The Women of Blackmouth Street – Thea Sutton
A gifted psychologist is forced to hunt a serial killer or risk having a dark chapter of her past exposed—but her mission may mark her as the next victim…
1890’s London. Strong-willed Georgia Buchanan, a mind doctor and heiress, spends her time with the mad, the bad, and devils incarnate, armed only with her expert understanding of the human psyche.
But when her young, high-profile patient unexpectedly commits suicide, Georgia leaves Boston under a cloud of guilt. Lured to London’s notorious Bedlam asylum, she’s trapped by a vengeful detective and a dangerous anarchist—who know too much about her—into tracking a serial killer of women in the city’s East End.
As Georgia struggles to prevent more women from meeting a violent end, her own secrets and closest ties are stripped bare… With her Harvard mentor, William James, and his sister. With her wealthy, scandalous father. With a troubled patient. All the while the city’s streets reel with carnage and social unrest. Alone and questioning her abilities as the killer closes in, Georgia has one last chance to save the innocent before she confronts the most devastating truth yet.
A shocking, fast-paced period thriller, The Women of Blackmouth Street conjures a lush and gritty world of psychological profiling, political upheaval, and women on the edge of madness.
My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join this leg of the tour for The Women of Blackmouth Street. I recieved a review copy from the publishers so I may participate in this tour.
A Victorian novel of madness, murder and (for the sake of alliteration) mystery. I don’t read as many historical novels as I would like and when I do pick one up I am reminded of how much fun they can be, particularly when they are done well. I believe the most important element of any historical novel is capturing the feel of the time and nailing the location. This is true of gothic horrors, regency drama or, as in the case of The Women of Blackmouth Street, Victorian thrillers. Pleasingly Thea Sutton made 19th Century London grow around me as I read and it allowed me to fully embrace events in the story.
Georgia Buchanan almost seems to be years ahead of those around her when it comes to the study of the mind. She is a specialist in understanding and looking after disturbed individuals, however, after an incident in Boston she has left America and taken up residence in London. However, London is a dangerous city as a killer is lurking in the shadows. He targets women in the streets, murders them and then leaves their mutilated bodies in his wake. The mutilations are not random and with surgical precicion some of their organs are removed.
It’s not a Ripper story but has similar dark tones and deadly consequences for too many women. Georgia Buchanan is enlisted to try to help identify and stop a killer. Only a madman could possibly be responsible for such terrible crimes and Georgia faces a race against time to stop the murderer.
It’s a tighly paced story and Georgia has a chance to shine but also to frustrate. At times her approach didn’t quite go how I had expected and her unpredictability was a nice hook to keep me reading. I do find reading historical novels to be more of a challenge as the language symantics take more concentration which, for a speed reader, means slowing right down to ensure nothing gets missed.
Always nice to try something different and this satisfied and entertained.
The Women of Blackmouth Street is published by Encircle Publications and is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0974TVTYL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0