This is such a spooky, atmospheric read. The story of Agnes, a silhouette artist, and Pearl, a young medium, in Victorian Bath takes place as a string of murders rock the city. Agnes soon realises she has a connection to the victims and worries her clients are being targeted. The atmosphere is tense and unsettling. Another excellent supernatural tale from Laura Purcell and definitely one to read during the Halloween season.

I love Laura Purcell's books, so I was really excited to listen to this. It started well, but unfortunately I kept dipping in and out of it and sadly I've had to do not finish. I'm going to buy the physical book, as I'm sure I will love it in that format.

Many thanks to Laura Purcell, NetGalley and Raven Books for this copy.

I'm sorry I'm not able to leave a review either way for this book due to the device I had the audiobook on breaking and me having to do a factory reset which wiped it clean of this audiobook. I apologise and have given it a midle 3 star rating, and apologies also for write a review of this as the netgalley option of 'not giving feedback' leaves my feedback ratio low and so I need to 'review' this in order to raise it back up, though if I ever get a hold of the book in future I will review it. Thank you and so sorry.

A great start but I do feel it went a bit off in the last few chapters and the ending became a little predictable and disappointing. It did keep me listening though and the narrator is fabulous.

I keep stopping and starting this book because I do really like the story but the narrator is ultimately the reason why I'm dnfing this audiobook. I'm not saying their performance is bad I just personally don't like it. It's mainly the voice she does for the main character who is an old woman and yet her voice sounds so childish. I don't think it fits the character and it felt jarring to hear. I would rather pick up a physical copy of the book and read it that way.

Who can say no to a gothic Victorian mystery …not me obviously!

Agnes Darken is a struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath. She is recovering from an illness and barely scraping together enough money to support her aging mother and nephew Cedric. Her business continues to struggle when one of her clients is found murdered shortly after sitting for her. Unfortunately, the same fate befalls her next sitter and again the next! As her life begins to unravel she reaches out to a gifted child medium hoping that if she can solve the mystery of who killed her clients she can begin to rebuild her business. However, what Agnes and Pearl unleash may be much worse than your average street killer.

An intense gothic atmosphere is evident in this book form the very first pages, high five to that! The building of Agnes’s fragile state is done beautifully and the descriptions of Pearl’s séances were mesmerizing. This Victorian Bath was a harsh and dangerous place with peril lurking around every corner. The constant feeling of jeopardy made for a dense and exhausting read. Nerve jangling frights alongside severe characters created a layered and realistic world where the real and spirit world collide. This book was completely immersive and realistic, which made the twist at the end feel very personal.

Really gripping audiobook, so well narrated. It kept me entertained while doing chores around the house.

I’ve only recently gotten into historical fiction, and think that fans of Stacey Halls would love this book too

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook.

The Shape of Darkness is a delightfully dark tale that has really stayed with me since I read it.

I’ve read quite a few historical fictions but this one felt more original than most. Set in 19th Century Bath, this book features two crazes of the Victorian era, the declining art of silhouette portraiture and the ongoing fascination with the supernatural. However, Purcell doesn't romanticise these elements and she doesn’t shy away from the reality of life in Victorian England.

Agnes creates silhouette portraits but with the invention of the photograph and declines in her health continuing with this is becoming increasingly difficult. The book starts slowly but grips you from the start, opening with the death of one of her clients. As the story unfolds, more of her clients end up dead and Agnes turns to a young girl named Pearl, a renowned spirit medium. Both Agnes and Pearl have intriguing backgrounds and as the story progresses their lives become more and more intertwined.

This gothic tale is brilliantly atmospheric and with a murder mystery at the centre of the plot there is plenty of intrigue and tension. The pace builds and towards the end there are some great twists and reveals.

I really liked the narration, it was easy to listen to and added a lot to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really intriguing novel that I found difficult to put down. Brilliantly realised with beautiful writing. I thought about it long after I had finished it.

If you favour sinister and creepy Gothic tales then The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell is a must-read!

The novel is set in Bath in 1854 and the reader follows Miss Agnes Darken, a silhouette artist who struggles to make ends meet whilst living with her elderly ailing mother, and young nephew, Cedric. When her clients are being murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, she turns to an 11-year-old albino spiritualist, Pearl Meers, a girl with her own issues who has a dominating half-sister, mesmerist Myrtle West.

Laura Purcell is definitely a magnificent storyteller. Her rich descriptions make this location and this period of history come to vibrant life. In this character-driven tale of secrets, deception, grief and loss, every page was filled with menacing, creepy and eerie narrative, and I was beguiled and completely engrossed.

I alternated between reading and listening to this book, and the narrator of the audiobook, Sophie Aldred really brought the characters to life effectively. The different voice intonations were noticeable and the ranges of emotion in the voices were great.

I loved that Laura Purcell included a clever, unguessable ending. Once started, The Shape of Darkness was a novel that demanded to be finished and I was only too happy to oblige. This was such a terribly good, compulsive, historical supernatural mystery that I have no hesitation in recommending it.

I received complimentary digital copies of this novel, at my own request, from Bloomsbury UK Audio and Raven Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Good narration throughout. Another great novel from Laura Purcell. I really like the hints of supernatural throughout, leaving the reader confused as to what is happening and whether the characters can be believed.

I have enjoyed all the books by this author so jumped at the chance to get The shape of Darkness via Netgalley on audio with no promise of a favourable review. Its everything you'd expect if you're familiar with this author - gothic, spooky and with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing right till the end.

In this book, Agnes Darken makes silhouettes but her customers are being murdered. She tries to find out herself who is responsible by attending a seance in the hope of contacting the dead. Agnes gets more than she bargained for and the plot explores the fake, the real and the plain unexplained! This summing up of the plot does not reflect the depth and complexities of everything that happens. It has the gothic, victorian feel - like was so hard back then and you feel Agnes' struggles. She's a real hard worker but very isolated, confused and scared but courageous and determined too. The twists and turns kept coming right till the end! We also get a tour of victoriana London - the best and worst parts.

This is a great book if you like the spooky and mysterious. The performance of the audio book is really good. The narrator has a nice voice, easy to listen to and all the characters have distinct voices. Even the performance of child voices are good - something so hard to get right!

Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.

Agnes is a struggling silhouette artist in the early boom of photography. Her business soon proves to have hit more than just a financial crisis when a gentleman who sat for her is found murdered just hours later. A deadly blow to the head was the proven cause, which is shocking enough for Agnes to learn, but what she discovers next is even more so. When Agnes uncovers his silhouette she finds that it has been incorrectly stored causing the page to crinkle and the shape of the image to have altered. It has left the last image of the deceased gentleman with a similar indention in his head as the one he wears in death.

I really did enjoy this one. The three-star rating reflects my preference for more gothic elements to have occurred but I did appreciate the pervading gloomy atmosphere as well as the littered hints of paranormal elements. I really liked how the bloody mystery this focused on mingled with fantastic possibilities and Purcell detained information on either until right at the book's close.

The ending was by far my favourite aspect and I loved how deliciously twisted the reveals were. The dark focus was what I had desired to be presented throughout, so to have them appear when I thought all was pleasantly concluded was a real treat!

Another lovely spooky gothic story full of shadowy corners from Laura Purcell. I loved her exploration of the world of Victorian spirit mediums in this book - the whole thing is so richly described that you can just see Agnes and Pearl and their lives in Bath. The pace is slow, but in a good way, with a sense of dread that grows throughout.

An interesting reflection on life in the 1840s.

Agnes Darken is a struggling silhouette artist, from a good family that has fallen on hard times and lives in Bath. However, all her recent clients have suffered from horrendous deaths and Agnes decides to beseech Pearl, a young Albino clairvoyant, into helping her discover who is behind the murders.

This is not the normal kind of book I choose to listen to. Having said this, I’m delighted that I took a huge chance and did because I’ve always been fascinated with clairvoyance and mesmerising. Sophie Aldred does an excellent job of narrating the novel, introducing the different characters who cross Agnes’ path.

The ending left me stunned. I needed to go back and listen again because it’s so shocking and unexpected, I thought I must have misheard the first time of listening.

Laura Purcell certainly has a way with words and even though the characters didn’t appeal – as it’s set in a period of history that I find quite irritating, with women fainting at the first sign of anything disagreeable, I must admit that it was hugely enjoyable to follow the fashion of the day – mesmerism and séance parties.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the audible book to review.

I listened to approximately a third of this book. Unfortunately the Netgalley Shelf crashed after about 15 minutes each time making it very disjointed and ultimately impossible to listen to. Consequently I was unable to complete this book & won't be able to review.

Another great gothic tale from Laura Purcell, I think her books keep getting better. Great characterisation, lots of twists and some very creepy passages. I would recommend this book

Agnes Darken is a silhouette artist struggling to support her elderly mother and nephew. When her former customers start turning up dead Agnes is worried that she is being targeted and enlists the help of child medium Pearl to contact the victims! But what if the killer is also from beyond the grave...

I loved the dual perspectives of Agnes and Pearl and how we gradually learn more about them as the story progresses. Agnes especially is full of secrets. The writing is beautiful and really evokes the time period of Victorian Bath. I enjoyed all the references to spiritualism/mesmerism/seances/mediums. And the book is very well researched and true to the era in which it was written.

The audiobook narration was perfect and suited the story really well. I highly recommend this if you like spooky stories! Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for the chance to listen to and review this audiobook

The Shape of Darkness takes you on a mind-boggling journey through the eyes and actions of a Victorian silhouette artist in Bath.
Agnes Darken lives a modest life with the scissors and papers of her trade in her reticule and a simple artists studio. She has not only lost the man she loves but is caring for her mother and young nephew in a way that only a true work of gothic fiction can reveal.
Tragedy strikes again and again with her clients mysteriously being found dead. Who is responsible? Is Agnes being targeted by someone? This is a book that keeps you guessing right up to the final pages.

I loved this book and found it hard to put it down.  

Told in two first person accounts one from Grace, a spinster who makes her living by cutting or painting silhouette portraits otherwise known as shades. The other voice is Pearl and through here eyes see the shady world of Victorian spiritualism. She is a young girl, a spirit medium tightly controlled and abused by her older sister.

Grace, our protagonist is not physically strong having recently recovered from a pneumonia has been living with her mother and nephew since her sister died.  She is obviously very troubled when all the people she had cut a silhouette for recently, either as a client or not are found murdered. 

Pearl is only a child but she is made to participate in seances which leave her drained and ill with no memory of the spirit possession.   Her elder sister is the one who runs the show and is all in it for the money and blames Pearl for killing their mother in childbirth.  They have a father who is very ill after working in a match factory all his employed life. 

The narration of the audio book is very clear and the voice actor's interpretation of each of the POV characters seems natural and expressive. 

I love how the twist right at the end was a huge surprise, but also felt inevitable.

(Full Review will be posted on my blog on 29th April 21)