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Blog Tour Review - Nocturne With Gaslamps by Matthew Francis

Blog Tour Review - Nocturne With Gaslamps by Matthew Francis Hastings Wimbury has always dreamt of playing Hamlet, but for now he works as a theatre gas-boy. Here, he tends to a gas chandelier so powerful it creates its own weather, and limelight machines that can throw a shadow onto a wall ten miles away. When Hastings suddenly disappears, his fiancĂ©e Flora sets out to find him with the help of Cassie, her rival in love who is more preoccupied with the ghosts terrorising the streets of London. Soon total darkness is imposed upon the city, and they realise that something far more sinister is at hand… Ladies aren’t supposed to solve mysteries, but this is a matter of life and death.  Nocturne With Gaslamps is a very curious book. It's a crime fiction mystery, and from the blurb I assumed it would be a hunt for a missing person, but Hastings Wimbury doesn't go missing until halfway through the book, and as he's one of the three point-of-view characters, it's hard to reall
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Review - The Curio Collectors by Eloise Williams

Review - The Curio Collectors by Eloise Williams

Lily and Tom travel the county with Ma Hawker, enthralling crowds with their amazing collection of curios.

Always on the lookout for new wonders, Lily is tricked into buying a worthless bag of rubbish. But hidden within is a special piece of scrimshaw.

A young woman called Flora Meriweather is desperate to buy the scrimshaw, hoping it can help her solve a mystery surrounding her late mother. But someone else also wants to get his hands on the scrimshaw and ensure that secrets stay hidden in the past.

Can the Curio Collectors help the truth come to light?



The Curio Collectors is another fantastic short book from Barrington Stoke, the publishing industry specialists in making books interesting, exciting and incredibly accessible. They're targeted at reluctant readers and people with reading difficulties, but personally I just find them a really great, short read.

The Curio Collectors is a historic novel, set in 1896. And for such a short read it really does pack an awful lot in! Lily and Tom are travelling the country with Ma Hawker, scraping a living by showing off their collection of curios to paying crowds, and selling some of their pieces to distinguished collectors. From the very start we can see that it's not a very secure life, as they get chased off of a piece of land by a farmer demanding rent for the small patch of field their caravan takes up. 

It's when they head for London that the mystery element of the story really kicks in, and I thought it was excellent! There's a young maid after one of their curios, and a gentleman who also seems very interested in purchasing it. There follow secret messages, hidden treasure maps, and an exciting treasure hunt. As well as the fascinating portrayal of the main characters' travelling lifestyle, there are some strong feminist themes that come out of the writing, challenging perspectives of the 1890s in a way that is still all too relevant today. It raises important questions about who took credit for the advances of the past, and was it always the person responsible for the actual discoveries?

A thrilling mystery, intertwined with some important themes. A delightful curio!

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

The Curio Collectors by Eloise Williams is out now, published by Barrington Stoke.

I was given a review copy in return for an honest review.

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