Diary of Murders by Sarah Cook

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Diary of Murders by Sarah Cook

Love dominates us all.

London. 1895. Two doctors – Miriam Clayton and John Bennett – fall in love with one another when they realise they have the same wicked sexual desires.

1896. A series of gruesome murders have gripped Soho. Their details are confessed in a damning diary.

But who of the pair is committing these crimes? And what has turned their love into violence?

X (Twitter) #DiaryOfMurders @sarahcookwrites @KellyALacey @lovebookstours #Ad #LBTCrew #BookTwitter Instagram @sarahcookwrites

Join Miriam and John on their dark romantic journey through pain and bondage. But, as a cruel society tests their passions, discover what can push a person to their breaking point and see how deadly love can really be.

Can you unbind the secrets of the Diary of Murders?

My Review

I’m glad this came with a warning – over 18s only – I certainly needed it. I’ve never blushed so much since I read Fifty Shades of Grey on the train (on my Kindle so no-one else could see the book title). And I thought the Victorians were all uptight and restrained. Looks like I was wrong.

I actually found the explicit sex scenes more shocking than the murders, but that is probably because I read a lot of gory crime fiction and the aforementioned book is probably my only foray into eroticism.

The book is divided into two. We have the initial meeting between Dr Miriam Clayton and Dr John Bennett and the sexual tension between them sizzles from the get-go. But it is Miriam who first suggests the idea of carrying out their wicked sexual desires, including bondage and sadomasochism. Had it been the other way round and he got it wrong, he’d have been locked up for being a pervert. I found her really quite scary, not just because it is set in 1895 – I’d find her behaviour quite scary nowadays.

In spite of the sex, violence and grisly murders, the plight of the unfortunate women in Victorian times, often widowed and forced into prostitution, is handled with sensitivity, as are the scenes of abuse. There are links at the end for anyone who has been affected by the descriptive passages and scenes of violence against women.

Yet there is often something quite poetic about the author’s writing. I would describe it as lyrical prose. The characters are beautifully written, particularly Miriam, John, Miriam’s father and Marie. This will be an author to look out for in the future. She has immense talent.

Beautiful cover by the way, that in no way prepares us for the reality of the horror within the pages.

Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #DiaryOfMurdersTour

About the Author

Sarah Cook is an upcoming author whose debut novel Diary of Murders will be released summer 2023. Her poem DIRT was recently published at MONOFiction and she has self-published a number of short stories on this very website. On top of this, she has directed a number of short films including Toby and The Rogue Table. Her latest short film Blow by Blow was featured on the Honourable Mention list at the Women X Film Festival.

Sarah Cook is also a prolific media journalist who has had by-lines in websites such as Movies On Weekends, HeyUGuys, Film Stories, The Digital Fix, and Picturehouse Cinemas. Sarah has established herself as a keen reporter, both on junkets and on red-carpets, interviewing celebrities from Florence Pugh to Minnie Driver. She has worked in the art industry as a marketing manager for UK Jewish Film, Picturehouse Cinemas, Royal Albert Hall, and the Albany, producing celebrated and viral content for their social channels. In her spare time, Sarah is an active member of the Victorian Society and likes to explore the weird wonders of London.
Author’s Website: www.sarahcookwriter.co.uk