Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

10 reviews

catanami's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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redroseses's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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alba_marie's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While I loved Purcell's most famous book, <i>The Silent Companions</i>, I have to say that her other works haven't exactly lived up to my expectations. 

This one was at least better than <i>The Corset</i> which disgusted me to my core. 

I was intrigued to read <i>The Shape of Darkness</i> for three reasons: because it was Victorian, gothic, and set in Bath – a place I once lived and where I ultimately decided that I wanted to permanently live in Europe. Needless to say, it's one of the places I hold dearest to my heart.

While I loved the start in Sydney Gardens and across Pultney Bridge, I was a bit disappointed that Bath itself hardly featured after the first few scenes despite being the perfect setting for such a novel. To me, it seems like the author missed a trick here. 

At the core of the novel, we have Agnes, a middle-aged spinster still recovering physically from an illness and emotionally from past family drama; as well as Pearl, an albino child trafficked by her step-sister as a spirit medium. 

In this book, the spirits come alive with a vengeance. They – often violently – speak through Pearl to her paying clients. They haunt Agnes through the silhouette cutouts of long dead people. They haunt Pearl for the seemingly simple crime of being born. And now they are haunting Bath itself with people dropping like flies upon interacting with Agnes. 

The twist at the end was unexpected
that her nephew and mum are actually long dead and she's either been hallucinating or seeing ghosts for years
but though that worked well, the book struggled to grab me and hold my interest. I think it was Agnes and Pearl themselves... I just didn't like either one. 

So in the end, not a bad book, and a fascinating dive into the forgotten art of silhouettes, but not one that will stay with me in the long run. 

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robin_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Laura Purcell did it again. I absolutely adore her writing. So detailed and eerie, gives you just enough information to keep you in the dark but speculating at the same time. 

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lc_books's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a great Victorian gothic read set in 1800s Bath. It was an eerie supernatural mystery combined with, what reminded me of, a Jane Austin novel.

Agnes Darken is a struggling silhouette artist living with her mother and nephew. When her customers start dropping dead one by one, and the police have no culprit, she seeks the help of child Spiritualist; Peal. 

Agnes and Pearl aren’t your usual heroines and Laura Purcell did a great job of writing realistic women for this specific time period. Because of this there was a fine line between reality and the fantasy elements. 

Purcell’s prose grabbed my attention from the very first line to the last. Every chapter was a joy to read and even though the pacing was very slow for my taste, I’m glad I finished the book for that ending. 

This is a book I would enjoy reading again.


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linguaphile412's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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emmasanderson's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A slightly different genre for me as it had a supernatural element as well as  being Victorian gothic.  I found it a real page-turner towards the ending which was quite unexpected (for me).   It felt historically accurate and well researched.

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the_vvitch's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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kb_sherman's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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madroxreads's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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