I’m excited to bring to you an upcoming release from Penguin Publishing. Here is a sneak peak for “The Poison Thread,” by Laura Purcell, coming June 18th.
Last year, The Silent Companions introduced American readers to the “frighteningly atmospheric, genuinely haunting and psychologically astute” (The Guardian) voice of UK novelist Laura Purcell. In the vein of Shirley Jackson or Daphne du Maurier, she wove a spine-tingling tale of Victorian gothic horror that bewitched and terrified readers in equal measure. In THE POISON THREAD (Penguin Books; June 18), Purcell returns to Victorian England to spin a new terrifying tale—made all the more chilling by its real life inspirations.
THE POISON THREAD gives voice to two very different young women; one wealthy and beautiful, the other poor and on trial for murder. When Dorothea Truelove’s charitable work brings her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted by the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person’s skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets one of the prisoners, the teenaged seamstress Ruth Butterham, she is faced with another strange idea: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread—because Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches. The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations—of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses—will shake Dorothea’s belief in rationality and the power of redemption. Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?
Purcell, fascinated by the darker side of history, laces together true crime stories from Victorian England to tell Dorothea and Ruth’s disturbing tale. From a gruesome murder at a milliner’s shop in 1758 to the fatal poisoning of a young craftswoman in 1861, Purcell’s impressive research imbues this atmospheric and evocative thriller with a chilling and realistic air that will keep readers on the edge of their seat long after the last page is turned.
Praise for THE POISON THREAD
“A compelling slice of early Victorian gothic… Vivid and well researched, this book is an evocative portrait of a society that punishes women who dare to contravene social norms… a splendid mystery with suitably melodramatic flourishes.”—The Guardian
“Phantasmic thrills… A true page-turner.”—Times Literary Supplement (UK)
“This gothic chiller casts an addictive spell.”—Sunday Mirror (UK)
“Intricate, atmospheric and chilling—with a wonderfully dark premise at its heart.”—Woman & Home (UK)
“Deliciously creepy and atmospheric… This book will disturb your sleep.”—Sarah J. Harris
“With the skill of a born story teller Laura Purcell has crafted a tale as intricate and flawless as Ruth’s stitches. By turns horrifying and humorous, The Poison Thread is a darkly compelling, unsettling and fascinating book, where pseudo-science meets needlework in the most chilling and unexpected ways… the very best kind of gothic fiction. Reminiscent of Sarah Waters and Margaret Atwood, but uniquely and unmistakably Laura Purcell.”—ES Thomson, author of the Jem Flockhart Mysteries
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