Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Edge of Dark” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Edge of Dark

Pamela Hartshorne (Goodreads Author)

4.04 · Rating details · 508 ratings · 64 reviews

Jane believes in keeping her promises, but a deathbed vow sets her on a twisting path of deceit and joy that takes her from the dark secrets of Holmwood House in York to the sign of the golden lily in London's Mincing Lane. Getting what you want, Jane discovers, comes at a price. For the child that she longed for, the child she promised to love and to keep safe, turns out ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published January 27th 2015 by PAN MacMillan Adult (first published November 1st 2014)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Edge of Dark, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about The Edge of Dark

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.04 ·

Rating details

· 508 ratings · 64 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Edge of Dark

Jul 08, 2017 AdiTurbo rated it really liked it

I can't for the life of me understand how even though Hartshorne keeps writing practically the same book again and again, she still manages to get me completely engrossed in it every time. The premise of her books are always the same - dual time lines, two women, the one in the present being possessed by the one from the past, who is desperate to tell her story. The present woman's world is unraveling as she delves more and more into the past woman's story, till the dramatic climax releases both ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2015 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I enjoy reading time-slip novels; I love the sense of the supernatural, the atmosphere of mystery and suspense, and the intertwining of two lives – one past and one present. Pamela Hartshorne has written three novels of this type (the other two are Time's Echo and The Memory of Midnight) but this one is the first I've had the opportunity to read. I found it an entertaining, compelling and genuinely eerie read and I'm now looking forward to going back and reading her earlier novels.

The Edge of Da I enjoy reading time-slip novels; I love the sense of the supernatural, the atmosphere of mystery and suspense, and the intertwining of two lives – one past and one present. Pamela Hartshorne has written three novels of this type (the other two are Time's Echo and The Memory of Midnight) but this one is the first I've had the opportunity to read. I found it an entertaining, compelling and genuinely eerie read and I'm now looking forward to going back and reading her earlier novels.

The Edge of Dark is the story of Roz Acclam who, at the beginning of the novel, is preparing to start a new job as Events Director at Holmwood House, a recently restored Elizabethan building in York. This is not the first time Roz has been to York; she lived there as a small child until most of her family died in a fire and she was adopted by an aunt in London. She remembers nothing of the fire or her tragic childhood, but almost as soon as she arrives in York, memories begin to come flooding back – the only problem is, they are not her own memories but those of another woman who lived more than four hundred years earlier.

The Edge of Dark is also the story of Jane, the eldest daughter of a butcher who lived in York in the 1500s. Jane's father is planning ambitious marriages for both of his girls and Jane soon finds herself married off to the handsome, wealthy Robert Holmwood. Joining her new husband at Holmwood House, she discovers that married life is not quite what she'd expected and she begins to long for a child of her own. But Jane's desire to be a mother eventually grows so strong that she makes a promise she could live to regret.

As Roz tries to settle into her new job the flashbacks into Jane's life become more frequent and she begins to question why she is having these experiences. Is Holmwood House haunted? Are Jane's ordeals in the past somehow connected with Roz's own problems in the present? And what really happened the night the Acclams' house was set on fire?

Usually when I read a novel set in two time periods I find that I prefer one over the other – as I love historical fiction it tends to be the one set in the past. With this book, Roz's story and Jane's are so closely linked that it's difficult to separate them; the transitions between past and present felt smooth and natural and I could easily become immersed in the lives of both women. Roz and Jane are both strong characters, but there are other interesting characters in each time period too. While some feel less developed than others, the two I found most memorable are (in the present) Helen, a jealous colleague who tries to cause trouble for Roz at work, and (in the past) Margaret Holmwood, Jane's scheming mother-in-law.

I also liked the fact that the novel is set in York, a city I have visited many times and am quite familiar with. It was obvious that the book was written by an author who knows York, its streets and its buildings very well! Something else I found interesting was seeing what goes into opening a new tourist attraction to the public. I would have liked to have read more about Roz's work – it sounded fascinating.

I realise I've come to the end of this review and haven't mentioned the significance of the beautiful Tudor necklace on the front cover of the book, but I need to leave something for future readers to discover for themselves! ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2015 s a t u r d a y r e a d rated it it was amazing

You can also see the review on my blog

This book is page-turner and unputdownable. I know that I say this quite a lot when I love a book, but I really can’t help it, especially if the book impressed me and this one did. A brilliant historical time-slip. There’s a sense of supernatural, mystery and tension, but also romance in the story, elements that made me certain from the start that I’ll like the story. The plot is great, so is the writing, the characters are so well sketched and the connectio You can also see the review on my blog

This book is page-turner and unputdownable. I know that I say this quite a lot when I love a book, but I really can’t help it, especially if the book impressed me and this one did. A brilliant historical time-slip. There’s a sense of supernatural, mystery and tension, but also romance in the story, elements that made me certain from the start that I’ll like the story. The plot is great, so is the writing, the characters are so well sketched and the connection between Jane and Roz is described thoroughly, without leaving any questions. I haven’t read anything similar, which was a happy surprise.

Initial thoughts:
1. This is the first novel I’ve read from this author and I have to say that I’m very impressed. I’m looking forward to buy the other two novels she has written, following similar themes.
2. To be honest, I liked the story set in the past more than the one in the present. But, I think it’s normal to prefer one over the other when a novel is set in two periods. The reason is that I felt so bad for plain Jane, who for a strange reason reminded me of Eyre, because life doesn’t treat her well. Her story is so heartbreaking, especially in the end.
3. The time-slip happens unexpectedly, making it hard to stop reading. There are a lot of plot twists, which I never saw coming.
4. Even though I’m not a big fan of supernatural things, this story didn’t seem strange at all. Everything is fully explained and didn’t leave me any questions of how things happened. It’s probably the only book that has a sense of supernatural that I really liked, which tells a lot.

I don’t know what else to say about this book, only that I loved it so so much. It gave me such a book hangover that I can’t start another book until it’s fully out of my system. You know, it’s one of those books that you’re eager to finish it just to know the end, but at the same time I didn’t want to let it go just yet. I wanted to read more..
If you like romance and suspence, I definetely recommend you to read this story. You won’t regret it, trust me. I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned it, but how beautiful is the cover and the necklace? ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 11, 2015 Anne rated it really liked it

Quite a good thriller enough creepiness to keep you going.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2019 Shari rated it it was amazing

Wow! This book had me at the prologue! If you enjoy books about time travel, this author is for you!
This is the second book I have read and Pamela Hartshorne has a gift to be able to wind a story between two time periods and it just pulls you in.

Roz is in the current time and she is offered a new job in the town where she was born. Her family died in a house fire and she was a survivor. Her brother was convicted of starting the fire.

Jane lives in 1549 and she makes a deathbed vow that starts her ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2018 Alison rated it liked it · review of another edition

Been a long time since I had to stay up late to find out the ending of a book! Very relieved to not be disappointed with the ending (although the modern day 'epilogue' was obviously where things were heading it didn't take away from the more dramatic ending to previous events). Interesting and creepy. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2019 Barbara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: time-travel, historical-fiction

A good story involving an old house and time travel.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2015 David Reviews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Haunting historical time-slip novel

The lovely Roz is haunted by the ghost of Jane who died over 400 years ago. Maybe Roz is losing her mind or perhaps she‘s schizophrenic or even possessed. She has increasing flashbacks as she slips back, again and again, into visions of Jane’s past life. Could Jane have been real or is she only part of Roz’s imagination?

This isn’t the first time-slip historical novel that Pamela Hartshorne has written. But it is the first I’ve read. This is indeed rather well d Haunting historical time-slip novel

The lovely Roz is haunted by the ghost of Jane who died over 400 years ago. Maybe Roz is losing her mind or perhaps she‘s schizophrenic or even possessed. She has increasing flashbacks as she slips back, again and again, into visions of Jane’s past life. Could Jane have been real or is she only part of Roz’s imagination?

This isn’t the first time-slip historical novel that Pamela Hartshorne has written. But it is the first I’ve read. This is indeed rather well done and her storytelling crackles with breath-taking scenes and some wonderfully dark characters.

Roz has a tragic family past and was brought up by her aunt in London. She returns to her parents’ hometown of York in Yorkshire, the scene of the deliberate fire in 1986 that killed most of her family. She is there to promote the launch and opening of the brooding Holmwood Hall to the public. Her boss, the slightly pompous Sir Adrian, and his despicable PA Helen are a delight. But Roz soon begins to have troubling flashbacks to an earlier time period. And with Roz acting as a conduit, the captivating story of Jane, who lived in the late 1500’s, is revealed. Their life stories are becoming almost mirrored, it seems to Roz, and along with the reader; she needs to know what becomes of Jane.

Jane is a young woman in 1577 and lives in the shadow of her younger more beautiful sister, the flighty Julianna. Her father is a wealthy butcher in York and has ambitious plans for his daughters in order to raise their social standing through marriage. Jane is married off to the handsome, prestigious Robert Holmwood and soon all is not as she had dreamed. Things take some bizarre twists and eventually Jane ends up being the mother she had always wanted. The child however isn’t hers. ‘Be careful what you wish for’ Jane, as a promise she makes to the child’s mother comes back to haunt her.

The author packs a lot into this novel which makes for an enthralling book. I enjoyed the company of the likeable Roz and Jane as their stories unfolded. If this is the type of book that appeals, then I’m sure you will love them too. It’s a damn good read with a few shocks and twists along the way.
...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2015 Scatterbooker rated it it was amazing

The Edge of Dark is mysterious time slip novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. The novel is centred around the enigmatic Elizabethan home, Holmwood House, in York in the 1500s and present day.

In the 21st century Holmwood House is being meticulously restored to its former glory by the pompous Sir Adrian, whose family is descended from the home’s original owner. The story begins when he hires London based Events Director, Roz Acclam from London, to oversee the ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 27, 2015 Maria Grazia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, historical-fiction, supernatural, read-in-2015

This novel shares much with the previous two in the trilogy, Time’s Echo and The Memory of Midnight - which I both read and reviewed - but it is not a sequel, nor a prequel, the three plots and the characters are not related any way.
The three novels share the geographical setting (York), the time-slip pattern (Elizabethan Age/present day), the presence of supernatural events and the fact of having two female protagonists.

In The Edge of Dark, the two heroines live in distant eras but share a gre ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 26, 2015 Helen rated it really liked it

Roz and Jane are two appealing characters - especially the latter -separated by centuries but interlinked through similar experiences. Another haunting Pamela page-turner. I can't resist her books. Some may say they are formulaic - two female protagonists, one in present day York experiencing time-slips into the doomed life of the other in Elizabethan York - but I love this formula! Plus York is one of my favourite cities and the historical detail is captivating - and this one features Tudor Lon ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2014 Deana rated it it was amazing

I have to admit I couldn't wait for the latest novel.... And it wasn't a disappointment. I read it in three days just couldn't put it down.

Living in York it was wonderful to identify with the streets Roz walked. I could visualise so perfectly throughout the book which made it an added magical history for me.

Of three novels so far I found this the most chilling.... Can't wait for the next one!!,

A must read!! And more than once.... ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 29, 2016 Vairavel rated it really liked it

This is the first time I'm reading a book by this author and I should say that I liked it. Story narration is very simple even for a complex plot and so it was an easy and interesting read. The author portrays the characters in the story quite well and that keeps you engrossed in the book. Go ahead and give it a try, you may like the book! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2015 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books, time-travel-or-timeslip

The words "page-turner" and "unputdownable" are over-used, but I can't think how else to describe this. A brilliant historical time-slip story. I love the way this author writes, she really pulls you in, and what a story it was. Full of tension, it hooked me from page one. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 01, 2018 Izzy rated it did not like it

Possibly the worst book I’ve read in a long time. Very disappointed and wouldn’t recommend to anyone

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2018 Sushan Konar rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

*Spoiler Alert*

I hate reviews requiring `spoiler alert'. For this one though, it's impossible to do without. At the heart of the story is an intertwining of two timelines, separated by several centuries. It is a rather familiar theme in Indian vernacular literature - `reincarnation' being the method used to intertwine the timelines (Sharadindu Bandyopadhya, writing in Bengali, was a master of such stories). Predictably, European stories use `haunting spirits' to achieve this same goal, as has be ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 04, 2019 Sandra rated it it was amazing

another random choice of mine but the subject and time-slip story appealed to me, i was gripped from the start, and found the story very absorbing. Maybe to some people the idea of a person today being almost "possessed" by another person who lived four hundred years ago, albeit with a connection to the present, is a little far fetched but i thoroughy enjioyed this theme ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 22, 2017 Mrs M-C rated it it was amazing

What a brilliant book! Couldn't put it down and didn't want the story to end! Really liked the characters both past and present. Brilliantly written and as stated on the back cover - "A rattling good read"! ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 30, 2017 Claire rated it really liked it

Beautiful imagery and well developed characters gave me all the feels, and I enjoyed reading this book. It even had me staying up late just to find out what happened next, which is my telltale sign of a great book!

flag Like · see review

Dec 31, 2017 Jane Watson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent book - another time slip book - Pamela Hartshorne writes these books so well and they keep you intrigued all the time. I just wanted to sit all day and read it but also I didn't want it to finish! Eagerly await another one from her. ...more

flag Like · see review

Jul 10, 2017 LD Bee rated it really liked it

Mellow dramatic but well written

flag Like · see review

Mar 02, 2018 Erin rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-listens

I enjoyed this one...I did it audio style. I've always had a soft spot for reincarnation stories. ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 23, 2019 Éowyn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: misc

Barbara Erskine-esque, timeslip novel. A good read on the beach, but not a great book.

flag Like · see review

May 08, 2019 Julia Ibbotson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Eerie, chilling and beautifully written, as all Pamela Hartsorne novels. I love timeslip and the interchange here between the ages was a real page-turner.

flag Like · see review

May 14, 2020 Candace Lane rated it it was amazing

Excellent. Good plot, interesting characters. Well written.

flag Like · see review

Jul 22, 2020 Sharon Turton rated it it was amazing

Excellent. All her books follow a similar theme but they draw you in

flag Like · see review

Aug 29, 2020 Charlotte rated it did not like it

Not my cup of tea!

flag Like · see review

Jan 04, 2021 Jane de Florez rated it it was amazing

This is a really good book if you like historical, slightly super-natural content. The story builds well towards the ending.

flag Like · see review

Jul 20, 2019 Magpie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Review: July 2019

A time slip novel that features the story of an Elizabethan character being lived through the reality of a 21 st century character.
Once you have suspended your disbelief it’s quite a ride, complete with truly evil villains, a very well paced plot that just thrums along and some mighty fine world building.
The author knows her stuff and the place setting was first class. This may well be my one and only though as apparently Hartshorne writes the same plot in every book
A well des ...more

flag Like · see review

Mar 12, 2016 Helen To rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, dual-narratives, deception-secrets-and-lies, time-travel, i-reviewed-it, threes-a-crowd, gift, e-book

Time travel books I have come across before; I have read plenty of dual narrative stories: but a time slip novel? Pamela Hartshorne's The Edge of Dark was the first I have read and it was a rollicking story involving secrets, scandal and long unresolved past conflicts, from four centuries earlier and more recent times, resurfacing again. The story draws you in and doesn't let you go; just like how the ghosts possess the modern day characters.

Roz Acclam is escaping the troubles of her marriage an Time travel books I have come across before; I have read plenty of dual narrative stories: but a time slip novel? Pamela Hartshorne's The Edge of Dark was the first I have read and it was a rollicking story involving secrets, scandal and long unresolved past conflicts, from four centuries earlier and more recent times, resurfacing again. The story draws you in and doesn't let you go; just like how the ghosts possess the modern day characters.

Roz Acclam is escaping the troubles of her marriage and returns to York, a city she has avoided since her family burned to death in a tragic house fire when she was a young child. Invited to Holmwood House as an advisor Roz has an unusually strong affinity with York, feeling that she has been there before. Four centuries earlier Jane Birkby, a butcher's daughter, was married to Sir Robert and also deeply unhappy in her marriage. A deathbed promise to her sister shapes the course of her life in ways she could not envision. It is Roz alone who can reveal what happened to Jane centuries earlier and tell the rest of her story.

Roz's situation is described more at the opening of the novel as she has coped with recent changes in her life and a crisis in identity, which leaves her vulnerable. Jane's story is introduced gradually into Roz's perspectives, a little enough at first that it can be dismissed as a dream, until it seems that Jane takes control of her host. Where dual narrative novels usually keep separate the stories of the two characters leading parallel lives, devoting an alternating chapter to their viewpoint, Hartshorne's change of perspectives without warning kept me engrossed in story rather than confused me. Psychologically this disturbs Roz who never knows when Jane is going to possess her but does keep you on your seat as a reader as you experience some of the disorientation Roz undergoes.

What was also surprising to me was just how emotionally written some of the other characters are. Helen who is the PA to Sir Adrian, the modern day owner of Holmwood Hall, is a fantastically barmy woman that cannot restrain how much she loathes Roz; the mysterious Jeff is also preoccupied with the house. Although there is a reason for their behaviours it all adds to the volatile mix in this novel where tensions simmer under the surface and identity is repeatedly called into question.

Most of the action for The Edge of Dark happens in the past. However, due to Hartshone's ability to weave two stories into one continuous narrative this maintains the pace of the narrative especially as we get further into Jane's past. Unlike with dual narrative novels where parallels between the older and modern day characters help the modern ones change course of their own life (see Lucinda Riley's The Light Behind the Window or Jojo Moyes's The Last Letter from Your Lover), so in some sense the connections are artificial, in The Edge of Dark the past is replicated through various ways making it seem like their own life is now a shared existence. It just helped to add in that edge of extra menace and danger into the narrative that made this book such a page turner. ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Around the Year i...: The Edge of Dark, by Pamela Hartshorne	2	23	Feb 07, 2016 11:53AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Historical > Historical Fiction

22 users

Science Fiction > Time Travel

9 users

Fiction

8 users

Mystery

7 users

Historical

6 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

4 users

Fantasy

3 users

Adult Fiction

2 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

2 users

Mystery > Historical Mystery

2 users

See top shelves…

About Pamela Hartshorne

Pamela Hartshorne

164 followers

After a haphazard early career spent working and travelling around the world, I started writing romance in order to fund a PhD in Medieval Studies. Naturally, that didn't turn out to be quite the easy option I thought it would be, but I did in the end complete a thesis on the street and the perception of public space in later medieval and early modern York in 2004. My research formed the basis of ...more