The Poison Thread: A Novel by Laura Purcell
Penguin Books, June 18 2019
Historical Fictions, suspense/Gothic
Review copy via NetGalley
A thrilling Victorian gothic horror tale about a young seamstress who claims her needle and thread have the power to kill
Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy, and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor, and awaiting trial for murder.
When Dorothea'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, 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? The Poison Thread is a spine-tingling, sinister read about the evil that lurks behind the facade of innocence.
My review of The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell can be found here.
I can't say no to a Victorian Gothic tale and I really enjoyed this author's previous novel The Silent Companions. The Poison Thread is the US edition of an already released UK edition titled The Corset which I will never understand why there has to be months between these releases and confusing everyone in the world wide web of different titles etc.
The premise of this story from Dorothea's point of view is that the shape of someone's head, phrenology, dictates a person's moral character. Which is horse pooey and a slightly annoying theme to this story but does well to underscore the psychological suspense. And the creepier theme is that Ruth, who is now a prisoner, believes she is able to harm people by infusing powerful thoughts while sewing something for a specific person. Everything she stitches has become some sort of poison to its wearer and eventually Ruth is put in jail for causing such harm to others. This is how Dorothea and Ruth meet, because Dorothea is measuring Ruth's skull as part of the phrenology research otherwise their two social castes would never have crossed.
There are several running side stories as the narrative goes back and forth making a true page turner as you never really know what is going to happen next. Each character is flawed and yet somehow likeable, and I really appreciated the nuances of the era that really set the tone throughout this novel that is a borderline horror story. The author has a wonderful knack for the historical suspense and I am looking forward to what flows next from her pen!
I turned off commenting long ago on the blog but I welcome comments at the Facebook page here.
.JPG)