"This darkly gothic historical mystery spins a story of survival and identity into the most thrilling of tales that is full of wily inventors, incredible automata, and sharp deadly secrets."
Roll up! Come closer! It’s 1881 and you are invited to behold ‘Little Spark’, the shocking star of a travelling act, who after one shock too many loses everything before a chance encounter sees her as a servant to a house of inventors where she is determined to find answers to her mysterious past.
Author Jess Kidd writes with the most imaginative of pens, from the stinging tension of Things in Jars to the haunting beauty of The Night Ship, her descriptions can pierce your soul. Little Spark joins these two novels as a LoveReading Star Book, I fell in love with this historical mystery and its dark gothic overtones.
The characters are wonderfully individual and authentic, Bodkin Bell also known as Little Spark is the undoubted star of the show. The inventions have a nightmarish edge, diabolically clever and fascinating in equal measure as they join the story. There are moments of light, hope, and delicious wit which creates a beautiful balance as the sense of place is disturbing and Point Mote on the Kent marshlands incredibly atmospheric.
There is a sense of tense inevitability to this tale, realisation slowly forms as you are intentionally given each jagged piece of the unsettling jigsaw to put into place. Rather than revealing its hand too early, this actually adds to the tension and there are still surprises to come. If you revel in uniquely ominous tales of survival where resilience and courage are vital as deadly secrets are revealed then step this way.
Set in the late 19th century, the darkly creative Little Spark dwells in the shadows as it tells its wonderfully original and enigmatic story.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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A secret cannot stay locked away foreverBodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesn't know where she came from, but she knows she's different. Gaslights flare as she walks past.
Little Spark features in the following genres: Book Club Recommendations, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Crime and Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical crime and mysteries, Gothic, Narrative theme: Sense of place
Hardback. £17.09, down from the £18.99 cover price. In Stock.
Little Spark was written by Jess Kidd and published by Canongate an imprint of Canongate Books
Little Spark has 341 pages
£17.09, reduced from £18.99. In Stock.
