London 1881.
Can two crooked women stop a murder?
Extravagant medium Mrs Ashton and her lover, blunt working-class Mrs Bradshaw, run a spiritualist scam. Mrs Ashton secretly reads minds.
Believing that Mrs Ashton is genuine, grieving Lady Violet craves the truth behind her mother’s untimely death. But Lady Violet’s powerful husband Sir Charles hates spiritualists. Has he killed before?
Uncovering this MP’s wicked crimes will put all three women in terrible danger…
To solve a shocking murder, look both sides of the grave.
“I loved this book! Victorian murder mystery meets “ghost” story, with delicious sprinklings of compassion and mischief…”
Caroline Day, author of Sunday Times Bestseller Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life
Direct from Author Amazon UK Amazon US
Exciting News: Book 2 in the Crooked Medium series is now available for pre-order!!
My grandmother told me I read too much. I remember walking in the garden when I
was small, telling myself stories. It was over thirty years of wanting to be a novelist before I tried… and succeeded.
The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder arose because I wanted to write about Britishness and specifically about Englishness; about our complex relationship with the past; I wanted leads who were morally grayer but still capable of kindness. It was time for a novel with queer leads. And in quite desperate times, I needed to write something with some uplift. It’s the first book intended to
start a series.
My first books, Our Child of the Stars and Our Child of Two Worlds are set in the 1960s USA. It’s about Gene and Molly, a childless couple, and Cory, the little boy from the stars that they adopt, under such
challenging circumstances. The books got lovely reviews and are available on both sides of the Atlantic.
I spent nearly all my childhood in Bristol, and I’m now an adoptive Londoner. I live with my partner, and it’s the best thing our two adult children come back from time to time. Our garden rages wild.
Website Bluesky Facebook Author Page
YouTube Free newsletter
Giveaway to Win 4 x Signed Books by Stephen Cox (Open to UK Only)
Prize includes – Our Child of the Stars, Our Child of Two Worlds, The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder and the Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror.
Win 4 x Signed Books by Stephen Cox (Open to UK Only)
My thoughts: This was really good, Mrs Ashton, a spiritualist, and her companion/partner Mrs Bradshaw (Braddie) are often in trouble, having to leave places at short notice but they’re trying to settle, although Braddie wants a cottage somewhere quiet and not in London.
Unfortunately they’ve got themselves involved with a truly unpleasant man. He’s an MP and violent. His wife wants their help, but he threatens them, and worse. As they get more and more mired in the relationship between Lady Violet and Sir Charles, and end up at the country estate, things get worse.
I loved Maisie, the leader of their Baker Street Irregulars, she’s fiery, smart as a whip and could be a brilliant detective. She also looks after her younger siblings and her Pa, making sure they have what they need.
The case is knotty and clearly Mrs Ashton has form, with the police, creditors and trouble. But she also knows how to read people – both with and without her mysterious powers. Her relationship with Braddie is delightful, although faltering at times as Braddie wants to stop running and settle down while Mrs A enjoys her work and the people she meets.
I’m looking forward to book two – keen to see how much trouble they get themselves into.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or
email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of
the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for
fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
ramblingmads 