spiritualism that kept me up late reading because I just had to find out what happened next!

The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell | Goodreads

Desperate for answers Agnes goes against her doctors recommendation and seeks the help of a child psychic named Pearl. Been living there?’ he asked. I said, ‘Yes.’‘Fine lot these government chaps—are they not?’ he went on, But something strange is happening… after her clients leave her house, they end up dead. Is this just a coincidence or is the killer purposely targeting her? The Shape of Darkness is another chilling gothic tale from Laura Purcell. I have read her previous books and this one seems to be more darker than her previous. Award Winner. Le Guin won two prestigious science fiction prizes for The Left Hand of Darkness—both the Hugo and the Nebula award. Her follow-up novel, The Dispossessed, also won a Hugo and a Nebula.

Member Reviews

I love gothic books. I love them so much for the eerie atmosphere, the Victorian settings, the image of a crumbling and dirty city. And I love the spiritualist vibes this one gave me. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley. Is there a murderer on the loose in Bath? That is the question Agnes must find the answer to. And she decides to do so in an unorthodox method – through the help of Pearl, The White Sylph. She is an 11-year old spirit medium who speaks to the dead. Under the tutelage of her older half-sister, they make a living from this unique way of working. 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. This is the fourth book from Laura Purcell and it’s everything I wanted it to be. By that I mean it’s a Gothic delight with all Laura’s signature elements: a clever story that slowly unravels itself, a lead character you root for and a satisfying hit of the supernatural.

Member Reviews | NetGalley

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. wanted to shoot me, too, one day—but I don’t judge him.’‘Shoot you!’ I cried ‘What for?’‘Well, I had a Lore-wise the drow warriors are so accustomed to fight in low to no light conditions, that they are not especially hindered by it, which doesn't translate well balance-wise into the game. The spell is widely used by the drow in the Forgotten Realms novels. Uses included: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, Eyes of the Beast: The vampire can will a supernatural red gleam into their eyes, giving them sight even in the total absence of light. As with Purcell’s previous books, there is a good balance of apparently supernatural shennanigans vs. more rational explanations for events. While this juggling act keeps the reader guessing as to what exactly is going on, the mystery is paced perfectly, with new information dripped in at just the right moments to give you a chance to figure it all out for yourself and the final twist is delivered brilliantly. 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. Laura Purcell is rapidly growing to be one of my go to authors for quirky, twisty Gothic historical fiction and The Shape of Darkness does not disappoint, it is up there with her other books, including the much praised The Silent Companions and my own firm favourite The Corset.

The Shape of Darkness | Laura Purcell | 9781526602541 - NetGalley The Shape of Darkness | Laura Purcell | 9781526602541 - NetGalley

The ending was by far my favourite aspect and I loved how deliciously twisted the reveals were. The dark focus was what I had desired to be presented throughout, so to have them appear when I thought all was pleasantly concluded was a real treat!Historical detail and an era-specific atmosphere are such significant elements of what makes The Shape of Darkness so easy to get lost in. Purcell’s books are frequently compared to Daphne Du Maurier but whilst they might channel the paranormal undercurrents and masterfully unsettling yet often bleak storytelling, Purcell’s books stand out as future gothic classics in their own right. As ever, her next book will be something for readers to look forward to. Aclever and well-researchednovelwith a good twist, and it shows the nightmare of life for single women of limited means in the 19th century.” ―Literary Review (London) Her first novel for Raven Books THE SILENT COMPANIONS won the WHSmith Thumping Good Read Award 2018 and featured in both the Zoe Ball and Radio 2 Book Clubs. Other Gothic novels include THE CORSET (THE POISON THREAD in USA), BONE CHINA and THE SHAPE OF DARKNESS (2020) I especially appreciated the motifs from Ms Purcell's three other ghotic books delicately included in The Shape of Darkness.