The following is my review as posted.

I like historical fiction and the blurb really drew me in. Indeed I was hooked in the beginning. Set in 1830's London, the feel felt very Dickensian with cobbled streets; backstreet alleyways; a sensory overload; and gentry vying for space in and amongst the poor going about their daily business.

Hester White is now living in the slums as she lost her parents and came to London to live with what were essentially the hired help. Very generous of them to help her but still her situation is dire compared to what she had. Hester, one day whilst out to meet a cousin, gets knocked over by a carriage and her leg is broken. The carriage belongs to Calder Brock, a young eminent doctor, who upon seeing Hester's plight takes her home with him to help her recovery. Brock takes a shine to Hester and decides to take her to his ancestral home in the country where she encounters Brock's sister, Rebekah. The two eventually become close but certain events lead to Hester having to run away. Up to this point I was absolutely hooked with this period piece. Whether we were entering the bustling poverty laden streets of the slums or the grandeur of big houses with maids, it was all beautifully captured by Ms Carlin.

However, the book took on a sudden turn and veered into something completely different which I really didn't see coming. I can't say what for fear of spoilers but what follows is a quest for the truth which takes the reader down a totally different path altogether. This is where the book fell short for me and though it's not a bad book by any means I'm not quite sure why so much was thrown at it. Now that I've had time to think about the book, I think my star rating is fair. Aspects of this I loved, the last third or so, not quite so much. A shame because I think the book could have been so much more.

Of course, this is only my opinion and you may well feel differently. Thank you to those for my ARC. I'm very grateful.

This is a dark atmospheric book set in 1800's London when poverty was rife and criminals ran amok. It is well researched and the Victorian prose helps to set the scene. The characters are well developed and the story compelling.
I would recommend it to readers of historical fiction.

I’ve just finished “The Wicked Cometh” by Laura Carlin and it was good.

This is my first read for the Read-O-Rama. I read this for the LGBTQ+ rep because there’s a lesbian romance featured in The Wicked Cometh.

3.5 Stars (4 on Goodreads)!

The story in centred around an eighteen year old girl called Hester, in 1831. She’s poor at the start of the novel. She gets injured and a young man, Calder Brock saves her. He takes her to his family estate where Hester meets his sister Rebekah, a sedentary young lady. The story really starts from there...

As I’ve already said, there’s a lesbian relationship in “The Wicked Cometh”, also there’s recreational drug use, as well so if you’re put off reading by either of those things, “The Wicked Cometh” might not be for you.

Spoilers below...

NOTE: I’m not going to directly quote this book because some bits were hard to understand, and I don’t want to get any of it wrong so I’ll just summarise the spoiler section, instead.

Hester has lost both her parents and is brought up by Aunt Meg and Uncle Jacob. These characters aren’t heavily involved in the story.

When Hester in injured, she is taken to Waterford, the Brock family’s estate. There she is looked after by two maids as well as Calder. Calder initiates Hester and Rebekah meeting. At first, they’re hesitant around each other. It’s only when a mystery that surrounds murdered bodies comes to the fore that Hester and Rebekah start to work together to try and figure out what is going on.

I enjoyed reading about Hester and Rebekah’s early relationship, as well as their relationship further in the novel. These characters do fall in love. There’s sort of the hate to love trope going on. We read from Hester’s perspective, and to begin with she believes that Rebekah dislikes her and that she certainly doesn’t feel as strongly as Hester does. It’s, however revealed later that she does feel as strongly.

The mystery elements were what put me off this book, though. I didn’t like what the mystery was surrounding so much. I will admit that I was shocked when it was revealed what was happening, though - so if you want a book with a good shock factor, I recommend this one.

What did I like about “The Wicked Cometh”?

I liked our heroine, Hester. I thought she was a good character that had strong morals as well as a good sense of justice.

I liked how the class divide between Hester and Rebekah was written. Hester is poor, as I said above, while Rebekah is from a well-to-do family. I like reading about romances where there’s a sub divide of class or race as it makes the story more interesting.

I thought that the lesbian factor was handled delicately. I’m not one for reading gay/lesbian romances really but this wasn’t totally in your face. It was a main plot point but it was told carefully.

I thought the settings were written well. The author definitely knows how to write a historical, run down setting!

What didn’t I like about “The Wicked Cometh”?

I didn’t so much like the main plot point, other than the romance so much. It kind of bored me a little. So much so that without the romance I think I probably would have stopped reading half way through.

Some parts were hard to understand. I understood what was happening but not why sometimes.

Overall, I liked The Wicked Cometh. Some points were confusing in the middle but by the end, I really ended up enjoying it! That’s why I’m giving it 3.5 Stars (4 on Goodreads)!

Laura Carlin has produced a quality story for her debut novel, which is set in 1830s England. This book is a blend of historical insight into the terrible conditions of the lower classes at that time combined with crime and topped up with a dash of romance. The mix works extremely well and the two main characters Hester and Rebekah come alive as you are taken into their very different but overlapping worlds. I would recommend this book and it is a great example of how to make your debut as an author.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. I will admit, once again, that I am a sucker for a beautiful cover. So when I saw the stunning print version of The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin I knew I wanted to read it. I hadn’t read the blurb nor did I know anything about the story. I was lucky in that the story is set in Victorian London which is a time period and place that I love reading about.

I couldn’t say that I loved The Wicked Cometh but it did keep me entertained. For me, the pacing was a bit slow but what cannot be argued is Carlin’s ability to paint a picture of the dirty, grimy underbelly of London’s streets. Her descriptions of the London ghettos is flawless.

The Wicked Cometh is a really good story that is long, languorous and atmospheric in its telling. If you are a fan of Victorian mysteries then you need to add it to your book list.

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin is available now.

For more information regarding Hodder & Stoughton (@HodderBooks) please visit www.hodder.co.uk.

Loved it!
This was a brilliantly constructed novel. Such a strong sense of time, I felt transported to 1830s London and Hester's world of secrets, ambition, and heart ache.

I’ve never been one for historical novels but having recently read The Miniaturist and loving it I thought I would give another one a go and I wasn’t disappointed. From the very beginning The Wicked Cometh had me hooked. The prose was very clever and had me read the story in The characters voices from the start. The story is about Hestor and her journey from the slums whilst also incorporating a mystery about missing persons. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes historical novels but also to anyone who wouldn’t normally read them.

So very different to my usual reads, but very enjoyable. I am not a great fan of historical fiction yet this was a compelling read. . I would definitely read further books by this author.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well… damn. I’m not quite sure how to review this one!

On the one hand, there are some aspects of the book that I really didn’t get, or feel it needed. The romance felt more like an attempt to be ‘different’ than a natural progression of a relationship. The characters were simplistic and stereotypical. And there were some pretty questionable sections that felt more like adding to the word count than meaning anything to the story.

This was especially true for the ending. It felt like our author was more interested in ticking the ‘happily-ever-after’ box than writing a meaningful, and believable ending. I’ve fallen in love with far-fetched endings before but this was just too much. It felt like the author did something they regretted and then clutched at any weak plot twist they could find to bring it all back together again.

Yet. Even with all the flaws, I really enjoyed it.

I know it makes no sense. I’ve read much better historical fiction and I should hate this book because of its weaknesses. But it was gripping... Really gripping. There were audible ooh’s on public transport; attempts to walk and read in the snow; and sneaking an extra 10 minutes at lunchtime (sorry boss!) just to get an answer.

So here I am, confused as hell. I can’t give the book more than 3 stars because, let’s face it, it’s pretty flawed. But it did get me out of a reading slump and I did enjoy it in general.

Make of that what you will.

I fell in love with the cover of this book, I'm pleased to say that the contents does it justice - it's a dark historical fiction mystery, where two young women of very different social standings go a'sleuthin' to uncover why people are disappearing across London. The flow of this story is quite slow and spends a lot of time building up the tension before a quick conclusion at the end, I wasn't particularly a fan of the ending once all of the action was complete but the lead up to it was very enjoyable.

Hester, the main character, is a gratifyingly intelligent woman who has fallen on hard times since she was orphaned as a child and now finds herself in a position to get out of the slums after being run over and then rescued by a talented young doctor. None of the characters seem to be overly encumbered with the Victorian formalities I'd normally expect in a book set in this era, but it does give the characters much more scope in terms of action and sleuthing. Once she is introduced to the doctor's sister, they form a close friendship very quickly which is tested at every turn by the conspiracies that surround them.

Even though this book didn't hit all of the spots for me, I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere and the intensity of all the characters - as a debut novel from this author, it feels like she's just warming up. I'll absolutely be keeping my eye out for her next work and if it has a cover this pretty... I'll just buy the print copy!

Hester was left an orphan after the death of her parents and taken in by two of their servants, through ill-luck the family has fallen into abject poverty in the east of London. Hester wants to escape her drab life and the violence of the surroundings but is concerned about the growing number of people 'disappearing' from the streets of London. After an accident she is taken up by a young doctor as a project, his sister Rebekah will tutor Hester. Hester and Rebekah become close but after a misunderstanding Hester finds herself on the London streets again. With Rebekah at her side Hester determines to find out what has happened to the 'disappeared' and the answer is a lot closer to home than either thought.

There are many aspects of this book that are really excellent, not least the imagining of early 19th century London and the life of the poor. As a pastiche of 'gothic' stories it works well at many levels. I also didn't mind the sapphic love story between Hester and Rebekah even if some of the descriptions were a little florid at times. However put all of this together and it didn't really work for me as a whole, there was just too much and the ending was both convenient and irritating.

A beautiful, well written, atmospheric book that had me gripped. I look forward to reading more books by Laura

Following a narrow escape from under the wheels of a carriage, Hester is taken under the wing of a handsome young surgeon, Calder Brock, who, in an echo of Pygmalion, sets out to educate her in an effort to prove that the poor are capable of education. Hester finds herself drawn to Calder’s sister, Rebekah, who is charged with her tuition. Soon Hester becomes eager for any excuse to be in Rebekah’s presence, daring to hope that her own feelings might be returned. ‘Then something changes - the meeting of a kindred spirit, the potency of mutual trust – and the tender graces of self-belief once more visit themselves upon us and we are as complete as ever we may be.’

The author concentrates on building up the atmosphere of the period and the various locations in the first half of the book. The writing conjures up the sights, sounds and smells of the seedier parts of London: dank cellars, dark alleyways, mire-strewn streets, secret thoroughfares used for illicit purposes. The pace of the story really picks up in the second half as Rebekah and Hester embark on their investigation into the disappearances, risking everything as they enter the realm of individuals who have few scruples in dealing with those who get in their way. Soon they are in parts of London without light both literally and metaphorically. ‘Dark with the business of the people who live here. Dark with the deeds that are done.’ With the benefit of historical hindsight, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on so the interest was mainly in watching Hester and Rebekah feel their way slowly towards the shocking truth.

I enjoyed The Wicked Cometh and thought it was an assured debut. I admired the writing and the way the author skilfully evoked the atmosphere of the dark underbelly of London. There were also some intriguing plot elements revealed at the end. I’ll confess I was left with the slight sense at the end that I’d read it all before in other books (admittedly a bit of an occupational hazard if, like me, you read a lot of historical fiction). However, I would definitely look out for future books from this author.

This was a totally different read to my usual cup of tea and so I have to say I was slightly wary going in! I shouldn’t have been; it was amazing a really chilling read full of tension and it was very atmospheric ( you really could believe you were there!). I totally loved this book and devoured it in one sitting not moving much really from the sofa!....loved every bit of it even though I didn’t quite cotton on to what was happening until 1/2 way through haha, i thought the ending was perfect and would defo recommend the book to my friends as “something different”.

A very good first novel set in a realistic Victorian London. Brought that era to life. Recommend to anyone who enjoys historical novels in the style of Fingersmith/Penny Dresdful. You won’t be disappointed

I absolutely loved the cover of this book, it looks very sophisticated and truly beautiful. The main character in this novel is Hester White. A young lady who ended up in slums of London after her parent’s death. Because of a lucky accident, she ended up in a house, which belongs to a rich, Brock family. There she meets Rebekah, and after spending some time together, Hester starts having lesbian feelings towards her mistress. Together they start investigating why a lot of people mysteriously disappear in London. This is a second book where I meet a character named Hester who is smitten by her mistress and I have no idea why authors make Hesters lesbians...
I really liked the wide variety of characters in this novel, they all had different and very unique personalities, and I really liked how L. Carlin matched and balanced them all. The whole story was told from Hester’s perspective, and for me it was fully sufficient to enjoy it. I really liked Hester in this book, but sometimes her fantasies left me bored, because I really wanted to know what will happen next in the book, and all those fantasies felt like a drag.
I absolutely loved the setting of this novel. It was very interesting to read about these two opposite worlds of rich and poor. I was fascinated by the way author described London and it’s surroundings. I really liked the way L. Carlin combined romance and crime in this novel. In my opinion, it gave richness to the story. The investigation really absorbed me and I was struck by their findings. I liked all the twists and turns which author had to offer and they made me quite glued to the book.
The writing style of this novel was remarkable. I think, if the author can write a good book, he/she is gifted, but if the author can write a good book using old, classical writing style, they are bloody fantastic. :D For me, it seemed, that I am reading something, that was written in 1800ies and to understand that the person who wrote it is still alive, it simply blows my mind. Some of the words used in this book, I had to look up in a dictionary, because I haven’t heard them before. :0 I loved the way author ended this book, it has given a fair closure to this story and left me deeply satisfied with it. So, to conclude, I really enjoyed this dark and intriguing story, filled with diverse characters and very absorbing and constantly changing plot. It has great multiple stories to follow and I do recommend to give this book a try. Enjoy :)

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for my free ARC.

Hester is living a miserable life. It is 1831, London is a squalor of filth and poverty. She wasn’t meant to have this life and can only hope to escape it. She hopes. She dreams. And then she literally ends up under the wheels of a carriage which changes her life forever.

Meet the amiable, charming Calder and his haughty, brusque sister Rebekah. We are reminded that privilege too has its cages, and that all is not as it may first seem.

Hester is transported to the beautiful rural home of Waterford, a library, a stable of horses and an education.

She falls in love with this notion of being lifted out of the slums into a better life but Rebekah needs her help for something else. There is reported in broadsheets and the gossip of servants the missing persons and speculations of their miserable ends. Rebekah wants to find out what has happened to her missing ladies maid, and this plunges her and Hester into an underworld of wickedness and misdemeanour that neither of them could’ve predicted.

As a reader I found this story so easy to get into – I was quickly plunged into the streets of London and the emotions and growth of Hester. Almost instantly I found it difficult to put down. It is in this portion of the story that the author gains strength and colour, with vivid visceral descriptions and savage scenes of the depravity of criminals. In a time of scientific growth the need and desire of knowledge was sometimes so great that it overwhelmed the more sensible and rational reasoning of men. These men employed the services of criminals to fulfil their requirements and remained untouchable.

A gripping tale of mystery, missing persons, obligations, relationships, propriety and poverty, I highly recommended this read.

A note on book design: the hardcopy of the book is beautiful in its muted tones and textures, a collectors copy.

A note in the type: set in Fournier MT designed by Monoface in 1924. It is based on types cut in 1742, these being of the most influential designs of the eighteenth century. More on this is detailed at the back of the book.

Themes: philanthropy, mystery, murder, poverty, love, trust, loyalty, scientific knowledge

In the City of London, terrible things are happening as the vulnerable and poor begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances.

In the middle of the mystery is Hester White, a well educated young woman who began life in a loving, comfortably well off family. But through bad luck and misfortune is now penniless and living with her parents old employees while trying to survive the hardships and grim realities of living life in a London slum.

While trying to find a long lost cousin who may offer her a chance to escape the life she is living, Hester is involved in an accident which brings her to the attention of Calder Brock, a rich aristocrat with a passion for medicine. He offers her the chance to improve her station in life under the tutelage of his sister Rebekah Brock, which Hester accepts without hesitation.

Hester and Rebekah find themselves slowly becoming friends and something more, as they are both drawn together by their desire to solve the puzzle which seems to surround them. The more they uncover the more they realise that they are at the centre of the mystery,and to discover the truth, they must face terrible personal danger.

I enjoyed the story and found the characters interesting. The story was compelling and beautifully descriptive, but I felt it began to drag a little about two thirds of the way through. It had a nice twist at the end, which I did see coming, but I feel may surprise a lot of people.

I received a copy of this book in return for my independent honest review. Wow. Where do I start.This is one of the most beautifully written,well researched captivating historical fiction that I have read in a long time. It has so many amazing layers and believable characters that it is difficult to know where to start.
Hester,although born to a kind,moderately wealthy family ends up living in degradation in the slums of London. The atmosphere depicted by the writing style is so good, you image you are living there yourself. The sights,the sounds the smells are so real. Eventually she manages to escape this way of life and meets Rebekah and her family who are better positioned in society.
There is a concern that poor, vulnerable people are suddenly going missing and together Hester and Rebeker become more and more entangled in the layers of deceit,darkness and compelling plot lines surrounding this mystery.
I could just go right back and re read this book straight away I enjoyed it so much.
There are some beautiful and tender romantic sub plot lines in here that are relevant and tastefully written for the historic era.
What a debut. I cannot wait for her a next release.

I absolutely adore historical fiction, especially crime, even more especially set in the Victorian times. This wonderful story grabbed me instantly and I couldn’t put it down. It is so rare that you will find such a contemporary historical fiction novel. It's like light years ahead. This book ticked a lot of boxes for me – Victorian, a mystery, dark deeds, murky London life and a bright, young heroine – I was very excited about reading it.

The tale takes place in both London and in the country home of the Brocks. There is no denying that this book is beautifully written. Laura Carlin has managed to capture the dank, foggy, murky Victorian London streets superbly. You find yourself completely transported back to 1831, the people, the sights, the smells come alive as you read. It feels like you are walking the halls of Waterford Hall and the crackle of the library fire can be heard in your ear as you read about Hester and Rebekah.

There are dangerous and sinister things going on in London and Hester and Rebekah take it upon themselves to seek the truth. People they know have gone missing without a trace and these two plucky, forthright ladies want to know what has happened to them. The truth is something neither of them can comprehend.

Overall I loved this book. I can understand why it won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially fans of historical fiction, but that for me made the book even better. I hope it made certain people feel uncomfortable. The second half was fantastic! It is wonderfully written with twists and danger around every corner. I think a lot of readers will thoroughly enjoy it and I do recommend it.