Laura Purcell

Silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another...Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back...What secrets lie hidden in the darkness?

Inspired by the work of Shirley Jackson and Susan Hill and set in a crumbling country mansion, The Silent Companions is an unsettling gothic ghost story to send a shiver down the spine...Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge.With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. But inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure - a Silent Companion - that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself...

Be careful what you wish for... it may just come true.At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

The perfect dark, gothic tale to curl up with this winter----------------------------------------'Spooky, atmospheric, brilliant' Bridget Collins'Glitteringly dark and mesmerising' Jennifer SaintBe careful what you wish for... it may just come true.At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

'Laura is a masterful writer, her deliciously gothic stories so skilfully woven that you can't get them out of your head even if you wanted to' Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars''The Corset is a contender for my Book of the Year. Beautifully written, intricately plotted, a masterpiece' Sarah HilaryIs prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she finds herself drawn to Ruth, a teenage seamstress - and self-confessed murderess - who nurses a dark and uncanny secret. A secret that is leading her straight to the gallows. As Ruth reveals her disturbing past to Dorothea, the fates of these two women entwine, and with every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast...Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try and identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from Laura Purcell.Silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another...Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back...

Be careful what you wish for... it may just come true.At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees. What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

Cuidado con la musaáy con lo que te ofrece.En el teatro Mercury del West End londinense circulan rumores sobreáuna maldición.Se dice que Lilith, la actriz principal, ha hecho un pacto conáMelpómene, la tragica musa de la mitologia griega, para convertirseaen la mejor actriz que jamas haya pisado un escenario. Celosa deaella, la esposa del dueño del teatro envia a Jenny, la ayudante deacamerino, a espiarla; ella, desesperada por conseguir mas dineroapara ayudar a su familia, acepta el encargo.Lo que Jenny descubre es que Lilith es una mujer tan sorprendenteaen el teatro como provocativa en la vida real. Sobre el escenario,aes como si estuviera poseida por los personajes a los que interpreta,apero fuera de el, es tan tragica como la musa que la inspira. Jenny,aque la compadece, se hace amiga de la atormentada actriz. Peroacuando empiezan a sucederse acontecimientos extraños en tornoaal teatro, Jenny se pregunta si los rumores son ciertos, y teme queacuando la musa venga a reclamar su pago, ya sea demasiado tarde."Espeluznante, evocadora, magnifica".BRIDGET COLLINS, autora de El encuadernador

Ambientado en una mansión rural en ruinas, Compañías silenciosas es una inquietante historia gótica de fantasmas que provoca escalofríos. Elsie, recién casada y también recién enviudada, es enviada a vivir su embarazo en la deteriorada casa de campo de su difunto esposo. Rodeada de sus nuevos y resentidos sirvientes y de aldeanos hostiles, Elsie solo cuenta con la incomoda compañia del primo de su marido. En su nuevo hogar se encuentra una habitacion cerrada con llave, y detras de esa puerta se encuentra un diario de doscientos años y una figura de madera pintada profundamente inquietante y con un parecido sorprendente a ella misma...

The ultimate ghost story to curl up with.'[An] extraordinary, memorable and truly haunting book' Jojo Moyes'Terrific. Perfect setting, great build-up, chilling. What more could you want?' Susan Hill, author of The Woman in BlackSome doors are locked for a reason...Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge.With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure - a Silent Companion - that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself...Laura Purcell's spine-chilling new novel, The Shape of Darkness, is out now!