It’s not often that I stumble upon a rare story like this which tugs at my heart strings, but when I do manage to uncover a gem like this it’s proven that these stories are rare as hell. You’ll have more luck finding your soulmate twice in the same week than finding a book as good as this one.

Lest we forget, this is either because Carlin creates a perfect balance between the budding mutual attraction of Hester and Rebekah or, in my own opinion, the author has an obvious passion and respect for both her characters and the story she’s trying to tell. In fact, let’s be honest: two girls falling in love in a society governed by automatic expectations filtered through black and white norms have one massive obstacle blocking their path to eventual happiness.

And some much wanted hanky panky.

On a serious note, I both love and hate the fact that Carlin creates this tug of war between the reader and Hester’s often-tumultuous emotions: we both want the girl to be happy and to take a daring step to confide her attraction to the slightly older Miss Brock, but then reality throws us a curve ball and Hester is back to scrubbing pots while being plagued by the warmth of her loins.

Sigh.

As annoying as this story element becomes, Carlin has proven herself a master at the art of dangling something right in front of our faces, seducing us with pretty words (even a slight touch or a warm whisper) before yanking that sucker so far out of our reach that I can only sit and feel completely helpless.

The second part of this beautiful and heart-wrenching story comes in the form of an English investigation with, there you have it, more than a few fantastic revelations. With certain things being kept in the family and numerous influences of the outside world taking a gander at the interwoven fates of the characters, including the situations they find themselves in, things soon become apparent that the muddy streets of London might be considered cleaner than the secrets harbored by those closer to home. with nothing left to chance and not shying away from prying open the layers of London’s seedy underbelly, Hester and Rebekah make quite the detective team I’m certain Sherlock Holmes would want to recruit.

Stick with this story to the end and you’ll be sending me a personal ‘Thank you’ letter. I don’t know if Carlin herself might blindly stumble upon this review, but if she does: job well done, ma’am.

A gothic Victorian murder mystery set in the early nineteenth century. Impoverished orphan Hester is rescued after an accident and sent to convalesce at a country house where she is taken under the wing of heiress Rebekah Brock. But danger is lurking in the house and in the dark streets of London, people are going missing and Hester's life is threatened. A darkly compelling novel that is rich with atmosphere.

Historical murder mystery at its best with a lovely lead character and lots of great description of life at the time.

An atmospheric sensation novel set in the 1800's. Life is hard for Hesther but nothing stands in her way. There are twists and secrets and revelations-A well written historical novel that won't disappoint.

In all honesty this book wasn't quite what I was expecting. It is beautifully written and an interesting story line but it just didn't do it for me, a little too slow burning. Possibly hist-fic is not for me; I also didn't gel with any of the characters.

I loved everything about this book! The story itself, the language it was written in, the love story, the pace... Immediately the London of old comes to life and you can't wait to get to the bottom of why people keep disappearing without a trace.

The book is beautifully different and a fantastic read I would definitely recommend.

Sleaze, mystery, sex... a glorious literary romp through 1800s England. Hettie, an orphan fallen on hard times, takes up a position with a family in the country in the hopes of a secure life. There, she meets the haughty, difficult Rebekah, who - of course - is not what she initially seems. This is, like most good novels, a romance at its heart, but with a fascinating, well drawn backdrop and a host of convincing, larger-than-life characters. Echoes of Sarah Waters, Sarah Perry, even Dickens. Plotwise, a twisted My Fair Lady meets Rebeca, meets Fingersmith. Hugely enjoyable.

If you're a fan of Sarah Waters, you should try Wicked Cometh-a gritty and more realistic lesbian historical fiction with a good mystery.

Hester White's fortunes have been changing her whole life, from the fields of Lincolnshire to the slums of London, and now to the house of the aristocratic Brock family. When she begins taking lessons from the enigmatic and fierce Rebecca Brock, her fortunes begin to shift in an entirely unexpected direction.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year (I mean, come on, Victorian lesbian detectives!) and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint. UST, does she like me, will they won't they, this book delivers, and it delivers well. The writing is atmospheric without being overbearing, and London is so vividly described that you feel as though it's all around you.

There are several shifts in tone throughout the story, but they are weaved in well, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns the story took. My only complaint would be that the story wrapped itself up a little too quickly and nearly, but, since it ended in a way I liked I don't know how much of a complaint that is!

Wow, an immersion into C19th London, with its low-life and high-life. Very atmospheric, and a most unexpected ending make for a fabulous read....keep a weekend free.

Loved the book, I had not read anything by Laura before and she is now an author that I will look for next time I'm in the book store

This debut thriller by Laura Carlin is set in Victorian London tells the story of Hester who is orphaned and end ups living with her family's gardener and through a series of events, she meets Rebekeh Brock who she begins to fall in love with.

A great read!

I was slow to get into this book at first but absolutely hooked by the end. The mystery was very compelling and I loved the characters. I also felt that the historical setting was described very evocatively. This book has definitely made me want to read more historical fiction!

The Wicked Cometh is a great novel set in eighteenth century London where there is a dark undercurrent of a murky world where scores of people are going missing. Young Hester a poor citizen who is left an orphan when her parents both die untimely deaths becomes embroiled in a deep mystery of the missing persons.

Hester is taken in by the wealthy Brock family following an incident with a horse and carriage and she is home schooled by Rebecca Brock, who she slowly starts to fall in love with. Together Hester and Rebecca start to unravel the nasty business of the missing people in the city and find that all is not as it seems.

I absolutely enjoyed this story and the setting of dark and dangerous London. I found several parts of this book to be quite sinister and I applaud Laura Carlin for her tremendous writing skill. I look forward to what she has to offer next.

I do enjoy a bit of Victoriana but it was refreshing to find the late Georgian/Regency period covered in Laura Carlin's debut novel, The Wicked Cometh.

Hester White lived her early life in Lincolnshire the daughter of a reasonably well-to-do parson. When her parents die, however, she is taken in by the family gardener and his wife and they end up living in London. Not the genteel end that we usually see in Regency romance but in the maze of dwelling places in the East End of London, surrounded by poverty, criminality and disease. What is even worse is that there seems to be a spate of mysterious disappearances - men, women and children vanishing without trace. Hester is desperate to get out of London so, when circumstances throw her into the path of Calder Brock, a young doctor, she grabs at the chance he offers her to travel to his family estate to get the education he assumes she lacks. Although Hester has, in fact, been fairly well-educated by the standards of the day she pretends to be an ignorant slum-dweller. When she reaches Waterford Hall, the Brock's country house, she meets the doctor's sister, Rebekah, a rather prickly, single woman who prefers logical reasoning to ballrooms, who is to be her teacher.

The action moves back to London and involves Hester and Rebekah with pawnbrokers, con-men, opium-eaters and killers. The two women become friends and fellow-investigators and, gradually, Hester falls in love. The battle to discover what happened to Agnes and Martha, two missing Brock servants, as well as all the others who have vanished becomes a race to discover all the Brock family secrets and to prevent the loss of all that the two women have come to hold dear. It takes a little while to get there but the ending is a thrilling answer to all the questions raised throughout the book. There are a dozen threads or so introduced - I lost track at one point - but they are all twisted together into a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. If you like your historical fiction dark and complicated, with a side order of unconventional romance then give this book a try.

The Wicked Cometh is evocative and atmospheric, with its depictions of Victorian England setting the scene nicely for the dark and twisting story that develops.

Hester has fallen on hard times, living in the slums with a family who took her under their wing after her parents died. All around her people are disappearing - missing person notices are going up by the dozen each week, but nobody seems to care. That is, until Hester meets with an accident and is taken in by a wealthy family to be tutored as part of a social experiment. There, she meets the mysterious and brooding Rebekah - trapped into a role she doesn't want by her own gender, Rebekah has her own plans and agendas, and Hester soon becomes beguiled.

Hester and Rebekah's relationship added a whole new level of danger to the story, and I loved how these two women were standing up to society in so many ways. In fact, the book takes on a huge number of heavy themes that were nearing boiling point in the Victorian age - gender, sexuality, class, ethics and the evolution of science - blending them all together without the story feeling over-burdened or clunky.

The book is beautifully written - a very realistic historical story with touches of the Gothic. Unfortunately, the pacing is all over the place, with large chunks of the story that dragged and an unfathomable number of coincidences that kept the plot ticking over. The ending was also a huge let down and has definitely tainted the rest of the book for me. For a debut novel, The Wicked Cometh is incredibly impressive and inventive, and I'll certainly look out for future books by Laura Carlin.

I tried so hard to get into this book but I just couldn't. I kept giving up then going back to it. I got a few chapters in but it took me a long time and nothing really happened. There is not really anything wrong with the writing I just think it might be a slow one. I will keep trying and update my review

Wow, what a journey this book was! It took me by surprise with its beautiful writing, gothic atmosphere, mysteries, twists and characters! I absolutely loved it.
The Wicked Cometh is a gothic historical novel set in London in 1831. Our protagonist is Hester White, a young woman who lives in the slums of London. She somehow makes her way into the life of the aristocratic Brock family, meeting her mistress Rebekah. At the same time, there are a lot of missing poor people out of the blue from the streets of London. After this point, we lurch into many mysteries unsolved and the layers of different characters and events start to peel off layer by layer.
I loved Carlin’s writing. It’s very atmospheric as the time and place deserves it. There are lots of secrets, passions, twists embedded in the plot. The protagonist Hester comes out as a charming, young woman in search of security and a good future. She develops very well throughout the book. I also loved Rebekah and how the relationship evolved between the two women. The story telling was very successful. As opposed to many books today, in my opinion this book was at the right length. It had a very good pace. It had very rich descriptions, which might feel like it’s slowing down, but I really enjoyed the writing. I guess it’s a personal preference. It might put off some people, but I enjoyed it. The end was very packed, twist after twist, I really enjoyed it.
Overall, for me it was a delicious ride at the dark times of historical England full of surprises. I cared so much for Hester and Rebekah. I liked Laura Carlin’s writing style, and I would definitely pick up another book from her without any hesitation. I would recommend this book for people who like slow burning mysterious historical fiction. If you liked this book, you’d also enjoy Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, which was another 5 star read for me this year.
Ana may I just say, WHAT A COVER!! It’s absolutely gorgeous in real life. The rose gold accents on cloth binding. It’s a jewel for a library 🙂
Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

An atmospheric read that reminded me of both Fingersmith and The Crimson Petal and the White with its nod to classic Victorian fiction. I thought was well paced with a good dose of dramatic tension, although i felt the closing chapters were a little drawn out. Having said that I thought this was a competent debut and will recommend to fans of the previously mentioned books.