The Edge of Dark

Pamela Hartshorne

12 March 2015
9781447249566
400 pages

Synopsis

Be careful what you wish for. Jane believes in keeping her promises, but a deathbed vow sets her on a twisting path of deceit and joy that takes her from the dark secrets of Holmwood House in York to the sign of the golden lily in London's Mincing Lane. Getting what you want, Jane discovers, comes at a price. For the child that she longed for, the child she promised to love and to keep safe, turns out to be a darker spirit than she could ever have imagined.
Over four centuries later, Roz Acclam remembers nothing of the fire that killed her family - or of the brother who set it. Trying on a beautiful Elizabethan necklace found in the newly restored Holmwood House triggers disturbing memories of the past at last - but the past Roz remembers is not her own . . .
A dark, page-turning tale from Pamela Hartshorne, author of The Memory of Midnight and Time's Echo, and a perfect read for fans of Barbara Erskine and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

What can I say? I LOVED this book . . . . I loved the whole time-slip part of the novel, and it was so well-written that it became completely believable . . . If you enjoy historical fiction, and have enjoyed previous authors such as Barbara Erskine and Deborah Harkness (although less of the supernatural in this novel!) then you will LOVE Pamela Hartshorne.
With each successive novel, Pamela Hartshorne's writing goes from strength to strength. There is no doubt that she has captured the idea of the time slip/dual narrative historical novel to perfection and she continues to enthral, beguile and entertain. Recommended if you like dual time narratives by Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley, Rachel Hore.
With richly evocative depictions of Jane's life in the sixteenth century, I loved how the historical period was brought to life. Coupled with the creepy atmosphere of the present Holmwood House and some dark, vengeful characters haunting both Jane and Roz, The Edge Of Dark is a deliciously compulsive read. I became so completely engrossed in this book, the world around me disappeared along with several hours of my day. I loved this book, and would highly recommend it to fans of historical fiction and timeslip novels. It's one of my personal favourites.

Books by Pamela Hartshorne