A Shadow on the Lens: The most Gothic, claustrophobic, wonderfully dark thriller to grip you this winter - Hardcover

Hurcom, Sam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1409189856 ISBN 13: 9781409189855

Publisher: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ), 2019

Synopsis

The Postmaster looked over my shoulder. As I turned to look I saw a flicker of movement from across the street. I felt unseen eyes peer at me.
He walked away without another word. I watched as he climbed onto his bicycle and sped away down the street. I turned back and looked over my shoulder.
Someone had been watching us.

1904. Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, is called to the sleepy and remote Welsh village of Dinas Powys, several miles down the coast from the thriving port of Cardiff. A young girl by the name of Betsan Tilny has been found murdered in the woodland - her body bound and horribly burnt. But the crime scene appears to have been staged, and worse still: the locals are reluctant to help.

As the strange case unfolds, Thomas senses a growing presence watching him, and try as he may, the villagers seem intent on keeping their secret. Then one night, in the grip of a fever, he develops the photographic plates from the crime scene in a makeshift darkroom in the cellar of his lodgings. There, he finds a face dimly visible in the photographs; a face hovering around the body of the dead girl - the face of Betsan Tilny.

About this title

Review:

A sparkling debut from a name to watch. Hurcom expertly weaves a tale of claustrophobic suspicion set in a Welsh village a few miles from Cardiff - but so inward-looking and insular you might as well be in another world. This is top notch historical crime fiction, with a dash of the supernatural. A gorgeous book and a riveting tale. (David Young)

Book Description:

A stifling, atmospheric gothic crime novel with a unique protagonist and killer twist - for fans of The Woman in Black, The Silent Companions and Little Strangers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1409189856
• ISBN 13: 9781409189855
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288