Janes Austen & Charles Dickens Inspired Murder Mystery Novels, Latest Book News & Events by Author Lynn Shepherd
The story history tells us of the Shelleys is one of love and death, of loss and betrayal. This follow-up to the acclaimed Tom-All-Alone’s is a new fictional version of that story, which suggests shocking new answers to mysteries that still persist to this day, and have never yet been fully explained.
A wonderfully ingenious novel: perceptive, gripping and fascinating in the way it reshapes familiar material to create a story that I found to be marvellously persuasive. Shepherd's use of her research material is really magnificent.
A potent mixture of passion, intrigue, perversion, and betrayal, exploring the lives of Shelley, Byron, and their Romantic intimates through a Gothic lens.
Shepherd sets a new standard of brilliance in historical fiction with A Fatal Likeness. Her summoning of dead souls—Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and their most intimate circle—is so psychologically penetrating it feels like truth. Exquisitely rendered in Shepherd’s pitch-perfect prose, this is a tale that will haunt the reader long after its close
Combines immaculate historical research with shrewd psychological insight and the pacing of a thriller - a very good read.
Gothic mystery that goes down swift and smooth, though there's also satisfyingly imaginative 'What if?' speculation for fans of the sexiest Romantics. Polished, smart and fun
A dazzling mosaic of detection, memory, and misdirection
With a compelling voice and a keen eye for period detail, Lynn Shepherd lays bare a tangled story of thwarted love and twisted passions. Absolutely chilling and not to be missed
A clever, imaginative and literate mystery
This multi-layered, meticulously researched book, so evocative of mid-Victorian England... An absolute must
As a piece of literary detective work, it’s stimulating and hugely fun — even brilliant
A literary whodunit that asks pertinent questions about the Shelleys... this is a story which will keep you turning the pages..... suspense-filled plot, skilful characterisation and atmospheric setting
The novel is concerned with rum goings-on in the Shelley-Byron circle, and uses a mystery plot to fill in some of the lacunae of their life stories, with what I thought was remarkable ingenuity.
Perceptive and beautifully researched ... a fast-paced, urgent, highly atmospheric account.... Her gripping novel, enjoyable as it is, goes beyond simple entertainment to try to say something new about a lingering literary mystery.
A dark, new and excitingly authentic version of a literary enigma.... refreshingly readable.... beautifully executed ... intelligent, revealing and exciting in the sheer power of its possibility
An intriguing and exciting novel... a story of love, loss and betrayal that has the reader enthralled from the first page to the last
A persuasive and imaginative tour de force of extrapolative fiction... The multi-layered plotting is extraordinarily satisfying... A complete joy.
Shepherd creates a smart, if fantastic murder story out of real-life events. Clever and great fun.
Wonderfully Gothic and thrilling... the novel is a rich, successful attempt at weaving a highly-imaginative narrative through historical fact. Mystery, secrecy and thrills are in abundance as the story unravels, leaving you turning the pages eagerly, ever in pursuit of the truth, through a fantastic variety of fictional letters and accounts. Shepherd’s historical research gives this novel the kick it really needs, and I felt her own personal opinion was interesting, brave and extremely thought-provoking. This is a great novel that deserves a read, particularly if you’re interested in the young Romantics, and the ever-mysterious lives of the infamous, and fantastic, Shelleys
Evocatively conjuring early Victorian London... a compelling story of love, loss, death, and deep duplicity
Shepherd’s prose is suffused with the gothic greatness of her muses. From the opening pages she grips the reader with familiarly foreboding skies and complex characters. ... Following on from her takes on Austen’s Mansfield Park and Dickens’ Bleak House, the depth of Shepherd’s research is again clear, this time embellishing the lives of the writers themselves. An altogether compelling read.
Immaculately researched, takes bare historical facts and weaves them into a fiction that is gripping from beginning to end