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The House on Vesper Sands

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The House on Vesper Sands

By: Paraic O'Donnell
Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
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About this listen

'Ladies and gentlemen, the darkness is complete.'

It is the winter of 1893, and in London the snow is falling.

It is falling as Gideon Bliss seeks shelter in a Soho church, where he finds Angie Tatton lying before the altar. His one-time love is at death's door, murmuring about brightness and black air, and about those she calls the Spiriters. In the morning she is gone.

The snow is falling as a seamstress climbs onto a ledge above Mayfair, a mysterious message stitched into her own skin. It is falling as she steadies herself and closes her eyes.

It is falling, too, as her employer, Lord Strythe, vanishes into the night, watched by Octavia Hillingdon, a restless society columnist who longs to uncover a story of real importance.

She and Gideon will soon be drawn into the same mystery, each desperate to save Angie and find out the truth about Lord Strythe. Their paths will cross as the darkness gathers, and will lead them at last to what lies hidden at the house on Vesper Sands.

©2018 Paraic O'Donnell (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group Historical Historical Fiction Horror Mystery Romance Traditional Detectives Victorian Scary Fiction Detective Suspense

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Critic reviews

'Tremendously good' Observer

'The most vivid and compelling portrait of late Victorian London since The Crimson Petal and the White' Sarah Perry

'Part Wilkie Collins, part Conan Doyle' Guardian
All stars
Most relevant  
Brilliantly narrated (I’m reading as well as listening) I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published and somehow it got left behind & I’m only just reading it. I have however preordered the next in the series and definitely won’t be forgetting that one.
Some wonderful humour & great use of language. There wasn’t much I didn’t enjoy about book. Can’t wait for the next one.

One Of The Best Narrators I’ve Heard

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Thoroughly good read. The Inspector was so amusing and all the characters were interesting. Good storyline with a supernatural theme.

Very enjoyable

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Please May we have him in a series, Paraic. He deserves it, he is such a great character. I came to love his nasal tone of voice, his sardonic expressions and his strength of character. I thought it was an interesting story with some good historical insights, the language surprisingly up to date at times. Enough gothic flavour to be familiar but not too much to be sensational. A good read all in all

Three cheers for Inspector Cutter

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I Really enjoyed this book. gentle and easy. i would live to hear more from Inspector Cutter. what a great character he is.

very enjoyable.

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Really enjoyed listening to this book. Loved the charactors. Having listened to a number of Victorian detective stories, this has a charm which many do not. while detailing living conditions etc of the era it did so in a way that highlighted the unpleasantness without the nauseating language of other authoes. Excellent narration Hope there are more from this author. Highly recommend.

Highly Recommend

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That's a one word review. Loved every second of the story, the narration and the pace.

Perfect!

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I came on this accidentally - I think I was looking for titles narrated by Charles Armstrong (which takes care of what I think of the narrator!). I have always been conflicted re Wilkie Collins and his like - no jokes! I'm so glad I took a chance on this. Jokes, twists, scary bits, all here together with some supernatural. I read while washing up and I even looked for extra chores afterwards. ps I think that the title of my review is a quote from Kurt Vonnegut.

Unexpected journeys are dancing lessons from God

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It's been a while since I've been well into a book from the first chapter, but the characters were just so endearing to me. Especially Inspector Cutter. From his gruff affection to his creative insults, he had me laughing out loud. There is real potential for the author to form a series with these characters. They kept me reading! Not that the plot was bad, just the mystery fizzled out a bit at the end. It was a decent concept. A crime mystery with an unusual take on paranormal beings. Really enjoyable to read.

Cracking Good Characters!

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Too many long speeches, no doubt for atmosphere. Didnt work. Narrator becomes like a pantomime dame after a while. Waste of money.

Boring and Tedious

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Cliched characters, no character development, awful wooden dialogue, overblown description with far too many adjectives, plot started out well but didn’t live up to excellent opening imagery. Downhill from there. Only stuck with it out of stubbornness. Can’t believe it was recommended on Backlisted (whose recommendations are normally spot on) can only think that the author is a friend of one of the presenters.

Real disappointment

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