This is the second Laura Shepherd-Robinson book I've read. I think I prefer "Daughters of the Night" over "The Square of Sevens" possibly due to its length. This book seems fairly lengthy, and although I was engaged with the plot at the beginning, towards the end my mind was wandering. As a result, I didn't follow fully the plot twists that reveal her parentage. However, the book evokes Georgian London and Bath brilliantly, and I loved the whole fortune-telling vibe.

George the Tenth of Kernow, a cunning man, and his seven year old daughter, Red, travel the roads, plying their trade. Adept at the art of cartomency, their specialty is the square of sevens, an ancient and secretive form of fortune telling. When George realises his death is imminent, he tries to persuade a gentleman from Bath, who’s fortune they have read to take care of Red (like you do!). Despite Mr Antrobus’ initial reluctance, he does eventually take charge of Red, whisks her off to Bath where she becomes his ward and a lady. Red’s real interest however, is discovering her past.

A cast of thousands, this book certainly commands your full attention so that you can keep track of who’s who, and what relationship they have with each other. It’s a very long book, so plenty of time to get to know the characters and their dastardly deeds.

This was a book of two halves for me. I loved the fortune telling, the playing of the cards and their meanings. Very well researched. I was less enamoured by the inheritance dispute, it was too long and meandering. The descriptions of the times were well done, with the behaviours of the haves and have nots depicted well. Classically written, the book embodies the 1700s.

If you like intrigue and power play, with due comeuppance meted out, this is the book for you. So many twists and turns, a book within a book.

The historical note is worth a read in itself, both interesting and informative, but does contain spoilers, so be aware!

3.5* (mostly for the fortune telling!) upped to 4*.

Thank you NetGalley.

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd Robinson
Published by Pan MacMillan
Publication Date 22 June 2023

No spoilers

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Having thoroughly enjoyed the author’s first two linked historical fiction books, I was excited to start this new standalone novel.
It certainly did not disappoint. I loved the character of Red, and relished the opening scenes set in my home county of Cornwall. I was eager to find out what happened next all the way through. I really could not put it down. Great writing, fabulous intricate plotting and an immensely satisfying conclusion. It’s certainly one I shall return to again and I rarely reread anything nowadays.
Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I loved Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s previous books. So I was quite disappointed with this. It felt overly long. I loved the start and the premise but it soon turned so that you realise that the narrator is unreliable and you can’t trust anyone. I found the end unsatisfactory as it was ‘and everyone gets what they reserve’ could have been brilliant as the writing was good. I loved the tarot but just too lengthy and complex.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s books are getting better and better! This one will be on my books of the year list in December, without a doubt.

A standalone novel set in the first half of the 18th century, The Square of Sevens is the story of Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune teller or ‘cunning-man’. Red can’t remember her mother and has spent the first seven years of her life moving from village to village with her father, telling fortunes using an ancient method of cartomancy known as the Square of Sevens. They need to keep on the move, her father says, to avoid being caught by enemies who wish them harm.

Life changes abruptly for Red when her father dies of a sudden illness and she becomes the ward of a respectable gentleman, Mr Antrobus. Going to live with him in his elegant home in Bath, Red finds herself thrust into society for the first time. Raised by Mr Antrobus and his kindly housekeeper, she settles into her new life while entertaining the people of Bath by reading their cards for them. It’s through her gift for card-reading that Red crosses paths with the wealthy De Lacy family, whom she believes hold the key to the secrets of her own past. And so a sequence of events are set in motion that take Red from Bath to London’s Bartholomew Fair and a grand house in Devon in search of answers.

It’s not really possible for me to say much more about the story without spoiling it, but if I tell you it includes family secrets, disputed inheritances, stolen documents, and lots of surprising twists and turns you’ll get the idea! It’s very entertaining, with the feel of a Charles Dickens novel at times, and I was often reminded of Charles Palliser’s The Quincunx (another great Dickensian novel with an inheritance at the heart of the plot).

I found Red a very engaging narrator; I initially had a lot of sympathy for her, as she struggles to uncover the secrets of her family background and find her place in the world, while others around her try to prevent her from learning the truth at all costs. However, I soon discovered that Red can be just as ruthless herself and is not above doing some plotting and scheming of her own in order to get what she wants. As she tells us at one point in the novel, If you’d wanted a saint, then you should have read a different book. There are plenty of other interesting and memorable characters to get to know – I was particularly intrigued by Lazarus Darke – and what makes the book so fascinating to read is that we can never be quite sure who can be trusted and who can’t.

The ‘Square of Sevens’ method of card reading was described in an 1897 book by Edward Irenaeus Stevenson and Shepherd-Robinson incorporates it throughout the novel. Red tells the fortunes of many of the characters she meets and the fortune-telling theme is carried further with each chapter heading including a picture of a playing card and an interpretation of that card’s meaning. Reading the author’s note at the end of the book, a lot of thought went into choosing the correct card for each chapter and I feel a bit guilty that I didn’t always pick up on the significance of that choice.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s two previous novels, the Georgian mysteries Blood and Sugar and Daughters of Night, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book too – I think it’s even better. If you’re yet to try any of her books then this would be a great place to start!

Having enjoyed the author's previous books I was excited to get to read this one. Equally as good, all her stories have twists and a slightly uneasy undertone, which keeps me reading. I loved the characters and relationships in this book, and somehow the history and context is always vividly brought to life and very real - you can tell the depth of research and passion. Loved the setting of Bath having grown up there. Would recommend for any historical fiction fans and a good pay-off near the end with everything tied up nicely.

As a lover of well written historical novels, I read Laura’s first book Blood & Sugar and was immediately impressed with how well she engages the reader so immediately into the characters and the story line. Daughters of Night followed and was in my opinion a step up on her first and thoroughly absorbing, but this new book surpasses even that.

Square of Sevens is a brilliantly researched and truly clever novel with many twists and turns that kept me eager to get back to reading every chance I got. Working as a rep in the publishing world I get exposed to multitudes of authors and their work which having to read is part of the job. But there are a collection of authors that I will drop everything else to read their new one. Laura is definitely on that list.

I found Red a fascinating character and her relationships with the others involved totally engaging and believable. Using fortune-telling with the deck of cards as an intricate part of this story was inspiring. I really appreciated the way a single card and its meaning was used at the beginning of each chapter and I actually looked up the Square of Sevens and read about its history when I had finished the book.

I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good stand-alone historical fiction story with a touch of mystery and a multitude of cleverly constructed sub plots.

I read this book immediately after finishing Laura's Daughters of Night which I thoroughly enjoyed. Sometimes it's a gamble - going in with such high expectations - but boy, is this book something!

The Square of Sevens follows Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller; when her father dies she becomes the ward of a gentlemanly scholar. As she grows older, she wonders about her mother and becomes embroiled in the court case of the century.

To use the analogy from Shrek, this book is like an onion: So. Many. Layers. I was hooked from the start, invested so much in Red that honestly, I spent a good portion of the book in a state of anxiousness, with an ominous energy permeating every page. There are twists and turns galore, and I genuinely lost track of the times I audibly gasped "what?!"

Set in the Georgian period, as with DoN, you can see the level of detail and research that went into this book, with the historical notes at the end a truly fascinating read.

I've read some remarkable books this year, and I know we're only in March, but i guarantee this will be in my top 3 of the year. I've already preordered the GORGEOUS edition from Waterstones and wouldn't hesitate to recommend to just about everyone.

I loved this book! This author can do no wrong as far as I’ve read. With an intricate plot and a wide range of characters, all untrustworthy, the context of the story is very evocative of time and place. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I had read both previous novels by Laura Shepherd-Robinson and loved them, so I jumped at the chance to read The Square Of Sevens.
The story starts with a seven year old girl called Red and her fortune telling father, who seem to be constantly on the run. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar and raised as a lady in the city of Bath.
But as Red grows, so does her curiosity. Who were her parents, and why were they constantly on the run from enemies unknown?
The Square Of Sevens is a well written Gothic mystery set amongst the Georgian high society. It's full of intrigue with an abundance of twists and turns. My heart was in my mouth on several occasions.
There's a great historical note at the end of the book, where Laura Shepherd-Robinson explains the reasons behind the story, which I found very interesting.
Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for the ARC.

This was super immersive, the author is great at placing you in the time period and creating a world within that time period. I didn’t enjoy it as much as her previous two novels but it is very captivating and some wonderful characters.

No-one writes historical fiction like Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

In her pursuit of her parents, Rachel, travels from Bath to London then Devon, putting together pieces of her past.

The plot of The Square of Sevens is intricate and engaging, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very end. The mystery itself is cleverly constructed, with clues that are carefully seeded throughout the story, and the resolution is both satisfying and unexpected.

What sets Shepherd-Robinsons books apart is the richly detailed historical setting that Shepherd-Robinson creates, and this is no exception. The sights, sounds, and smells of the various settings are brought to life in vivid detail, and the author's extensive research into the period and fortune telling is evident in every page.

The use of the "Square of Sevens" fortune telling method to form four parts of the story is unique and so clever.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s books just get better and better. I really loved her previous two historical crime mysteries, ‘Blood and Sugar’ and ‘Daughters of Night’, so I came to this with high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed.
The ‘Square of Sevens’ is a sweeping, almost Dickensian, whirlwind of a novel that thrusts us into both high and low Georgian society, leaving you almost giddy with its clever twists and turns.
It tells the story of Red, a young girl who starts off in life travelling with her father, making a precarious living telling fortunes. When her father dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman and is raised as a lady, but even when she seems safe and secure, her past and future are full of mystery, intrigue, and danger.
As with Shepherd-Robinson’s previous books, this story has been meticulously researched and the details of the cards and the Square of Sevens fortune telling is fascinating.
This is an atmospheric and gripping novel, and a real page turner, I simply couldn’t put it down and was sad to finish it.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This novel doesn't have quite the energy and coherence of LSR's first two novels, but it's still an interesting one - and, slightly frustratingly, one that becomes *more interesting* if you press doggedly on to the end. I think for my money she could have done more with the 'unreliable narrator' trope - it's a novel within a novel, and she could have played around with that a lot more, to good effect. I enjoyed it, though, and I'm keen to see what she does next.

This book was a looong but amazing read! The characters are very well-crafted, and there is so much intrigue, betrayals, and dark secrets that each character grows slowly and you see them in so many different lights. The writing style was a bit hard for me to get into initially, but once I was a few chapters in, it was smooth sailing. Love the little hint of romance (no spoilers), though I do wish it had been delved into more detail.

I want to end this with one of my favourite quotes in the book: "If you'd wanted a saint, then you should have read a different book."

Love this!

I absolutely loved this Dickensian, twisty-turny mystery! It was packed full of drama and intrigue - bit of magic, bit of romance, a court case, gorgeous houses and despicable families - it had everything and then some. There is a large cast of characters and their complex relationships, but it was easy to keep track of and I loved both Red and Lazarus. The whole book is rich and evocative and utterly immersive. It would also make a fantastic tv drama, I’d love to see this on the screen. Highly recommend.

I'm a massive fan of Sheperd-Robinson's two previous novels and this didn't disappoint. I was very excited to receive an ARC via NetGalley and started reading it almost immediately.

This book is long and extremely complicated like the best of Dickens, a real 'gothic' novel. The cast of characters is huge, centred on Red who is the narrator for the most part and a wide number of supporting characters all crucial to the plot. The central conceit is fortune telling ( the square of sevens) and a playing card heads each chapter which may reveal a little of what is going to take place. But this isn't clunky at all, it's all beautifully woven together into a compelling story about family, inheritance and loss. A rich dastardly family is able to use all their money and influence, will Red be able to beat them at their own game? You will have to read to the very end to see what happens.

I didn't guess the ending at all and I changed my mind about 6 times about how it would all turn out. A really compelling read that only took me so long because I can't actually read every minute of every day ( why not?). I highly recommend this especially if you love historical novels. Shepherd- Robinson is at the top of her game. I can hardly wait for the next

I hope you like your herrings…Red. ♠️♥️♣️♦️

Having been enthralled by Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night, I was curious to see where her departure from 1780s murder mysteries would take us.

Things I enjoyed about Square of Sevens included the display of the author’s impeccable research into 18th century fortune-telling, and a well-paced, twisty plot. The middle portion of the story hooked me: a murder mystery at a lavish, well-populated country estate…in the 18th century? Say no more!

But I think Square of Sevens was slightly weaker than Daughters. In the latter (and in Blood & Sugar) the author had a lot to say about social inequalities, and drew sharp parallels between the 1780s and modern times. SO7 had fewer profound things to say, and was more focused on telling a good story. I didn’t feel the time period was as strongly drawn as in the other books, and the opening third with its Jane Eyre/Dickensian rags-to-riches was the least interesting bit. Red wasn’t as compelling a character: by the nature of the story she was often opaque to the reader.

But if you’re looking for a twisty, plot-focussed historical fiction with a great country manor murder-mystery set piece, you’ll enjoy this one! 🃏

I received an advance copy of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

No exaggeration to say that the idea of getting early access to this book was a major reason that I finally became a book blogger last year.

With such a weight of expectation part of me was anxious it wouldn’t live up to my very high expectation. I really shouldn’t have worried. You know you are in the hands of a master with Laura Shepherd Robinson and this book had it all.

Red is a female fortune teller reading the cards through the ancient method of the square of sevens. She is raised by her father in Cornwall and when he dies when she is still a girl, she is taken in by Mr Antrobus, a gentleman in Bath. When Red discovers her mother was part of the very wealthy De Lacy family, she starts to piece together her story but has to tread very carefully.

The story moves from Cornwall to Bath to London to Devon as Red becomes more involved with the De Lacy family. Each location is richly described but Leighfindell, the home of the De Lacys was my particular favourite. As well as sounding like a place I would love to live, it also featured a priest hole and an actual hermit - two things I’ve always been fascinated by.

The action also really ramps up a notch at Leighfindell. So many double dealings, family secrets and intrigues. From the servants to the head of the family, everyone has something to hide and Red has to negotiate her way through it all.

I also love reading about ideas that were once considered magic and viewed with suspicion which we now take for granted. So as well as the fortune telling, a display of electricity and automatons feature in the book.

I loved to inclusion of a fortune at the beginning of each chapter which was cleverly connected to what we were about to read

Obviously very well researched and intricately plotted, it is a book that will keep you reading and guessing. It is definitely one of those stories you can really sink into and immerse yourself in.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

A huge thanks to Mantle/Pan Macmillan for the chance to read an early copy.

4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5⭐️

I loved Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s previous two books and this has just made it 3 out of 3 because this one didn’t let me down!

I was captured by the story from the start and as Red’s story unfolded I was drawn in more and more. She’s a great character, not by any means a flawless one but I still found myself rooting for her even if I found some of her decisions questionable.
Within the story we explore how birthright, social status etc governed so much in the 18th century. We learn about the history of fortune telling and how it was perceived in society. All of this is wrapped up in an historical fiction story with many twists and turns along the way as Red’s story and her plans unfold.

I’m writing this review voluntarily and very willingly in exchange for the free copy of the eArc which I received very kindly from the publishers and NetGalley.