LoveReading Expert Review of The Unseeing
March 2017 Debut of the Month.
A detailed, intriguing and highly enjoyable debut historical thriller. James Greenacre is accused of murdering his bride and his mistress, Sarah Gale, is convicted of aiding him in disposing of her body. Public opinion flares up against Sarah and the Home Secretary gets a young lawyer, Edward Fleetwood, to investigate the police evidence. May there have been something amiss? Certainly the facts are puzzling. Sarah's incarceration in Newgate Jail, we are in 1837, is particularly vicious and vividly described. Our young lawyer has a deadline to deliver his evidence and a conscience to battle with. This builds to a terrific and unexpected conclusion. I was totally hooked in the last unputdownable 160 pages. Good stuff.
One of our Books of the Year 2016.
The Unseeing Synopsis
'With this intricately woven tale of trust, self-trust and deceit, Anna Mazzola brings a gritty realism to Victorian London. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, this is a stunning debut, ranked amongst the best' MANDA SCOTT After Sarah petitions for mercy, Edmund Fleetwood is appointed to investigate and consider whether justice has been done. Idealistic, but struggling with his own demons, Edmund is determined to seek out the truth. Yet Sarah refuses to help him, neither lying nor adding anything to the evidence gathered in court. Edmund knows she's hiding something, but needs to discover just why she's maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone would willingly go to their own death?
About This Edition
| ISBN: | 9781472234759 |
| Publication date: | 26th January 2017 |
| Author: | Anna Mazzola |
| Publisher: | Tinder Press an imprint of Headline Publishing Group |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 384 pages |
| Collections: | 50+ Novels Based on Real Events or People, |
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
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Closing date: 07/11/2021
What To Read After The Unseeing
The Unseeing Reader Reviews
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to read and review this title. You can click here to read the full reviews.
- Suze Lavender - 'The Unseeing is a fascinating, thrilling and captivating novel. Anna Mazzola is a great writer. I love her beautiful writing style and the way she handles suspense, by releasing it in small dosages, is laudable. I highly recommend this nerve-wracking book.'
- Melanie Chadwick - 'An excellent book, with the historical information from newspapers and contemporary sources neatly woven in to create a very credible fiction.'
- Sarah Webb - 'An engrossing page turner – a great debut.'
- Mary Gibson - 'Fact and fiction merge and it makes for a fascinating read. I loved it.'
- Jo-anne Atkinson - 'Satisfying fiction based on fact - a whodunnit with a couple of interesting twists and a commentary on women's lives in the early 19th century.'
- Carolyn Huckfield - 'A long forgotten murder case has been used to create a brilliant story that paints a vivid picture of London on the cusp of the Victorian era.'
- Vicky-Leigh Sayer - 'A grizzly tale of murder in Victorian London that will leave you wanting more...An exciting new voice in historical fiction, Anna Mazzola is definitely an author to watch.'
- Lynda DeFreitas - 'A fantastic read. I couldn't put it down.'
- Phylippa Smithson - 'Very intriguing crime thriller with such granular detail of the brutal lives many lived (notably women) in 19th century London, I am left feeling relieved to be living in today's world.'
- Rachel Aygin - 'A historical mystery reminiscent of Rory Clements, this book also provides a glimpse of what life was like for prisoners inside the notorious Newgate Prison. An enjoyable read.'
- Jane Ashbrook - 'A thoroughly enjoyable crime novel based on a true story, set in Victorian times. Plenty of twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing right until the end.'
- Vikki Patis - 'Mazzola writes with a practiced hand. She knows her way around the Victorian underworld of poverty, desperation, and depravity like a seasoned historian...a gritty, glorious debutand it is not to be missed.
- Angie Rhodes - 'Dark. Gothic Delicious! Based in a real life case, Anna at once draws the reader into the murky, world of London, a time of horse drawn carriages, and pickpockets.'
- Jane Macleod - 'This is a book you just won't be able to put down, with twists and turns to the story until the very end...I really enjoyed this!'
- Siobhan McDowell - 'I was immediately drawn into this murky, atmospheric and dark novel...The plot was tightly controlled and I was truly shocked by the sensational outcome...not at all expected!'
- Kerry Bridges - 'Anna Mazzola has tried to take what was clearly an interesting case and add some life to it.'
- Humaira Kauser - 'Such an intriguing story that had me right from the first words of the book!'
- Suzanne Beney - 'An atmospheric and fast paced historic crime story, which has you gripped from the start.'
- Suze - 'A brilliant, intriguing novel that kept me glued to my seat for many hours.'
- Edel Waugh - 'The story contained a few twists and turns keeping the reader on its toes to the very surprising end.'
Anna Mazzola Press Reviews
'With this intricately woven tale of trust, self-trust and deceit, Anna Mazzola brings a gritty realism to Victorian London. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, this is a stunning debut, ranked amongst the best' -- Manda Scott
The Unseeing is deft, dark and delicious. Anna Mazzola writes brilliantly about Victorian London, a fascinating crime and an intriguing heroine -- Janet Ellis, author of THE BUTCHER'S HOOK
Other editions of this book
ISBN: 9781472234759
Publication date: 26/01/2017
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781472234735
Publication date: 14/07/2016
Format: Hardback
About Anna Mazzola
Anna Mazzola is a criminal justice solicitor, based in London. Whilst The Unseeing is her debut, it has won awards including the Brixton Bookjam Debut Novel competition and she came runner up in the 2014 Grazia First Chapter competition judged by Sarah Waters. Author photo © Lou Abercrombie
More About Anna Mazzola
