The Wicked Cometh

Incredible. Atmospheric and thrilling debut. This is one to watch in months, years to come - going to be one of the best and biggest releases of next year, no doubt

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Laura Carlin for my ARC of The Wicked Cometh in exchange for an honest review.

I’m really cheering Laura on as an author since I found out that like me, she lives in Derbyshire! It’s always great to discover an author from your own area, but anyway, I digress, on to the review!

The Wicked Cometh is the debut novel from author Laura Carlin. Set in 1831 during the short reign of William IV and people are going missing. But only poor people, so it doesn’t really matter right? But somebody has noticed, and somebody cares. Thrown together by chance, Hester White a young woman whom fortune has dealt a difficult hand, and Rebekah Brock a young woman fighting to be heard and respected in a man’s world, begin their own investigation into what is happening on the murky streets of London’s underworld.


I loved the character of Hester right away. She’s down on her luck and in a position that she doesn’t deserve to be in, but there’s no sense of entitlement or ‘woe is me’ with her. She sees improving her position as working her way up there her dreams reach as far as becoming a ladies’ maid or a dairy maid, never does she think she deserves to be in some elevated status. I also liked Rebekah who is a fiesty feminist who clearly wants to be recognised for her intelligence and personality. Definitely not your typical woman.


I loved the way the romance was handled too. I’m not going to say who it was between as I don’t like giving spoilers but I will say that for the time period this was set, it was so well written. It didn’t feel obligatory, or forced, it fitted into the story as a side story to the main event and played out perfectly. Happening naturally and with plenty of shipping from me, the reader.


The writing style is impeccable and the storyline kept me engaged throughout, I didn’t feel it was ever losing my attention, it was very clearly well thought out and I loved the twists! I didn’t see a lot of what is coming which is rare for me lately.

Overall a fantastic debut and I’ll be looking out for more from Laura.

This blew my mind, it was full of intensity and i usually do not read historical books but this was a winner!

THE WICKED COMETH

A most accomplished evocation of early nineteenth century England, written in prose that dazzles. Such erudition is the result of Laura Carlin’s impeccable research into life in the 1830s in London and the provinces.

Hester White, a parson’s daughter, has fallen on hard times following her parents’ untimely demise at their Lincolnshire parish. Circumstances dictate her remove to London to live with her father’s gardener Jacob and his wife, Meg, whose services are no longer required by the incoming priest. The slum life that Hester endures is accompanied by the alarming disappearance of vulnerable innocents from London’s streets.

When fate takes a hand Hester’s fortunes are changed for the better following an accident with a horse drawn cab. The occupant, Calder Brock, is a physician and Hester soon finds herself convalescing in an aristocratic world and seizes the chance to improve her wellbeing under the tutelage of the intelligent Rebekah Brock.

Past events soon thrust Hester and Rebekah into a sinister world. Do the disappearances of persons in London have repercussions closer to home? What will happen when they are faced with unfathomable evil? Evil described in such graphic detail. There is a whiff of Edgar Allan Poe here, amidst the pallor of murky London: <i>”London Particular; it tastes of coddles eggs and coal-smoke, smells of quenched fires and horse-dirt…”</i>

And passages that have even Wikipedia confused: <i>”…sells you the best and most fashionable frocks and sutes of Fustian, Ticken and Holland, stript Dimmity, flannel and canvas…”</i>

The Wicked Cometh is a remarkable book, particularly as it is Carlin’s debut novel. It is like reading something published in the nineteenth century and yet with great lucidity; part romance, part Gothic terror and a final redemption that is totally satisfying.

I loved this book and recommend it without reservation.

With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton, Laura Carlin and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A truly enchanting book. Darkly atmospheric, a vivid and authentic 19th century setting full to the brim with fantastically developed characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending to the book club.

I have not enjoyed a book as much as this in a long time. If you like authors like Sarah Moss, Susan Hill, Sarah Perry you would enjoy this debut novel.
In the same vein as the classic Rebecca this story has the atmosphere and character of a true gothic story.

I have a huge soft spot for big, Dickensian style Victorian-set novels like Sarah Waters’ “Fingersmith” and Michel Faber’s “Crimson Petal And The White”. Some recent much-hyped offerings have not lived up to my expectations but this debut novel certainly does. I think Laura Carlin has got everything more or less spot on here and has written an authentic historical novel and a really good thrilling page-turner.
Young people have been going missing from the London streets for some time and eighteen year old Hester, the narrator of the novel, has fallen on hard times. An incident in Smithfield Market leads her to an association with a family who could provide her with a future or who may bring about further downfall. The story builds beautifully, and although the situations and characters may feel familiar for Dickens fans Carlin puts it all together in a way which is inventive, thrilling and feels new.
At the heart is a relationship between Hester and the daughter of the family, Rebekah Brock, who has been persuaded Pygmalion-like to educate Hester in a plan arranged by her brother Calder, a leading light of The London Society for the Suppression of Mendicity and it is this connection between the two women which will attract all Sarah Waters fans to this novel.
Like Dickens, secrets are revealed gradually by characters brought in to move the plot along and Hester’s account turns into a quite extraordinary tale of grim London existences underneath the cloak of the respectable and socially acceptable. The last third sees the plot move up a gear considerably as revelations follow one after another and the danger Hester puts herself into had me holding my breath.
This novel is proof alone that Carlin is a major new talent and her brand of literary historical fiction should provide her with big sales. I absolutely loved it.

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Calin a sublime debut novel. This was such a well written story for a debut, you can tell a lot of time and effort has gone into the writing and the character development. Hester was someone you can’t help but warm to, she has every right to feel stuck in a rut and never able to get out. But she also had a great something about her she wouldn’t let life get her down, she fought for everything and has plans to get her above her station. When Hester and another great character Rebekah find themselves in a turbulent situation lives will change and possibly not the way they had hoped.
The back drop of early 19th century London was a great setting, it added another level to the story, almost becoming a character in itself. The missing people storyline added a depth to the story, why was it only poor people, will the girls be able to find common ground and find out what’s going on?
Well done Laura Calin on a great debut novel, I can’t to find out what you write next.

Wowwowwow, just back from the murky world of London’s Victorian East End and loved every second of it! You know these rare books where you conciously slow down your reading because you don’t want the book to end? Two protagonists from different worlds: well-off Rebekkah in her uncle’s house and Hester, grown up in the roughest part of the East End after her parents died, strike up an unlikely alliance. Trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of several people, they stumble upon more than they could ever imagine. Richly furnished with Dickensian characters, with twists, turns and discoveries around every corner, it is an absolute pleasure to read!

An amazing book that nearly broke my heart. There are so many twists and turns that you would never expect, and a thrilling conclusion that you never would have guessed.
It's great to see a female Victorian detective couple as I've not heard of a book like it before.
Definitely a book to keep you guessing.

Laura Carlin’s debut novel is a historical tale that projects 1830's London onto the canvas of the reader's imagination. With an exacting and totally believable use of the vernacular, and with succinct descriptions that delicately balance on a fulcrum teetering between moral outrage and hopeless inevitability, the novel draws you into Hester White's world; a world of Dickensian proportions.

Orphaned at the age of eleven, Hester's orderly life as the daughter of a Lincolnshire parson is abruptly cut short. With no other option than to go and live with her family's erstwhile gardener, Hester is thrown into the swirl of grime, poverty, and criminality that defines the lifestyle of London's underclass. It's a life where thieving and drunkenness compete to distract the vagrant populace. And this is a distraction sorely needed for there are regular and unexplained disappearances from within their number. Is abduction and/or murder being serially committed within their midst? And if so, is the perpetrator no respecter of age or gender. For children and women appear equally susceptible to this manifestation of evil along with adult males.

It is in this atmosphere of fear and vulnerability that the teenage Hester is seemingly accidentally struck down by a horse-drawn carriage and whisked away. Ultimately finding herself transported to Waterford Hall, Hester discovers that she is to become the subject of a scientific experiment exploring the possibility of educating the vagrancy.

Initially Waterford Hall appears to be an idyllic alternative to London's bleak underbelly, but Hester's hopes are soon to be confronted by unpalatable rumours that circulate among the servants. Is she liable to become just another victim? Her name added to the list of victims that flows so easily between the staff below stairs. Into this scenario comes salvation from a most unlikely source. A source that gives Hester hope — and the promise of nurturing her emerging sexuality. But is this true salvation, or a blow designed to deceive and to exploit?

Throughout, the characters are delineated with precise detail that cannot fail to elicit empathy. In addition, the backdrop these characters inhabit is so effectively recreated that you'll almost hear the grind of futile labour amid the putrid fog of London, and smell the delicate fragrance of gillyflower that pervades the rural escape offered Hester. The fast-paced narrative effortlessly propels the reader along with Hester into the vortex of the expertly crafted, and totally unpredictable, denouement. With an unexpected twist embedded, it had me eagerly reading to the very last sentence.

This is a delightful tale, delightfully told, and it was a delight to read. I'll be keeping a keen eye, looking for Laura Carlin's next novel.

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.