The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder by Stephen Cox
London 1881. Can two crooked women stop a murder?
Extravagant medium Mrs Ashton and her lover, blunt working-class Mrs Bradshaw, run a spiritualist scam. Mrs Ashton secretly reads minds.
Believing that Mrs Ashton is genuine, grieving Lady Violet craves the truth behind her mother’s untimely death.
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But Lady Violet’s powerful husband Sir Charles hates spiritualists. Has he killed before? Uncovering this MP’s wicked crimes will put all three women in terrible danger…
To solve a shocking murder, look both sides of the grave.
My Review
This was an interesting read set in one of my favourite periods of history, the Victorian era, the pinnacle of hypocrisy. I say interesting because the style of writing used by the author is very different, often as if written at the time. I sometimes struggled with Braddie’s way of speaking, but maybe that’s because it put me outside of my comfort zone. The story however, is great fun, though there is a serious undertone.
Mrs Honoria Ashton is a medium. Except she’s a fraud, of course she is, as we all know it’s not possible to contact the dead. Her seances are full of tricks and ruses, but many who are grieving are taken in. But in spite of all this fakery, she can read minds, and get people to ‘open’ so she can see what they are really thinking.
As I said, Braddie grated on me, but I did love Maisie. Only fourteen years old, she’s street-wise beyond her years. She helps Mrs Ashton with various jobs, while looking after her younger siblings and drunken ‘pa’ since her mother died. But what she really wants to be is an amateur detective and be paid for it out of the profits.
The main story revolves around the beautiful Lady Violet and her husband Sir Charles, a rising star of the government, but in reality, a coercive bully. But is that all there is to him, or is he actually far worse, a murderer even? He hates spiritualists, but Lady Violet has asked Mrs Ashton to contact her late mother as she is still grieving and can’t move on.
This was a very entertaining read, if a little overlong (as so many books are these days), and I really enjoyed it. Recommended for anyone with an interest in spiritualism and the Victorian period of history.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Stephen Cox is a writer living in London. He’d read every Holmes, Christie, and Sayers before he was 21 and did Holmes fanfic in school. He has also read the Moonstone six times. With a science degree he has always been a fan of history and the imagination.
The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder contains the strong characterisation, women protagonists, authentic period setting, and wide roaming imagination of his other works. He says ‘It’s a rip-roaring twisty story, with relationships under stress and surprising readers at every turn.”
His first two novels, Our Child of the Stars and Our Child of Two Worlds were called “heartfelt, imaginative and gripping”, with wide praise in the national press.
Stephen says ‘I wanted female rogues as my leads – women with mixed relationship with law and the truth, yet capable of great kindness. This is a rigorous detective story with a client in trouble and old crimes to be solved. It has everything – a brutal man, a Lady in danger, and the past and present feeding the action. Can these outsiders possibly win through?
Queer women certainly existed and made lives together in Victorian England, as those with eyes to see can see,’
Buying links
stephencox.co.uk
Up to date buying and pre-order links will be added to the link below and updated as available.
The books are available through Amazon and also all other eBook retailers and print direct from Stephen and his publisher.
For more information
stephen.cox.pr@gmail.com
Stephen’s socials
Instagram @stephencoxauthor
Twitter/X @stephenwhq (very inactive)
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BlueSky @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social
Self-Published
The book is self-published to a high standard with professional editing, copy-editing, proofing, formatting, and a professional cover. It will be available from Amazon and other retailers. Committed to professionalism, Stephen is applying to join the Crime Writers Association, which can only be considered when the book is out.
