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The Shape of Darkness

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The Shape of Darkness

By: Laura Purcell
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell, read by Sophie Aldred.

Winner of the Historical Crime Book of the Year 2021 Award at the 2022 Fingerprint Crime Awards

‘Dripping with atmosphere with a corkscrew plot, Laura Purcell just gets better and better’ STACEY HALLS

‘It truly kept me guessing to the very last page’ SONIA VELTON

Wicked deeds require the cover of darkness...

A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead – and to try and identify their killers – in this beguiling new tale from Laura Purcell.

Silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another...

Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back...

What secrets lie hidden in the darkness?

©2021 Laura Purcell (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Historical Fiction Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Paranormal Scary Fiction Exciting

Critic reviews

"Dripping with atmosphere with a corkscrew plot, Laura Purcell just gets better and better." (Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars and The Foundling)

"It's her best one yet and that’s saying something. A story of a woman haunted in every way possible, I think it’s a future gothic classic." (Martyn Waites)

"Darkly addictive and utterly compelling. Reading Laura’s books is like watching a horror movie where you have to keep hiding behind a cushion because you dread what is coming next, but you simply have to find out!" (Ruth Hogan)

All stars
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narrator was excellent. She portrayed the main characters so brilliantly! The story was full of turns and twists with a fantastic unexpected end, all set in Victorian Bath. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Mystery, intrigue and the supernatural...class!

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If you want something uplifting to listen to, then this isn’t it. It’s dark and disturbing but enthralling. Definitely worth listening to.

The story keeps you wondering all the way through.

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Love this author and really enjoy her writing but I found the ending quite rushed after lots of build up and ultimately it just lost me a bit. Shame because I really enjoyed the first 2/3rds of the book! Wouldn’t put me off reading this author again though.

Really enjoyable but also frustrating!

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this book is amazing! even better than the silent companions!
I loved it. I would recommend to anyone who likes creepy stories.

Laura Purcell never disappoints

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Gripping Story with interesting twists and turns. Intriguing characters and full of great little details. Really enjoyed it. ☺️

Interesting storyline, well read.

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