The House on Vesper Sands

By: Paraic O'Donnell

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

With all the wit of a Jane Austen novel and a case as beguiling as any in Sherlock Holmes' casebook, Paraic O'Donnell introduces a detective duo for the ages and slowly unlocks the secrets of a startling Victorian mystery.

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 choose to jump out of that window? Why is there a cryptic message sewn 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 Gideon Bliss, a young Cambridge dropout who is in love with one of the missing girls, and his partner, Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. There's also Octavia Hillingdon, a young reporter determined to tell stories that feel important despite her employer's preference that she write a women's society column.

By turns clever, surprising, and impossible to pause, The House on Vesper Sands peels back the mystery layer by layer, offering in the strange undertow of late 19th-century London a startling glimpse at the secrets we all hold inside us.

©2018 Paraic O'Donnell (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Excellent Read, Terrific Reader

Rich characters, an intriguing plot, and one of the best readers I’ve heard in a while make for a fine listen. Parts are a bit grim, but they are few, and the humorous and wise pronouncements of Inspector Cutter lend thoughtfulness tempered with levity. He his a force of nature, and I hope we see much more of him.

Was expecting a mystery

I was expecting a mystery but got a paranormal something. I’m not into ghostly appearances in my mystery novels.

Convoluted

The theme of abuse of women with an overlay of 18th century. Pedestrian. Hard to follow.

Weird

Not at all what I expected, but enough for me to finish it. I really liked the two detectives and will look for more books about them.

Excellent mystery with supernatural underpinning

The House on Vesper Sands has all the elements I live about Victorian mysteries: foggy nights, creepy churchyards, the tension between science and the old ways, and servants who know much more about their employers than they’ll say. This story has some additional characters and story elements that made it especially engaging: a Scotland Yard inspector, Henry Cutter, who is seeking vengeance along with answers; his “sergeant” Gideon Bliss, a recent Cambridge seminary dropout looking for the girl he loves and fears has come to harm; and an independent young woman, who chafed under society’s restriction of mind and body. And then there’s the girls. Working class girls that possess a gift, a brightness, that few can see and many desire. Those seeking the “brightness” justify their evil deeds by dehumanizing the girls and the belief the gift is wasted on the poor.

The narration is fantastic and adds a next level shiver to the story. The setting of Victorian London, the oppressive class system, and historical references, add depth and context to an already strong story.

All I can say is I hope this won’t be the last “special assignment” for Cutter and Bliss.

Interesting story - can be hard to follow

Lots of characters, moving parts, and the voice for Angie grated on me. I stopped and started and came back to this - just couldn’t get into it.

A fun immersive read

The performance was absolutely amazing. Narrator was committed to the the story and to delegating each character an individual sound, diction and pattern of speech.
Similar to some other reviewers I don’t know that the second narrator (in the story, Octavia) was necessary and the end didn’t come together as well as I’d imagined it could have. Overall though it was great! I would say if you’re not familiar with this style of writing it can take a little longer to process initially.

What a grand surprise.

I got this ether from audible plus or a 2 for 1. I enjoy the Victorian crime novels. I was about half way through this when I looked for the next installments to find this was the only one. Wonderful narrator. Intriguing story and all around enjoyable. I can’t wait for what I hope will be the 2nd installment in a new series.

Excellent performance

This was a fun read, full of quirky characters. Narrator did an amazing job with the different voices!

Silly narration, will read instead

I had to stop listening to this book at 1 hour 19 minutes in--even though I find the plot intriguing. Nearly every character is given a sort of squeaky, Cockney-ish accent that is downright distracting.