Amazon UK £2.99 £7.99
Amazon US N/a
Amazon CA $17.61
Shortlisted for Book of the Month
Time-slip
Modern / 17th & 19th century
England
Captivating Romantic Historical Suspense
There are places in England where the veil between
past and present is gossamer-thin, and in Nicola Cornick’s skilfully-wrought
romantic thriller House of Shadows,
the past springs alive in a glorious tale of three women and one grand house.
Fans of Victoria Holt, Susan Howatch and Katherine Neville will love the strong
and compelling women—Holly, Lavinia and Elizabeth, The Winter Queen—who shape
the story with their passionate voices and compelling personalities. Woven
throughout the narrative echoes a fourth voice; that of a grand house and its
beautiful landscape, drawing the reader into a world both as a vivid and
wistful as England herself on a misty summer’s morn.
In true time-slip tradition, the thread weaves
together their relationships over the centuries – modern day England, a 19th
century mistress and a 17th century queen and her courtier. And in
each case, the talisman of a precious jewel and a mysterious mirror brings an
ominous twist of suspense and doom to the heroines. Against a backdrop of fine
historical detail, these women travel towards their destiny, while the house
itself waits for them in the shadows.
Each of these women has a counterpoint in the men they
have loved, lost and loved again, and the theme that echoes through the
centuries is one of courage to make difficult choices, and the rewards of
independence. These are women we can all relate to—they love passionately, make
mistakes, and have strengths and weaknesses that bring life to every page.
Their lovers are not mere shadows either; each of the men who enter their lives
is a personality with his own charisma and flaws, and the resulting
partnerships are multi-faceted and unpredictable.
When I was reading House
of Shadows I was often startled to look up and find myself in my own world,
for the story is completely immersive. And when I was finished, I found myself
thinking of the characters long after I had put the book down. A gorgeous
novel, and a book I will keep close to hand to re-read when I feel the urge to
escape to another world.
© Elizabeth St John
