With the camera becoming less of a novelty, Agnes’s living as a silhouette artist is in grave danger. But there are still those who appreciate a deft hand and talents such as she once possessed. Once being the key. Because even Agnes’s skills aren’t what they used to be.
And then Agnes’s waning clientele begin to meet with unsavory ends.
Afraid that someone will draw the connection to the recent murders and Agnes, she vows to find out all that she can. So her stumbling upon Pearl is fortuitous.
Pearl is making a name for herself as the White Sylph, a medium of incomparable talents. And it seems she truly can reach those on the other side. But her controlling sister is just one of many hurdles Agnes will have to cross in order to get the answers she so desperately wants.
As the killer strikes again and again, Agnes is certain someone is actively targeting her clients. But can she do anything to stop it?
Any fan of gothic lit who hasn't discovered Laura Purcell is truly missing out!
In this latest, the Victorian era truly comes alive. First, it's set amidst the Crimea War, which I admittedly know nothing about. And yet, Purcell is able to imbue the story with the grim realities facing a nation at war so that it's easy to feel the effects.
More than that, this is an England on the brink of new technologies. A time of change, but one that's still mired in the grime and habits of the older industries, including understandable hesitancy around medicine and the embracing of the paranormal. I say grime in particular because of the grim differences between Agnes's world and Pearl's.
Agnes is on a precipice. She's never married, she's recently suffered health setbacks, and the means by which she makes a living is literally a dying industry. She lives comfortably, but barely. The tea tins are empty too often and the attention that has to be paid to heating the house and such is a careful one that isn't always pleasant. At any moment, she could lose her footing on her relatively safe life.
At the same time, just walking distance from Agnes's home is Pearl's apartment. And the differences are literally night and day!
Pearl's home is dark and dank. Her mother died in childbirth leaving Pearl and her half sister in the care of Pearl's father who can no longer work in the match factory where he made his living. But Pearl's sister is training herself in mesmerism and Pearl herself has a talent that brings attention and much needed coin.
The meeting of Agnes and Pearl is a bit fated, all things considered. The widow of the first client murdered attends a seance held by Pearl. But there's way more to it than that!
As with all of Purcell's books, there's the possibility of a paranormal influence but there's an equally possible scientific explanation as well. And I guess it's up to you as the reader to choose which version to take away from the story.
I quite enjoy the uncertainty! It's one of my favorite aspects of Purcell's writing (I choose to go with the paranormal explanations myself!).
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