i love cthulhu. i love spiritualism. i love this whole ominous victorian fraudsters story. tysm for the arc, would ercommend.

Due to health issues cannot write a proper review now. A proper one will follow
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I honestly don’t know what to say other than – SHEESH! That was an adventure and a half! “A Cthulhu by gaslight novel set in the Victorian-era” was a no-brainer pick for me personally, and it absolutely lived up to and surpassed all the expectations in every possible way! Boasting an excellent prose, a superb plot, well-written and memorable characters, well-executed setting alongside the Lovecraftian lore, and a bag of LOL moments, The Shadow on the Glass by Jonathan L. Howard is just the perfect start imaginable to the first Victorian-era gaslight fantasy set in the world of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. I’m certainly very much looking forward to the next installments. To put it plainly – I thoroughly enjoyed it, and also HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you don’t miss out!

In Tales of the Eldritch Veil, Victorian London becomes a stage for cosmic horror when spiritist frauds Elizabeth Whittle and William Grant accidentally summon a monstrous entity. Their final séance goes disastrously wrong, and William must navigate a dark and electrifying world of eldritch mystery to save his friend and prevent an apocalyptic plot.

As a fan of Victorian settings and séances, I was immediately drawn to this novel. Howard’s deep understanding of Lovecraftian mythos shines throughout, blending gruesome scenes with unexpected moments of humour. The narrative sometimes slows for essential world-building and exposition, but these moments are crucial for unravelling the intricate mystery.

The novel’s blend of Victorian charm and cosmic horror is executed with skill.

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This work started strongly. The atmosphere was quite good, and I enjoyed how well the spiritualism aspect was incorporated throughout. I was excited by the two characters introduced and was hoping to get to spend more time with Lizzie, but unfortunately, we only get POVs from male characters who were not really developed. Many of the characters included are only there to forward the plot, and that came through in a way that negatively impacted the book.

Around halfway through, the atmosphere was gone and there were only a few scenes that truly felt immersive. I was also a bit disappointed by the antagonist and that they felt like a relatively mundane choice when this is set in a Lovecraftian world. The overall lack of tension was quite disappointing and led to a lackluster conclusion.

If you’re interested in a plot-driven read relating to the Call of Cthulhu and Lovecraftian lore, then you may like this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was very interested to read this book, given my enjoyment with the majority of the other Arkham books in this unofficial series. It was certainly an intriguing premise!

But sadly it just didn't grab me. Perhaps it's the timing for me personally - I've read a few books lately with similar storylines (con-artist spiritualists), and I couldn't connect with the protagonists. Yes, working-class tricksters can be entertaining, but these are just petty criminals. It was hard to relate, even when the action started to get... weird.

I'm sure others will enjoy this, as it's very well-written and the atmosphere is gorgeous. Just not as good as anticipated for me, sorry!

This is a wonderful, unique twist on Lovecraft's Eldrich terrors. Howard did a great job in capturing Victorian England and bringing the monsters into reality.

<b>[ Huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC! ]</b>

~ ~ ~

In Victorian-era London, Lizzie Whittle and William Grant run a con on London's elite providing séance services. Under the name Cerulia Trent, Lizzie pretends to contact the dead on behalf of their rich patrons. However, when what promises to be a quick and profitable evening of hustling suddenly turns sour, Lizzie and Grant find themselves drawn into an otherworldly plot.

~ ~ ~

This story seemed to have all of the hallmarks of a fun Lovecraftian romp. Fake psychics? Eldritch mysteries? Horrors from beyond the stars!? All wrapped up in Victorian England? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, the reality was less exciting than I was hoping for. If I were to describe this book in a word, it would be boring. There just wasn't a whole lot of kick to this story. The horror and tension I expected were nowhere to be found. Throw in some bland characters, and you can see why I might've been falling asleep trying to finish this one. While I did enjoy some of the aspects of the writing, for example the little witticisms sprinkled throughout, sadly it just wasn't enough to save it from itself.

As a fan of the Arkham horror books and game I was more than excited to get my little horror loving hands on this early release! This book had me at Victorian Gothic Horror and as the first in a new series of call of Cthulhu by Gaslight novels set in the Victorian era it did not disappoint. The story is set around a medium and her companion who become caught in a game of ancient gods, cults and mysteries.

All my favourite things in a book how could I not enjoy it, Victorian gaslight atmosphere, Seances, Lovecraftian mythos, macabre horror. The Author Jonathan L Howard, has breathed new life into the mythos and made it his own. I loved his ability of interweaving humour into the storyline with cults, horrors and Victorian grunge.
I really enjoyed this read and devoured the atmosphere and characters.
If you enjoy Gothic horror, Cthulhu mythos, Victorian times mixed with horror then you will adore this story.
I look forward to reading more in this series.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Aconyte Books and Author for allowing me this advanced copy to read in exchange for my review.

I have a very soft spot for Victorian era fiction, especially when it involves horror or the unusual, and as such finding out that the Arkham Horror series was going to be branching out into this era made The Shadow on the Glass a book that I was absolutely going to read.

The Shadow on the Glass takes readers to Victorian London, where we meet a pair of con-artists, William Grant and Elizabeth Whittle, who are taking advantage of the rise of spiritualism in Britain at the time to make some quick cash off of some gullible rich folks who want to contact the spirit world. With Elizabeth posing as the medium Cerulia Trent, the two of them think that they might have pushed things a little too far and need to leave the country and lay low. However, before leaving, they decide to do one last job, targeting Sir Donovan Clay, a wealthy businessman who's just returned to England from Australia, and is looking to contact his late wife.

The two con-artists put on their usual show, pretending to contact the spirit world; but when the ritual takes a strange turn it leave Elizabeth changed. Now it seems like the world of the paranormal the two of them were mocking, that they didn't believe in, has come calling, and it's ready to make the two of them pay a heavy price.

Jonathan L Howard has some experience writing in this field, having received acclaim for his Johannes Cabal series, which featured the supernatural, dark entities, and con-men. Having not read his other series, I can't say how similar the those are to this, but from my understanding it fits well within the tone of this book, including the small sprinkles of humour scattered throughout. Howard seems able to walk this wonderfully fine line between horror and humour, with a ton of great characters and interesting lore building thrown in. Just from what I read here, his work reminds me a little of one of my favourite authors, Derek Landy, who does this with younger readers in mind, but also manages to capture this kind of flavour well.

Whilst there is humour in the book this doesn't mean that this a comedy by any means, and the narrative is still very much dictated by horror with some truly spooky moments that will cause you to shudder. The dark, gaslit streets of Victorian London make for a perfect setting for the kind of horror that Howard does here, and it's also a perfect marriage for the Lovecraftian horror that the Arkham Horror series is beloved for. It's such a good fit that my mind often thinks that this is the kind of era that most of Lovecraft's stories, and the subsequent fiction that draws upon them, are set in. I often have to remind myself that it takes place decades later, but this time round I didn't have to do that, and I loved the experience. Much like the recent exploration into the Regency era for the series with Secrets & Sacrifices it seems that taking the elements of the Arkham Horror series and putting them in new locations leads to some of the more interesting and original feeling books in the range.

For those that enjoy the Arkham Horror books but are looking for a different take on things, or who might be finding the same setting as usual a bit stale, The Shadow on the Glass makes for a wonderful refresh, a grate palate cleanser that offers something new that can reinvigorate your enjoyment of the franchise. The things that you like about these stories, the questionable characters, the evil cults, ancient gods, and unknowable horrors, are all here, and so long time fans will very much feel at home.

I will be completely honest when I say that this book was always going to be a win for me. Or at least I hoped it would and it did not disappoint. We have all the things I love and enjoy, Victorian setting, séances and spiritualism, the Call of Cthulhu Table Top Game, and a bit of Lovecraftian horror and mythos without the bigotry. I am pleased to say that this did not disappoint.


Howard is a fantastic author for this series, breathing life into the mythos and taking it and making it his own. The atmosphere is perfect for the setting and pace. You are dragged into the gaslit version of England and you are not let go.


I will say while a pet peeve can be information dumping, and despite there being a little bit in this one. Howard does use this device in such a way that I can accept and understand why it was there. In fact I would go as far as to say that I think it was needed.
All in all this is perfect for horror fans, fans of Lovecraft who don’t want the racism and bigoty and of course fans of Call Cthulhu.

Thank you as always to Aconyte Books and Netgalley for the ARC. This review is left voluntarily and is completely honest.

Great short Victorian era horror story where a seance goes wrong. I really enjoyed both of the call of Cthulhu books so far. I hope this becomes an ongoing series because it has great potential.

I think this book may need sensitivity readers, if it hasn’t already. And if there were, well.. I don’t know what to say about that. I believe there are also needs to be a content warning. I did not finish this book. It’s not because I didn’t like the story. I didn’t get far enough into it to really see what the story was. I got to 7% when the first person of color came into the storyline. The POC is described by the main character as: “his first impression of him was mixed, but not good”, he was muscular as a boxer, the man was out of place in an area the main character was in, he says “he had seen men like this often and they were always violent”, he “was pushed hard to believe he was South Africa”, when the man looks at him he finds it disturbing, and he had the sense that “he is sharing the room with a dangerous animal and wanted to be done with this man as soon as he could”. Now, this could all be descriptors and there could be an improvement arc for the main character. HOWEVER, the name for the character that the author chose…is LYNCH? I understand that if you’re not from the US, you may not have a clear understanding of what lynchings were. Please do your research if that’s the case. But for me, this was unacceptable and I couldn’t move past this point in the book, even to see if there was a redemption arc.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aconyte Books for an early copy of this book in an exchange for my honest review.

Actual Rating: 3,5 ⭐️

I was so excited to read this book and I was very much enjoying the first half, but the second part just let me down.

A quick disclaimer: I've never played Call of Cthulhu or read the original works by H. P. Lovecraft. So, my opinion is based solely on this story alone. Also, I don't think you need to know very much about the game or the original work. The story makes perfect sense even without prior knowlegde of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Why I wanted to read this in the first place when I am not a fan of Call of Cthulhu? Well, the premise was what sold me on this book. Two fraud spiritists in Victorian London get thrown right into the middle of a war between two enemy races of cosmic creatures. That sounds amazing, right?

But... Where is the atmosphere? The author had all the ingredients I like, to create an amazing atmosphere, but he didn't take them. I've never felt transported into a different place and time and like I am actually there with the characters. Only a few scenes actually felt atmospheric and kind of scary to me. Otherwise, this just didn't feel like a horror to me. Yes, we have a bunch of cosmic creatures, but the main villain is a human. And that I struggled with. Because we weren't actually fighting the cosmic creatures, but a human who allied with them. And I wanted to see how they are going to fight creatures that are thousand's of years old and not trying to outsmart a human and stop their evil plan.

Also, in my opinion the characters aren't fully developed, they feel a bit flat to me and the character development is nonexistent. At some point two characters refer to each other as friends and at that point, I just felt a bit confused, because when exactly did they become friends? What bonding experience did they have to call each other a friend? I liked our main character Grant and detective sergeant Bradley but that's probably it. We also follow the main villain and occasionally some random side characters. But all of them are man. Very briefly we see into the head of Miss Cerulia Trent, but otherwise there is no other female character POV. And I wanted to see more prominent characters that are women. Of course there is Lizzie Whittle, but she's not present for most of the story, so I didn't really become attached to her, and Miss Church, who is just kind of there because the plot needs it. And there is head-hopping as well, which is a big pet-peeve of mine.

This is definitely a plot-driven story, so if you are a more character-driven reader, maybe don't pick this up, because I don't think you would enjoy this. Also, almost nothing happens and the scenes just feel a bit drown out. And the resolution was too quick and a bit convenient too. The final battle is mostly from the villain's POV which I didn't really enjoy. I was hoping to see our good guys fighting and struggling to win, some emotional scenes that would made me tear up, but we don't get that. The final battle just kind of happens and suddenly is done. There is an epilogue as well, that sets up the sequel, and it sounds interesting but I don't know if I'll continue this series. I guess I decide when we get the news about the sequel.

Overall, this was just very middle of the road for me. But it read quickly, the dialogue was good and sometimes the narration was pretty funny.

In London 1891 swindlers William Grant and Lizzie Whittle decide to pull exactly one last job acting as a medium/spiritualist before leaving London and get out of the fraud game. They will sit for Sir Donovan Clay (an incredibly rich man who has come back to London from Australia), collect a massive pay day and hit the road. Unfortunately things don't go quite to plan and, after a dramatic escape into the night, Grant finds Lizzie is not quite the same and the paid soon find themselves wrapped up in a horrifying eldritch mystery that spans time and space.

So this was an easy win for me. Give me a bit of Victorian England and the idea of a séance and I'm already on board. Pepper in some Lovecraftian fun and I'm eager to consume it. Howard has a great grasp on the mythos and that is very evident through out. While there are great gruesome scenes throughout the book Howard managed to eek out a few laughs here and there and keep the flow of the story moving. While portions of this book felt slow they all are proven necessary. Yes, there is a bit of an info dump with Grant acting as the audience stand-in, but that's necessary to set up the convoluted (in the best possible way) mystery that needs to be solved.

Overall I think this is an excellent entry to a new series within the Call of Cthulhu line of books and am eager to revisit Grant down the line!

Thank you to Aconyte and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I don't have much to say about this book other than it was boring. For such an interesting concept, I felt it was wasted as nothing was really explored in depth.

The characters received little development and were all flat. I don't know why were supposed to care so much about Lizzie since we barely got to know her. The book kept bouncing from POV to POV which meant we never really spent time with any one character enough to flesh them out.

The plot was okay but not groundbreaking. I did enjoy the style of the writing but that was about it.

Overall, a bit of a let down.

"When two spiritist swindlers accidentally summon something horrific from beyond the stars, they must thwart a sinister time-spanning plot, in this first Victorian-era gaslight fantasy set in the world of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu.

London, 1891. Elizabeth Whittle and William Grant enjoy scalping London's bourgeoisie, taking on the personas of grand spiritist Cerulia Trent and her agent to connect the living and the dead. When a detective arrives, sniffing out fraud with a scientifically minded spiritualist society, the duo decides to take one last job before escaping to the continent. However, their final séance ends horrifically...and soon Lizzie isn't Lizzie anymore. William, desperate to banish whatever monster they summoned, is soon embroiled in an electrifying eldritch mystery where he makes a deal with the devil to save his friend and stop an even greater evil from transforming the known world."

Spiritualists are my catnip, combining it with Cthulhu is a genius trap to lure me in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The Shadow on the Glass follows William Grant and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Whittle as they swindle their way through Victoria era London performing seances and staying one step ahead of the local police.

Grant and Lizzie plan to do one more job and head to France, when they unwittingly summon a new entity and suddenly Lizzie isn't Lizzie anymore. There is a feeling of danger throughout the novel as Grant makes a deal to do anything to save his friend.

Caught in a dangerous game of cosmic beings Grant learns that nothing good can come from greed or ancient alien races.

A gothic horror novel where the setting is so strong that it sometimes feels like you are walking the streets of London along with the characters.

I received an eARC of “The Shadow on the Glass” in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadow on the Glass in the glass is the first in a series of Cthulhu by Gaslight novels set in the Victorian era. The events follow two “mediums” who unwittingly unleash an ancient evil during a failed seance for a wealthy client. Nothing good ever happens during a “one last job”.

The characters are well developed and undergo a certain amount of growth through their journey. I also liked that the true nature of cosmic horrors were kept under wraps until the final confrontation and it focused mostly on the human interactions throughout.

I feel the author did a great job of bringing the Cthulhu mythos to the Victorian era. Fans of gothic horror or Sherlock Holmes will enjoy this book.

I will forward to any future books in the series and I will definitely check out Howard’s other titles as well.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

When I heard Aconyte Books were launching Victorian and Regency Call of Cthulhu books I was really excited. I enjoy fiction set in both historical periods and I thought this had the potential to work really well.

The Shadow on the Glass is the first in the Gaslight series which is set during the Victorian era. This blend of Victorian themes and Call of Cthulhu unsurprisingly works so perfectly. The natural macabre horror of this period is an excellent jumping off point for Lovecraftian horror. The rattle of carriage wheels on cobblestone streets with the eerie glow of gaslit street lamps through the fog… the opening up of the world and the encroaching advancement of technology and science. It all binds so well for the setting of a horror novel.

We have the added Victorian curiosity with spirits and the occult. This is the starting point of our novel, with a medium and her companion invited to a stately home to run a seance. However things don’t go to plan when Cerulia is possessed not by a spirit, but by a being from another world, her own self trapped in this being’s dimension . Our characters then find themselves embroiled in the nefarious plans of the Lord of the manor to bring forth some terrifying beings he found in a deep and forbidden mine in Australia to bolster his own power.

The setting, basic premise, Victorian themes, and blending of Cthulhu mythos with the time period were fantastic. This fell down a little for me with some of the dialogue. There were too many East London colloquialisms used for all the characters. It didn’t make sense for them all to be using this slang and it created a bit of confusion and lack of clear voice with some of the characters. For example, the Lord (and main villain) using the same slang as a Police officer from Manchester and a local gang of criminals. It felt a bit odd. That aside, this was an entertaining read and I look forward to reading more in this series.