The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin takes you on a trip back in time to Victorian London and the trials of being poor and living in slum conditions. I really liked the beginning of the book and the character of Hannah, but when she teamed up with Rebekah to try and solve the mystery of the people who had gone missing, I found the book lost a little of its charm. I would like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review

'The Wicked Cometh', is a good Victorian ‘romp.’ It doesn’t really do anything to add to the genre, but instead is just a very silly, very melodramatic and very readable little book. Comparisons to ‘The Crimson Petal and The White’ will inevitably be made, but they have nothing in common bar being set in London at a particular moment in history.

If anything, this reminded me more of ‘The Observations’ and ‘Fingersmith’, and owes a fair debt to the 'sensation novels' set in the era Carlin writes about. As others have noted, it would benefit from a tighter edit (some sections in the middle really do drag) and some characters seem to exist more as handy plot devices than people we should actually care about. However, if you manage to stick with it (and suspend your belief for a few hours, particularly towards the end!) you will be justly rewarded.

a brilliantly dark tale I absolutely loved it! would certainly recommend.

A historical novel set in Victorian England. It concerns a young girl, a vicar’s daughter, left destitute due to the death of her parents with no relatives to take her in. Due to force of circumstances she ends up in the dregs of society where she learns to merge into the culture and to survive. As the girl grows and seizing every opportunity to better herself, she also finds true love with an older woman and together they embark on a mission to solve the disappearances of a multitude of young people and also get embroiled in the revelation of dark family secrets. Through her eyes the reader is treated to a very rich experience of the life and times of the Victorian era. All together a most interesting and engaging read.

The wicked cometh is an enjoyable tribute to 19th century mysteries, with a ‘modern’ love story and an exploration of the more horrific elements of human nature at its heart. The poverty of pre-Victorian London is vividly brought to life, the female leads compelling and the historical context subtly threaded throughout. Some of the male leads feel more broadly sketched, but given the perspective of the narrative this is understandable.
Feels like a good book to read by a roaring fire on a cold day.

This book is hard to review especially as so many other reviews have summed it up perfectly so the highest compliment I can give this book is that
Even before I was half way through this book I preordered a copy from Amazon so I will receive this book release day!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I am afraid I did not enjoy this book at all, hard going and boring

I loved this book ,it was very atmospheric ,an authentic feeling of Victorian life .The story is told through Hester who has fallen on hard times and now lives in one of the poorest and roughest parts of London .The descriptions of dark alleys ,grime and peasoupers and the struggle of daily life for the poor made the book come to life for me it must have been awful to be poor in that era .Hester and Rebekka set out to solve the mystery of the disappearance of random people in London ,quite a formidable task especially for woman in the this era The story was very cleverly told I was holding my breath near the end .I loved the phrase "So the circle is closed ,the merchant has become the goods " so true .For a debut book thought it was wonderful I look forward to reading more from this Author .

I found this novel to be a strange mixture of intriguing and annoying. The style of writing was, i think, the first problem for me. The author seems to work too hard to immerse us in the reality of the time and of the heroine's personal feelings. It's an odd mixture: sometimes hugely evocative of place and time, sometimes hugely evocative of the (painfully) breathless writings of an overly emotional teenager in the throes of a first love.

The premise is good: a mystery that links two very diverse people, a girl from the very worst slums and a rich lady from very much the other side of town. This is where it goes wrong again for me though. The two are brought together by a true accident (oh how convenient) and eventually discover the links that, surprise surprise, go right back to when our slum dweller lived a very different life and her rescuer was but a baby.

There are just two many convenient coincidences to make this a completely satisfactory read. It starts to seem as if the author couldn't imagine realistic solutions to to the storyline's challenges so opted for the most unlikely of all.

There are many clever aspects to this tale and a keen understanding of the period in which it is set: inheritance, opium addiction, body snatching, the oppression of the poor and the belief that they were somehow lesser beings, education as a privilege...it all could add up to something rather good, but just doesn't.

Usually anti-historical fiction, but this was devoured. Superb language, setting, and gripping. Would make a wonderful dramatisation.

This book is a really enjoyable trip through the murky streets of early 19th century London. The atmosphere is wonderfully created, whether this is the filth and the squalor of the deprived areas of London, or the salubrious setting of the country residence of the Brock family.

The characters of Hester and Rebekah are two wonderfully drawn characters and their blossoming friendship and love for one another is a delight to read. Together they are formidable as they set out to see justice served for the forgotten and undervalued missing people. The story itself in reminiscent in some ways of early Sarah Waters, and tells a tale of disappearing people, the criminal underclass, a family with an army of skeletons in the closet, mistaken identities, intrigue, and romance.

I really enjoyed this book, and thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review. I am already looking forward to the next book by Laura Carlin.

A truly enchanting book. Darkly atmospheric, a vivid and authentic 19th century setting full to the brim with fantastically developed characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending to the book club.

(Mild spoiler alert) People are going missing and Hester, orphaned and impoverished despite her refined upbringing, is awaiting her cousin in a scrubby 19th century London and fears the worst. What follows is a tale of upstairs and downstairs, and of men exploiting the longings and expectations of young people in this world, There is little recourse for a young woman, and Hester navigates well due to her smarts and groundedness. And then, in a setting which is supposed to be refined she meets Rebekah - the love of her liife and they escape togeher from the perfidy of the men, presumably relatives who incarcerate her. But tragedy strikes, and Hester believes her murdered but then the truth comes out, A woman Hester barely knew reveals secrets to her that release her .. the plight of the women in such a desolate world is poignant, and readable, affecting - and I truly wanted to know what was going to happen. Perhaps the scheme is a bit elaborate but that makes it more realistic I suppose. Entertaining despite its unhappy atmosphere.

I love historical fiction and this book was a perfect read for the weekend. I loved the characters and the way that the story evolved. A must read!

Would definitely recommend this book and thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns within it.

Thank you so much to Hodder and Stoughton for emailing me with this book.

I have to say I was a bit dubious at first - historical fiction isn't really my thing but I'm so glad I got a chance to read it! It is just such a fabulous story. Great storytelling from Ms Carlin and the imagery her words evoked of a long past London drew you in to the point where you can't put the book down.

The friendship and budding romance between the Rebekah and Hester was lovely - it was so nice and not in your face like a bodice ripper usually is!

The mystery and murders are atmospheric and creepy and the end left a little tear in my eye.

A wonderful debut and an engaging book with characters you'll love.

t seemed a slow start to this story but it's a good one!

Although I say a slow start I enjoyed reading about old London and I liked Hester, it felt like I was reading a classic novel not a historical one about a young woman who wants to improve her place in society. Hester's chances improve when she enters the Brock household and meets Rebekah. I never really knew what to think, this book constantly keeps you guessing. It is around this time that the pace changes and the mystery escalates with tension and suspense! 

There's many dark twists and turns along the way as secrets are revealed and horrors exposed(it was more shocking than I expected). I could not stop reading  until I reached the last page I was completely drawn into this world and loved a mystery involving female characters. 

I can't wait to read the next book by Laura Carlin.

Oh, yummy! This is a glorious gothick extravaganza, featuring mistaken identities, forbidden love (of many kinds), two feisty heroines in big frocks (or not, as occasion demands), and the stinking, dangerous, foul, criminal haunted slums of London. It wrong-footed me a couple of times, which is always good, and I loved the final untangling of the sordid web. 

I think I particularly liked the portrayal of the London slums, and the sheer desperation of life there. It really shows you how easy it would have been to sink without trace, if just a couple of things went wrong (being orphaned and friendless is never a great start in life, but at least we have some kind of a welfare state now that just might notice you). Hester crawls her way back out of the mire, using her own native wit to do so, and she's fabulous.

I genuinely could not stop thinking about this book and its many twists and turns. Really enjoyed it though and different to anything I’ve read this year.

Beautifully written debut by an author I will certainly be looking out for! If you are looking for a tale of many threads, female protagonists or like historical London or Sarah Waters’ work, you will like this.
The story starts when Hester is orphaned and taken to murky London. There, not only is she among the poor but the less salubrious of society. And people keep disappearing. She dreams of a better life in the countryside and it seems her fortune has changed after she is run over by a gentleman’s cart and her leg is injured. The gentleman, Calder Brock brings her to Waterford Hall for recuperation and education by his sister Rebekah Brock. It seems that collision brings on more in Hester’s life than she could have anticipated. It’s a tale of murder, money and ego but what really stands out for me is the love story and the will they, won’t they factor.
I love that this novel has a lot of female characters taking centre stage in many scenes from Hester and Rebekah to maids at Waterford Hall and women in London such as the missing Annie Allsop. I also loved the setting of this novel - in a murky, misty London at a time when anatomy was still being learnt. There are many twists too -not just the missing are victims here and not everyone has good intentions but who is who? Find out by reading this when you get the chance!