Blog Tour: The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick
Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick. As per Cornick's trademark style, this is historical fiction tinged with the supernatural, which makes for compelling reading.
1765: Lady Isabella Gerard asks her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it. Its shimmering beauty has been tainted by the actions of her husband the night before.
Three months later: Lord Eustace Gerard stands beside the lake looking down at the woman in the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this is not his intended victim
1996: Fenella Brightwell steals a stunning gown from a stately home. Twenty years later and reeling from the end of an abusive marriage, she wonders if it has cursed her all this time. Now she’s determined to discover the history behind the beautiful golden dress.
REVIEW
I'm a sucker for multiple narrative historical fiction, and this one kept my attention from the very start. Told predominately from the viewpoints of three women: Fenella, Lady Isabella and Constance, Isabella's ladies maid, the tension slowly builds as you learn the secrets that they all hide and the plot beings to take shape. Having more than one side of the story brings an added dimension to the novel, particularly in the case of Isabella/Constance when the same events are recounted from multiple perspectives. Knowing from the start that a murder occurs keeps you hooked to the pages, trying to guess just who the victim might be. I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters, but I suspect this is intentional, and it didn't stop me from turning the pages as fast as I could read them to find out what happens.
The plot is very cleverly structured, full of twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very end, in both time periods. As Fenella's paranoia increases, like her you begin to question which characters, if any, you can trust. Constance's loyalties lie with herself alone. She's a loose cannon, and of the three narratives I think I found hers the most engaging. She was far from your usual timid servant - she had an independent mind and she wasn't afraid to use it. The supernatural elements of the plot work really well, and somehow don't seem far fetched at all. Curses, time travel and possession are all touched upon, and are interwoven seamlessly into the plot. The golden gown is a character in itself, beautiful, irresistible, destructive. The historical narrative was exciting, full of secrets, scandal and smuggling, yet it is also very dark. Inevitably I found myself more drawn to these chapters than the contemporary ones, but the dual timelines work really well together, and the ways that the past and present interlink are very clever.
Dark and suspenseful, with a mystery at it's heart that spans the centuries, The Woman in the Lake is compelling historical fiction with a supernatural twist.
*Thanks to HQ Stories for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review!*
Be sure to follow the blog tour to find out more about this brilliant book!
1765: Lady Isabella Gerard asks her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it. Its shimmering beauty has been tainted by the actions of her husband the night before.Three months later: Lord Eustace Gerard stands beside the lake looking down at the woman in the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this is not his intended victim
1996: Fenella Brightwell steals a stunning gown from a stately home. Twenty years later and reeling from the end of an abusive marriage, she wonders if it has cursed her all this time. Now she’s determined to discover the history behind the beautiful golden dress.
REVIEW
I'm a sucker for multiple narrative historical fiction, and this one kept my attention from the very start. Told predominately from the viewpoints of three women: Fenella, Lady Isabella and Constance, Isabella's ladies maid, the tension slowly builds as you learn the secrets that they all hide and the plot beings to take shape. Having more than one side of the story brings an added dimension to the novel, particularly in the case of Isabella/Constance when the same events are recounted from multiple perspectives. Knowing from the start that a murder occurs keeps you hooked to the pages, trying to guess just who the victim might be. I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters, but I suspect this is intentional, and it didn't stop me from turning the pages as fast as I could read them to find out what happens.
The plot is very cleverly structured, full of twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very end, in both time periods. As Fenella's paranoia increases, like her you begin to question which characters, if any, you can trust. Constance's loyalties lie with herself alone. She's a loose cannon, and of the three narratives I think I found hers the most engaging. She was far from your usual timid servant - she had an independent mind and she wasn't afraid to use it. The supernatural elements of the plot work really well, and somehow don't seem far fetched at all. Curses, time travel and possession are all touched upon, and are interwoven seamlessly into the plot. The golden gown is a character in itself, beautiful, irresistible, destructive. The historical narrative was exciting, full of secrets, scandal and smuggling, yet it is also very dark. Inevitably I found myself more drawn to these chapters than the contemporary ones, but the dual timelines work really well together, and the ways that the past and present interlink are very clever.
Dark and suspenseful, with a mystery at it's heart that spans the centuries, The Woman in the Lake is compelling historical fiction with a supernatural twist.
*Thanks to HQ Stories for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review!*
Be sure to follow the blog tour to find out more about this brilliant book!
Thank you very much indeed for such as thoughtful and insightful review. I really appreciate it!
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