The Whispering Muse: The most spellbinding gothic novel of the year, packed with passion and suspense

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The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions, by Arr Taylor (Crippen & Landru) For those interested in retellings of Greek mythology, such episodes as this one, the rape of Caenis and the grubby denouement of the argonauts' enchanted sojourn on the all-female isle of Lemnos will make The Whispering Muse essential reading. Whether it truly gels as a novel, and whether it achieves the right balance between arch drollery and moral seriousness, I don't know. The main test of a book like this is not how incisively one can analyse it, but whether it lingers in the mind and takes root there. Give it a year, or 3,000, and let's see.

I did feel like the aforementioned supernatural elements weren't explored enough, however. I had hoped to learn more about the origins of the "Muse", and how the watch and Eugene Grieves fit into all of it. This was explained to a certain extent but was only done so very briefly, and it would've made the story just slightly more satisfying. Spyfail: Foreign Spies, Moles, Saboteurs, and the Collapse of America’s Counterintelligence, by James Bamford (Twelve)*Set in Victorian England we are introduced to the world of theatre and all the superstitions it holds. After her elder brother abandons them our protagonist Jenny is struggling to provide for her younger siblings. She is desperate and wants to create a better life for them all so when Mrs Dyer makes her a generous offer, Jenny finds it hard to say no. Laura Purcell excels in the territory she has claimed as her own, the dark, disturbing and the tragic in this, with her chilling, atmospheric Victorian gothic storytelling with its elements of horror, with its blood and gore, as she slowly immerses the reader in the drama laden world of the characters that inhabit the Mercury Theatre in London's West End. The narrative is structured around 5 plays that echo the themes and issues of the characters, whilst simultaneously driving the storylines onwards. It soon becomes apparent that it is no accident that the plays include Dr Faustus and Macbeth. Jenny Wilcox is a desperate woman, drowning in a precarious situation exacerbated by her brother Greg, leaving her solely responsible for her family. So when she is made a job offer that she cannot refuse, she accepts, the pay is generous, there is a house and includes much needed essential medical treatment for a sibling, but will she live to regret her decision?

As I began to research and consider the phrase ‘silent companions’, the themes of repression and censorship began to surface. This is my first book by Purcell, but it’s safe to say it wont be my last. I’ve never quite felt as transported when reading historical gothic novels as I did with The Whispering Muse. Her atmospheric writing style wholly brings the theatre and the characters who inhabit it to life. Her use of the different parts of the book, each part focusing on a different play, was exceptionally done. Each part, and with it, each play seems to perfectly capture the atmosphere and feelings not only of the story but of the characters themselves, and the use of foreshadowing was just *chefs kiss.* I also enjoyed the mythological element. It was spooky without being outright fantasy, but had enough of the element to keep me on my toes, wondering whether the muse, Melpomene, was actually causing Liliths bizarre behaviours, or whether it was her obsession with needing to become a star so bright no one could ever forget her.PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Whispering_Muse_-_Laura_Purcell.pdf, The_Whispering_Muse_-_Laura_Purcell.epub Lilith, the lead actress is desperate to have a taste of the good life, to become an actress so ethereal, so beloved, that people will adore her for eternity. Enter Melpomene and with a pact firmly in place, Lilith soon becomes infamous yet she must remember the shadow that begins to turn her world darker will only make her more and more hungry for things beyond her reach, even when those around Lilith try to warn her about what lurks in the shadows. Towards the end, Sjón gets fed up with maintaining a Pooteresque tone for Haraldsson, and the former fish inspector relates an eerily vivid account of Caeneus in bird form, scavenging for putrid meat near the decaying ruins of the Argo. It is here that the dehumanised mate meets "the most wretched of vagabonds: a bald, haggard, pinch-bellied, shrunken-limbed old man" who, Caeneus realises with a spasm of grief, is all that remains of the once-magnificent Jason.

Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal, by Nathan Masters (Hachette)* Unable to refuse and eternally grateful for the position of dresser to Lilith Erikson, Jennifer soon learns there's more to the situation. Mrs Dyer explains that her husband has been bewitched by the woman, and Jennifer is to keep a close eye on her. The reader is thrust straight into the social politics of the theatre, and additional meaning and nuance is communicated in the different plays the characters stage throughout this historical fiction masterpiece. The book is constructed around a series of plays, each one forming an "Act" of the novel. I'm sure there's some very in depth analysis that could be done around the choice of plays and how they drive the plot of the story, but for me they just felt like they fit it really well. The different tragedies staged in the Mercury showed us different aspects of our stars as things grew progressively more perilous and frightening. Atmospheric, gripping, absorbing - The Whispering Muse is another Gothic triumph from Laura Purcell. It's deliciously creepy, riveting and full of heart with compelling characters and brilliant twists. The theatrical setting and use of the tragedies on stage that are woven expertly into the unfolding story is glitteringly dark and mesmerising -- Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of ARIADNE and ELEKTRA ARC provided by Ben at Bloomsbury Books. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.It’s been five years since Raven Books published The Silent Companions, which went on to win the WHS Thumping Good Read award and was chosen by Zoe Ball for her ITV book club. For those who haven’t read this spine tingling tale yet, can you introduce it for us? In desperate need of employment, Jenny takes up a job as a dresser at the Mercury Theatre. However, the post comes with strings attached, in that she must spy on the lead actress, Lilith. The latter is a true artiste, with a demanding nature, and a secret that threatens Jenny's employer. As events unfold, this becomes a story of superstition and revenge, with a range of startling deaths to match.