The House on Vesper Sands

A gloriously unorthodox confection, part Wilkie Collins, part Conan Doyle, with a generous handful of police procedural and a splash of Stella Gibbons's Cold Comfort Farm. Both disquietingly eerie and impossible to read without laughing out loud ... A cracking good read. * Guardian * The House on Vesper Sands is tremendously good - and tremendously good fun * Observer * The most vivid and compelling portrait of late Victorian London since The Crimson Petal and the White -- Sarah Perry, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT Clever and funny and exquisitely disturbing, an utter joy -- Joanna Cannon Charles Dickens is whirling enviously in his grave ... Brilliantly written, compelling and satisfying in so many ways. It demands to be read by a fire on a cold winter evening (but make sure the doors are locked before you begin). I only wish it had been twice as long. * Irish Times * Witty, immersive, chock full of atmosphere and setting (hello Victorian London), three-dimensional characters, an addictive plot and snappy dialogue, The House On Vesper Sands has everything you want it in a novel. If you're stuck for a book to buy this Christmas, then this could well be it. * Stylist * Like the love child of Dickens and Conan Doyle, but funnier than both -- Liz Nugent, author of LYING IN WAIT I'm not completely sure what the word 'rollicking' means, but I can personally guarantee that The House on Vesper Sands is a rollicking good read. For a novel about grief, estrangement, and the literal stealing of vulnerable young women's souls, this book is a lot more fun than it has any right to be. Paraic O'Donnell's sheer love of his characters is exuberant and infectious; the dialogue crackles with verve and wit, and the plotting is as intricately satisfying as a heavy pocket watch. The setting may be Victorian , but in modern parlance this novel is an absolute banger -- Jon McGregor, author of RESERVOIR 13 A hugely entertaining read, spry of pace, funny, beautifully descriptive and satisfyingly sinister. A perfect book to read by winter candlelight * Sunday Express * A compelling, darkly funny portrait of late Victorian London, and focuses on crimes with a supernatural flavour * Observer, '50 Biggest Books of Autumn 2018' * An immersive and darkly entertaining story of love, loss and lies set in a vividly realised Victorian London * iNews, 'Best 19 Books for Autumn 2018' * A mash-up of Victoria Gothic and fantasy, this is huge fun * Daily Mail * Not since Sarah Waters has a modern novelist played with Victorian language and mores with such wit and skill ... This mastery of voice wouldn't be half as satisfying, of course, if the story were not a properly ripping yarn ... Liz Nugent compares The House on Vesper Sands to Dickens and Conan Doyle, but the novel's depiction of young women who are both physically and psychologically tormented by shadowy male forces in the 1890s suggests one of the most iconic books of that decade, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The appealing characters, however, are more complex than Stoker's, and there's a real humanity to the novel that will leave the reader hoping that O'Donnell returns to the gaslit streets of fin de sicle London for more sinister, beautifully told stories. * Sunday Business Post * O'Donnell's talent truly shines ... O'Donnell's style can be likened to Charles Dickens on steroids and The House on Vesper Sands sits comfortably with the likes of Sarah Perry's The Essex Serpent or Francis Spufford's Golden Hill as recent period-set page turners. Like those two, a gorgeous prose elevates this ... An expertly crafted and uproariously entertaining novel, spun by a writer approaching his peak * Irish Examiner * Engrossing ... The narrative canters from high-society soirees to East End tenements, infused with menace both earthly and supernatural * Irish Mail on Sunday * A rollocking romp through the d

Paraic O'Donnell is a writer of fiction, poetry and criticism. His first novel, THE MAKER OF SWANS, was named the Amazon Rising Stars Debut of the Month for February 2016 and was shortlisted for the Bord Gis Energy Irish Book Awards in the Newcomer of the Year category. His most recent novel, The House on Vesper Sands, was a Guardian and Observer book of the year for 2018. He lives in Wicklow, Ireland with his wife and two children. http://paraicodonnell.com | @paraicodonnell