Laura Purcell has quickly become one of my favorite authors. She is queen of historical gothic horror and I’m continually astonished by her writing prowess. As you can imagine, I was beyond excited to dive into her latest book, The Shape of Darkness and it did not disappoint!
The Shape of Darkness takes place in the sordid streets of Victorian Bath. Our main character Agnes is a silhouette artist with a traumatic past who is barely scraping by. Her larger-than-life sister, Constance, died in a tragic accident, leaving Agnes to care for her nephew and elderly mother. When Agnes’s silhouette clients begin dropping dead under mysterious circumstances, she becomes desperate to uncover whoever’s responsible and salvage her business.
As if that isn’t enough, Agnes is receiving cryptic notes that appear to have been written by the killer. Willing to try anything, she seeks out the guidance of a local psychic medium -the infamous White Sylph– in the hopes that the spirits will unmask the identity of the murderer. Nothing is what it seems.
I was blown away by The Shape of Darkness. It effortlessly ranks in my top 5 books this year. It was nearly as good as the author’s highly acclaimed novel, The Silent Companions, and an especially excellent fall or winter read. Purcell really brought her A-game with this one and clearly did a ton of research into the Victorian era, because the references were on point.
The Shape of Darkness has everything you could want- mesmerism, sibling rivalry, communication with ‘The Great Beyond,’ insane character development and a mindf*ck of an ending… I mean, wow. I have no words. The dreary, otherworldly atmosphere and non-stop twists and thrills exceeded my wildest dreams. I will be ranting and raving about this one to my family and friends for a long time (sorry, not sorry!). You need The Shape of Darkness in your life.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
You can snag a copy of The Shape of Darkness here and support a bookstore near you.
