BLOG TOUR: Nocturne with Gaslamps - Matthew Francis

A historical crime fiction novel set in Victorian London’s gaslit theatre scene, where ghosts lurk in the shadows and murder takes centre stage.

Gaslight. Ghosts. Murder.

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 fiancée 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.

 

What did I think?

Nocturne with Gaslamps is a very atmospheric mystery set in Victorian London.  It's a step back in time to a dark and dangerous time when ghosts, thieves and murderers roamed the streets of London beneath the shadows of the gaslamps.

I really enjoyed the theatre setting, especially the behind the scenes special effects created by gas.  Being a gas-boy was clearly a very dangerous job but it's a job that aspiring actor Hastings Wimbury finds himself accepting in order to work in the theatre.  It is in the theatre where Hastings meets a mysterious count who promises him the lead in his production of Hamlet...but at what cost?

Cassie is intrigued by the new resident at Halcyon House where she is lodging as there's something Hastings Wimbury is hiding.  I loved Cassie's inquisitive nature and it stands her in good stead when Hastings goes missing and she investigates his disappearance along with his fiancée.

The author paints amazingly atmospheric scenes with his vivid words and the gripping mystery keeps the pages turning with a few shocks and surprises in store for the reader along the way.

Gripping, intriguing and incredibly atmospheric, Nocturne with Gaslamps is an excellent historical crime novel and the perfect read for a dark and chilly night.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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About the author:

Matthew Francis is Professor Emeritus in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University. He read English at Magdalene College, Cambridge University. He writes novels, short stories, and poetry collections. He has won the TLS / Blackwell's Prize for Poetry and the Southern Arts Literature Prize, and been shortlisted twice for the Forward Prize, twice for the Welsh Book of the Year Award and once for the Ted Hughes Award. In 2004, he was chosen as one of the Next Generation Poets. He is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy. Matthew lives with this wife in Aberystwyth, Wales where he enjoys playing chess, cooking and playing the ukulele.

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