The Quickening, Rhiannon Ward
The Quickening, Rhiannon Ward
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Quickening

Author: Rhiannon Ward

Narrator: Katherine Press

Unabridged: 9 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Trapeze

Published: 08/20/2020


Synopsis

'If you like gothic mystery, buckle up! This atmospheric read has it all'
Woman magazine

'An historical novel dripping with menace'
Shari Lapena, author of The End of Her

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England, 1925. Louisa Drew lost her husband in the First World War and her six-year-old twin sons in the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Newly re-married and seven months pregnant, Louisa is asked by her employer to travel to Clewer Hall in Sussex where she is to photograph the contents of the house for auction.

She learns Clewer Hall was host to an infamous séance in 1896, and that the lady of the house has asked those who gathered back then to come together once more to recreate the evening.

When a mysterious child appears on the grounds, Louisa finds herself compelled to investigate and becomes embroiled in the strange happenings of the house. Gradually, she unravels the long-held secrets of the inhabitants and what really happened thirty years before... and discovers her own fate is entwined with that of Clewer Hall's.

For fans of The Silent Companions, The Little Stranger and The Familiars, an exquisitely crafted and compelling mystery that invites the reader in to the crumbling Clewer Hall to help unlock its secrets.

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'Utterly brilliant... full of secrets and deliciously creepy'
Lisa Hall, author of The Perfect Couple

'A spooky treat, which had me turning the pages faster and faster'
Cass Green, author of In a Cottage in a Wood

About Rhiannon Ward

Rhiannon Ward is the pseudonym for Sarah Ward, the bestselling and critically acclaimed crime author. Sarah has a masters degree in Religious History and has long been fascinated by the long tradition of spiritualism in England and is a member of the Institute of Psychical Research. Sarah is also a crime reviewer and book blogger at Crime Pieces.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Katie on February 05, 2023

A really great spooky gothic read.......more

Goodreads review by Emma on June 22, 2020

And we have a new addition to the gothic, historical fiction pantheon and a most welcome and accomplished one at that. Reminiscent of Laura Purcell and Simone St. James, the story is set in the aftermath of WWI and the Spanish flu epidemic, at a time when spiritualism and seances were very popular (......more

Goodreads review by Jeanne on February 09, 2021

It started out really strong and to my delight, differently. I have to admit that I wouldn't class this story as a ghothic thriller (I would say it was more a suspense story), but it did have tons of atmosphere. I think that the last third of this book was disappointing. It seemed like the main char......more

Goodreads review by Blair on October 19, 2021

(3.5) I’ve been so busy recently that some of my reading choices have been about ease more than anything else. When I’m perpetually tired and always rushing to meet some deadline, I don’t want to spend my spare time reading anything that feels like a challenge. I understand now why some people I kno......more

Goodreads review by Eva on August 29, 2020

In case you are not aware, Rhiannon Ward is an alias for author Sarah Ward. Some of you may be familiar with her absolutely brilliant crime fiction series featuring DC Connie Childs. If you’re not, you know what to do. Anyway, that was all I needed to know when I heard about The Quickening. It marks......more


Quotes

A creepy, evocative mystery Heat

An historical novel dripping with menace, featuring a sympathetic heroine, seances, and family secrets-there's so much to love about The Quickening! Shari Lapena, author of The End of Her

If you like gothic mystery, buckle up! This atmospheric read has it all Woman magazine

Utterly brilliant... full of secrets and deliciously creepy, I raced through it Lisa Hall, author of The Perfect Couple

A spooky treat, which had me turning the pages faster and faster

A powerful, spine-tingling, beautifully written gothic mystery full of real, complex characters, smart, dark twists and utterly immersive historical detail.

It's twisty and atmospheric, seriously creepy, and has an inspiring central character I was rooting for. Cressida McLaughlin