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House on Vesper Sands
House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
London, 1893: high up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O'Donnell's Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances?On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter's sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters--despite her employer's preference that she stick to a women's society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands.By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, The House on Vesper Sands offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.
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review
Lucy_Anywhere
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Mehso-so

I‘m so torn about this book! It was wonderfully atmospheric and I loved the characters, especially the relationship between Inspector Cutter and Bliss. However, I thought the mystery was weak and depended too much on cryptic conversations and convenient confessions.
This was my #doublespin for January @TheAromaofBooks - I don‘t think I‘ve ever been so ahead of the game in Bookspin Bingo!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1y
23 likes1 comment
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Michaelalynn
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell

Safe?‘ Miss Tatton glanced at him, but kept up her pace. ‘Ain‘t much that‘s safe, young master, when a girl must work for a living.

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rsteve388
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
Pickpick

This story in Audio, was hard to.follow and didn't keep my engaged. I loved Gideon and Cutter and thought that if the story was just the two of them, it might have been a decent story. I didn't like the Octavia character at all and found the whole.story hard to follow. I wasn't engaged in the mystery at all.

28 likes1 stack add
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Sharpeipup
House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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“Fate is a fairy tale, my darling. In life, there is only opportunity and advantage.”
#quotes

37 likes1 stack add
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Palimpsest
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

I adore everything Victorian so this book was great for me set in 1893. The story begins with a seamstress and mysterious death. Gideon Bliss arrives in London at his uncle‘s request only to get involved with acerbic Sgt. Cutter as he investigates missing working class girls. Octavia H. is reporter who is investigating Spiriters. There are fantastical elements. I really enjoyed this mystery, but I did find fault with a few things:the title, as👇

Palimpsest No one arrives at Vesper Sands until nearly the ending, so the title doesn‘t really work for me. One of the characters is talked about considerably, but isn‘t ever actually in the book or has any dialogue which is interesting but a bit odd, and the book doesn‘t quite have that slam bang finish. I still think it‘s a well crafted, entertaining story. I did love the historic details. Fun book as I ease into my Halloween books. 3y
44 likes1 stack add1 comment
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BookishMarginalia
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

I quite enjoyed this rather strange mystery, particularly the very cranky Inspector Cutter. I could have done without the supernatural elements, but overall they didn‘t detract from my enjoyment of the story. I do wish the flap summary would have mentioned the fantasy aspects — if you‘re expecting a mystery anchored in reality, you‘d hate this one.

85 likes2 stack adds
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BookishMarginalia
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Currently #immersionreading — this sounds good but has low Litsy ratings, so we shall see…

janeycanuck I quite liked this one - but I think you have to be in the right mood for it. Hope it‘s going well for you! (edited) 3y
86 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Nebklvr
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Mehso-so

The Author is a master of metaphor and the bones of this story are impressive. Unfortunately, the characters were flat. They did things no living, breathing person would do but they made impressive game pieces. The characters and atmosphere in the last 50 pages were what I had hoped for throughout.

Cathythoughts I‘m glad the last 50 pages worked out ... I bailed before then. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 3y
Nebklvr @Cathythoughts I would have quit but another reader I usually agree with kept telling me it would get better. It did....eventually 3y
Tamra I bailed too, but I was reluctant because it seemed to have such promise. 3y
Nebklvr @Tamra Inspector seemed like Sherlock Holmes knockoff 3y
39 likes4 comments
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Aims42
House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
Mehso-so

I broke my usual “If you‘re aren‘t liking the book, give it 50 pages before bailing” rule. I wasn‘t hooked at all and though by page 90 I started to like it, it still wasn‘t a favorite. This is a solid “so-so”, some parts were good and other parts dragged.

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Tamra
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Bailedbailed

33% in and for some reason it‘s not hooked me. 🤔 The narrator is quite good, so maybe I‘ll try again some other time.

emmaturi I was the same, it sounded so good. I may try again at a later date. 3y
Cathythoughts Started off really good , I thought. But my interest waned ... 3y
Tamra @emmaturi it‘s not just my mood then?! 😅 3y
Tamra @Cathythoughts yes - I agree. Did you finish? 3y
Cathythoughts I didn‘t finish it 🤷🏼‍♀️ I can‘t see myself going back there either .. 3y
46 likes5 comments
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Aims42
House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Inspector Cutter is such an ass, but he has saved me from DNF-ing this book 😂 I‘m 92 pages in and was thinking of returning it to the library, but I‘ll keep reading just to see what else he says (and does)

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BookwormM
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

#CoverCrush is it me or are them a lot of beautiful covers around at the moment?

I really enjoyed this #BlameitonLitsy read. I loved the relationship between Bliss and Cutter and their banter made me smile to myself several times. I hope we see more of them in future.

The central mystery blended the occult with good old fashioned detective work and was nicely done.

I really appreciated escaping into this world.

38 likes1 stack add
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BookwormM
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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#BFC21 February Update - failed miserably apart from the fitness so my March goals are remaining almost the same as February with the exception that I now need to read 4 TBR books instead of just 2.

With regard to the nail biting only 3 are bitten to the point of hurting which is better than all them and some do have a little growth going on.

wanderinglynn Oh there‘s no failing in #BFC. Only life happenings and opportunities. You‘ve refocused and have great goals for March. And we‘re here to support you. 💜 3y
28 likes1 comment
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janeycanuck
House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

This gave me the same vibes that I got from The Thirteenth Tale and the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, where there's a mystery at hand but not everything is as it seems and there's an element of the supernatural that is running the show. O'Donnell does amazing things with words, creating charming characters and vivid scenery for the story to unfold. Give me more of Octavia & Lady Ada, in particular, please!

wen4blu I love both those books, stacking!! 3y
janeycanuck @wen4blu I hope you enjoy it. There‘s a bit more snark in this, which I enjoyed! 3y
37 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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The tagged book was my favorite in January. 16 books total with standouts ranging from a MG book about a girl and a polar bear and the sequel to The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter to the launch of a new Star Wars series and Star-crossed lovers in New York City. Lots of comics too. Can‘t wait to see what February brings!

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Mitch
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick


Seances, hansom cabs and gentleman‘s clubs, a Scotland Yard Inspector with a personal story, a female reporter and a series of strange goings and deaths all feature to create a rather grimy nineteeth century London. There‘s a touch of the supernatural and at times the pace goes a little wonky - but a higely enjoyable read. One quibble - the ending is too focused on setting up a sequel to really do justice to this book.

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Mitch
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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If I keep perfectly still (and the postman doesn‘t knock!) I might get another chapter in! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
#weekendvibes

Jari-chan Awwww! 😍 3y
AmyG Omg ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 3y
Julsmarshall What a sweetheart! 3y
See All 9 Comments
Prairiegirl_reading So adorable!!! 🥰🥰🥰 3y
JenReadsAlot So cute!! 3y
DGRachel I know that feeling well! He‘s so precious! Happy Reading! 💖 3y
Mitch @DGRachel he needs his body to connect with mine and then he‘s content and out for the count! I got to read 3 chapters! 3y
DGRachel Bailey‘s the same way - wants to be touching, even if it‘s just her head on my ankle. 💖🐶💖 3y
Cupcake12 Lovely photo. It‘s even pouring with rain here and the dogs have left my sofa 🤣❤️🐶 3y
101 likes1 stack add9 comments
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Mitch
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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“ I know what his name was, you chattering streak of gannet‘s shite”
Oh - I love a good Victorian curse! 🤣

Crazeedi 😅😅😅 3y
82 likes1 comment
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suvata
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

Missing women in Victorian London may seem like an overused trope but that didn‘t stop Paraic O'Donnell from writing a new and innovative tale that pulls you in from page one. THE HOUSE ON VESPER SANDS has characters as vivid as those of Charles Dickens and a mystery worthy of the incomparable Sherlock Holmes.

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TracyReadsBooks
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

This was most excellent. O‘Donnell vividly recreates late 19th c. London & populates it with residents high & low, murder & mayhem & two fantastic characters—Cutter & Bliss—charged with investigating a series of mysterious deaths. The banter between Cutter & Bliss throughout the book is a definite highlight. Brooding, atmospheric, cloying, the mystery is all that & more. I have one small (teeny tiny) quibble but this is still a definite pick.

Texreader Excellent review!! Stacked!! 3y
30 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Mitch
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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It‘s arrived 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼#bookmail

Can‘t wait to swap notes with you @TracyReadsBooks !

BiblioLitten Nice cover! 3y
TracyReadsBooks Oh yes, can‘t wait to hear what you think! 3y
93 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Sooo good.....sooo hard to put down but...must.....do.....some.....chores.....before.....reading.....more. 😠 Good thing we‘re heading into a weekend because I really am enjoying this book and am definitely looking forward to more time for reading...after I do chores of course...have to do the chores...

Mitch Mines due to arrive in the post very soon! I‘m hoping tomorrow ! 3y
TracyReadsBooks @Mitch Ohhh, you‘re in for a treat! Can‘t wait to hear what you think about it! 3y
21 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookishMarginalia
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Another gift from @WanderingBookaneer — my wife knows what I like! This one looks amazing!

A Victorian-inspired mystery with a wry detective, a Cambridge dropout sidekick, and a clever (female) journalist. Yes, please!

Mitch I‘ve just ordered this yesterday. It‘s got amazing review and sounds wonderfully Wintery / gothicy ! 3y
sbains1980 Oooh lucky! Can't wait to read this one! 🥰 3y
115 likes6 stack adds3 comments
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WellReadCatLady
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Got an arc from Tin House, I‘m about 50 pages in and it is addicting.

Booksnchill I read it in 2019 after hearing about it on the Backlisted podcast (had to get from the UK) I loved this gothic tale! 3y
27 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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REPollock
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Bailedbailed

I can‘t. The characters are too saccharine and droll and ever so smackably witty. It just isn‘t my thing.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cathythoughts I never finished this one ... so I kind of bailed too. Started off strong enough, but he lost me along the way (edited) 3y
REPollock @Cathythoughts agreed. I was sucked in by the suicidal seamstress but as soon as I got beyond that scene the other characters seemed like a bunch of assholes and milquetoasts. No patience. 3y
18 likes2 comments
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andrew61
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

It rare that I wish a book had an extra 50-100 pages as i loved this gothic victorian crime novel with a supernatural thread introducing 3 great characters in insp cutter, gideon bliss+octavia hillingdon investigating creepy abduction of yng women, comic and atmospheric just needed more of the background plot, if there is another id definitely read on. Now is the time when the bks of yr come out so this weekend i enjyd looking for some 2020 rds.

22 likes2 stack adds
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Booksnchill
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

A gothic, historical mystery. Set in London during 1893 a young seamstress arrives at the mansion of Lord Strythe to sew a gown- she can only work at night, in a locked attic with the butler sitting outside the door. She has a plan of escape,she begins to sew, but not on the gown. By the end of the evening she is gone. Plot driven,strong characters I cared about. The cover blurb says Wilkie Collins meets Conan Doyle and that‘s pretty close.

64 likes1 stack add
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Tonton
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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Pickpick

O‘Donnell‘s first book,Maker of Swans, was a gorgeous surprise. His writing style has changed to fit Victorian London but it is equally densely wonderful and, very funny too!A failed divinity student, a vicar, a bull of a policeman, a curious woman reporter (“She would encourage the right sort of people to say the wrong sort of thing.”)are joined by a cigar smoking woman who‘s had enough,to unravel the evil Spriters,who steal souls to keep young.

Tonton That‘s Spiriters! 5y
BookwormM Great cover 5y
38 likes1 stack add2 comments
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RowReads1
The House on Vesper Sands | Paraic O'Donnell
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KatieCarpenter This cover is 😍😍 5y
RowReads1 @KatieCarpenter That was the first draw. Also an interesting sounding plot and some good reviews. (edited) 5y
38 likes2 comments