From the inside cover:
"From Sarah Waters-a spellbinding ghost story, a complex and intriguing historical mystery, and a poignant romance with an unexpected twist.
An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women's ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London's grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. Amongst Millbank's murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by an apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes."
My Thoughts:
A few weeks ago I shared my thoughts on the first half of this book here. I was enjoying the atmosphere that the author created, I found the main character intriguing, and was very interested in seeing where the story was going to go next. And I'm going to admit that I went into the book with high expectations after hearing all of the accolades concerning the author and her novels. I'm happy to share that this book lived up to all of my expectations, and I found this to be a wonderful reading experience. My favorite part of this book was the gloomy, creepy atmosphere that the author creates. The prison, where a huge part of the story takes place, seems to take on a life of its' own and I couldn't help but wonder at the mysteries and horrors that it held within its' walls. Margaret was such a curious and mysterious main character. I never could guess what she was going to do throughout the story and found her actions to be surprising at times. And Selina. I constantly wondered about her "spiritualism" and if anything that she was saying was true or how could it possibly not be true. The whole book was a mystery for me until the very end. The ending of the book blew me away...and yet when I thought about it afterwards it wasn't all that unexpected but it sure worked. It was the type of ending that left me thinking about it for a couple of days afterwards if that tells you anything :) All in all, this is a book that I would highly recommend and an author that I will be reading much more of.
Disclosure: I checked this book out from my local library but I'm thinking about buying my own copy as I enjoyed this one so much. Thanks to Andi for hosting this readalong and finally giving me the push to give this author a try!
That cover is sooooo creepy! It gives me chills.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to read this author for a while. This book sounds great. Glad to hear it lived up to the hype. If the ending stood with you for days after, then it's a worthwhile read!
Great review.
I have to admit to reading only the last sentence of this post since I like knowing NOTHING about a book before reading it, but I'm so glad you liked it. I don't remember--have you read Fingersmith? Seems I've asked before but don't remember the answer. It's the only Waters I've read but I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read this one. Like you I've heard so many great things about this author. I have a few of her books on my shelf just waiting for me. I absolutely love the cover on this book too!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this one. I don't have this book but I have 2 of her other ones.
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ReplyDeleteThe cover is entrancing, and it sounds as if the book lived up to your high expectations, which is terrific! I've heard such good things about the author's work elsewhere as well, and need to try to pick up one of her books soon.
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