https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6159695531

Enjoyed this one. Fun, twisty gothic mystery and a page turner. Also made me want to visit Wales!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was intrigued by The Shadow Key 's sumptuous cover and the plot description. It's essentially a Gothic historical fiction/murder mystery set in 18th century Wales. The story is told from two viewpoints- firstly Henry, a young London physician. Following a inexplicable fall from grace, and without any other options, he takes a position as the doctor in a remote Welsh village. His employer, the mysterious Julian Tresilian, also tasks him with looking after the second protagonist- that is, Julian's cousin Linette. Linette is the independent and unconventional mistress of Plas Helyg, a spooky manor house full of secrets and shadows, including hostile servants, questionable art work, and her elderly, ailing mother.

The pace of this book felt really uneven to me- it starts off briskly enough with a series of unfortunate events surrounding Henry and his arrival. Both Henry and Linette, and many of the supporting characters are interesting and well drawn. The set up of the mystery around the death of Henry's predecessor and the strange goings on in the village- why is everyone so hostile? what do those weird symbols mean?- is very engaging. For most of the first half I couldn't put it down, and then I felt it lagged a bit. The pace picks up again, but as the story canters to a thrilling conclusion, there is an info-dump so big and cheesy I did roll my eyes a little. Despite this, I had great fun reading it. The author Susan Stokes-Chapman skilfully meshes Welsh language, folklore, superstition together with some ambiguous supernatural elements into her tale- and overall, it works. It held my interest all the way through, although I do wish the big reveal was slightly less cartoonish. A recommended 4 stars overall.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Henry, a surgeon living in London, who after a mistake is invited to take a job in Wales to look after Linette and her mother.
After a little while Henry realises things aren’t quite what they seem and between him and Linette they investigate to find out the truth.

This book is a dark, gothic read based in Wales. The descriptions of the settings are beautiful and you can tell a lot of time, effort and research has been put into this book by the author.

It took me a little while to actually get into this book and the story. From half way through I felt the story really picked up and by the end it was fast paced and exciting!

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House UK & Vintage Books for the advanced reading copy of this book.

I LOVED this book. So much so I got about three hours sleep last night as I was nearing the end of the book when I began reading. Then, gripped by the build up to the thrilling, climactic finale I couldn’t put it down. Afterwards, wide eyed and head buzzing with thought, I couldn’t sleep.

The book took me a very short while to settle into, probably because it was different to my recent reading and some general fatigue, but all of a sudden it gripped me and I struggled to put it down.

The setting was bewitching and it was a lovely change to read some Welsh lore - dark, occult and mysterious. The secrets of the Plas Helyg came spilling out in twists and turns throughout the book, the resentments of the residents of Penhelyg deep rooted and dangerous and the characters wonderfully complex and brought to life by the author. I ended the book with shock written all over mv face. I’ve been recommending the book to my coworkers all day. It has everything - mystery, well researched, complex satisfying characters and a great story. Looking forward to reading more by Susan Stokes-Chapman

Ooooh I really liked this book. Compelling right from the off it tells a fascinating tale. I enjoyed the writing and I could imagine this as a Sunday night period drama on TV. It’s very atmospheric with vivid descriptions of the landscape as well as the house where most of the story was set.

Henry Talbot was an esteemed doctor at a famous London hospital until he fell from grace, so to find himself in a rural Welsh village where most of the villagers aimed unfounded animosity towards him and where Welsh was the first language making communication even harder for him, it all came as quite a shock to his system.

But he wasn’t the kind of person to shy away from his duties and was determined to gain the confidence of those in the village who needed his medical help.

The plotting of the book is excellent with many mysteries to solve. With each closing chapter the reader, along with Henry Talbot will come a little closer to solving one mystery, only for it to pose further unanswered questions, thus making it a real page turner. Within the incidents that follow there is some quite vivid imagery in the descriptions of events and at times, especially towards the end it gets very tense.

Overall this was an intriguing book, with some surprising reveals as the reader approaches the final chapters. A fabulous book that I would highly recommend.

The Shadow is a gothic novel set in Meirionydd, Wales, in 1783. The plot revolves around Henry Talbot, a doctor who, after being dismissed from a prestigious London hospital, takes a job as a physician in a small Welsh town. The town is steeped in superstition, Welsh folklore, and pagan cults, and the villagers are not the most welcoming!
I loved this gothic mystery and having lived in Wales for most of my life love the Welsh, culture, folklore and myths, so this ticked all the right boxes for me.

Oh, I LOVED this book. Much more than the first novel, this one captured my imagination and kept me enthralled. It's a wonderfully layered book with secrets coming to light throughout. The characters are well-formed, and it reads well. Loved the hint of Gothic.

Beautifully written, this is a slow burn suspense, full of mystery and gothic vibes, set in the rural Welsh countryside in the 18th Century.

With subtle hints at something dark and dangerous, the author weaves a tale filled with beautiful prose in a small community rural setting.

Creating a series of intriguing characters including the strong and fiercely independent female protagonist Linette, who defies the expectations of 'ladies' of her time and runs her own estate. Along with the new Doctor, Henry, recently appointed from London as the local physician in a mixture of suspicious circumstances

I enjoyed cosying up with this book. I loved the subtle ways the story unfolded in the first half, before escalating into darker more sinister situations of suspense, danger and plot twists in the second half.

With true gothic / folktale vibes, this was a book to relish and enjoy. Atmospheric and chilling, there were definitely aspects of the story I did not see coming at all. And I loved the darker and darker twists the author revealed the more you read on.

A perfect Autumn vibes reads that you can imagine snuggling up reading by a roaring fire while a storm rages outside.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
A gripping read, with some good twists and turns, set in the late 18th/early 19th century.
Dr Henry Talbot is a renowned, young surgeon who has lost his job in London following the death of a patient during an operation. Unable to find other employment in London, he accepts a role in a remote part of Wales. He is to look after a wealthy family and act as physician to their mineworkers.
However, as soon as he arrives, strange things start to happen.
This is a well-woven tale, with engaging characters, that will keep you turning the pages.

I cannot recommend this book enough! Steeped in Welsh mythology, this dark Georgian tale is full of mystery, deception and intrigue.

Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his position at a prestigious London hospital, with his reputation in tatters he is forced to take a position in a rural Welsh mining village.

All is not is as it seems in this village. The villagers despise Henry for an unknown reason, the lady of Plas Helyg is considered a mad woman, the gatehouse is destroyed just before Henry is due to move in, and Henry discovers that his predecessor died under mysterious circumstances. Henry and Linette set off to unravel these mysteries, but cannot fathom where it will lead.

This is a brilliantly layered novel, with Welsh language throughout, I really appreciate the links to Welsh mythology, how beautifully the Welsh countryside is brought to life and how much research went into it. This novel will keep you gripped and keep you guessing throughout and you will not see it coming!

I really enjoyed "The Shadow Key" by Susan Stokes-Chapman. A Welsh gothic horror that reminded me of Hammer Horrors (in a good way). Full of atmosphere and a plot line that had me hooked.

I loved Susan Stokes-Chapman's first novel, Pandora. And The Shadow Key didn't disappoint even though I managed to guess the twist (I don't mind as long as the book is good enough - and this was!). I really think that Susan is on a roll and likely to usurp Laura Purcell as the queen of gothic historical novels as so far the standard of our books is so high. I love the setting in Wales, characterisation and the historical detail. It's nice to read a book set outside of London too. I highly recommend it.

Secrets, superstition and sorcery with a Gothic touch. Henry, a disgraced London doctor, goes to work in a rural Welsh mining community in the late eighteenth century. He is employed by Linette, the lady of the local Manor House, to look after her mother who has ‘lost her mind’. He also tends the sick in the local village where everyone is suspicious of him simply because he is English. They’re a superstitious lot too, preferring their traditional herbal products to Henry’s medicines. Will he be able to make them trust him? And what exactly happened to his predecessor? An atmospheric tale of mystery, superstition and possible murder. A immersive read from the author of Pandora.

Rural Wales, 1783. Dr Henry Talbot leaves London under a cloud and takes up a new position at Plas Helyg. There he meets Linette Tresilian, an isolated, headstrong young woman.

The author's love of the setting in Wales shines through strongly. There are nods to folklore, myth and plenty of Welsh language. I knew very little about Hellfire clubs before reading this novel and I loved learning more about them.

The plotting is very clever and there are a couple of big twists. After a gentle beginning, the pace accelerates towards an ending which brings all of the threads together.

I enjoyed this book but I expected it to be more creepy/scary than it was so it let me down on that front.

Expectations aside, I enjoyed the writing and Stokes-Chapman's storytelling a lot. Her research into Welsh history and folklore was apparent and fun to read. The setting was rural, eerie and just how I find Wales is from all my previous visits!

The book let me down in the plot and the characters a touch. There's lots of twists at the end but I feel like the reveals are info-dumped by the 'villains' in a very Hollywood-esque way. It felt unnatural. Otherwise the story was well crafted, albeit a bit bland ... I expected a more scary/shocking reveal which never came. I'm sure it will work for some but it didn't 'wow' me!

The characters I found were hit and miss- I liked Linette a lot, but Henry never ended up actually feeling like a person.

Despite the criticisms above it's a nice enough mystery(ish) novel with some elements of magic/gothic-ness hinted at. I wish there was more of the supernatural shown in it, but overall an enjoyable read!

The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Henry is a doctor in London and finds himself out of his job and no prospects of finding another job. That is until he is offered a position in a small town in Wales, with no other options, he accepts the job and moves to the small town, where the townspeople hate outsiders.

Living and working with the Tresilin family, all is not as it seems. Secrets and old tales seem to be everywhere and when Henry finds out there was an alternative motive to bringing him to Wales. He must unlock the secrets from the Tresilins past history to help Lady Tresilin today.

I went into this book blind, and so glad I did. It was fast paced and the storyline was addictive. I enjoyed how the author put in some Welsh Folklore into the story aswell.

We had high hopes for Susan Stokes-Chapman's newest book after the brilliant Pandora and this did not disappoint. Set in Wales with two wonderful protagonists we get to the heart of the darkness that lies at Plas Helyg. We loved how Welsh culture, language and mythology were weaved in a story of murder and secrecy. The first third we felt could have been a tad more condensed, but on the whole we thoroughly enjoyed it and certainly didn't see the twist coming! Linette, Henry and Rowena are characters we'll be thinking about for a long time.

A full review will be shared on www.instagram.com/thehistorybelles nearer publication date.

This was terrific! Definitely gothic with some plot twists I didn’t see coming. I thought the inhospitable context by ‘the locals’ was very well done. I base this on a trip I took many years ago to Aberystwyth when I was a student and I found the ‘locals’ quite scary in the pub. So I thought it was very funny that the author went to University there. Maybe she went to the same pub as me!! I really liked the two main characters. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman


A wonderful gothic read which is full of suspense and intrigue to keep you reading til the last page.

Henry Talbot a physician has been sacked from his London based position . He flees to Wales . The locals are very wary of him , and likewise when he discovers the previous physician died in what can be described as a mysterious situation . Henry sets out to find out what has happened and what is going on.
I really enjoyed the tale and the way the plot carried us along Henry's path and what had brought him to where he was now and what will happen next.

This was such a wonderful read, atmospheric and gothic with lots of mystery, cults and magic. The author wrote well developed characters and a realistic setting with lots of intrigue. A little slow to get going but as the story unfolded I couldn’t put it down!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc