Laura Purcell is the author of The Silent Companions and The Poison Thread. She worked in local government, the financial industry and a bookshop before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Colchester, the oldest recorded town in England, with her husband and pet guinea pigs. Fascinated by the darker side of royal history, Laura has also written two historical fiction novels about the Hanoverian dynasty.
"Purcell paints a colorful portrait of her tale’s distant time and
place and immerses the reader in an era when superstition was a
tenacious thread in the social fabric that bound its people. Her
tale of secret guilt and atoning for it through ancient customs
will please fans of classic gothic melodrama." —Publisher's
Weekly
"Purcell excels at creating a spooky Gothic ambience... A dark
and unsettling novel for lovers of Rebecca and Jane
Eyre." —Kirkus
"Purcell has a sure storytelling touch, a command of atmosphere and
a keen eye for the telling details of social history. Oh, and she
stores up some satisfying and suitably macabre final revelations."
—The Guardian
"A Victorian tale replete with laudanum, tuberculosis and possibly
fairies... a clever, creepy read." —Sunday Express, Best New
Thrillers
"Brilliantly atmospheric and chilling... I raced through
the pages hardly daring to find out what would happen next. Laura’s
characters and the world they inhabit are compelling,
unsettling and richly drawn. A fabulous tale!" —Ruth Hogan, author
of The Keeper of Lost Things
Praise for The Poison Thread
"Uncanny... Satisfying." —New York Times Book Review
"[A] well-wrought chiller.” —Wall Street Journal
"Suspenseful... This smart and sophisticated historical thriller
will appeal to fans of Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith and
Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace." —Publishers
Weekly
“A dark, gothic story… Purcell alternates character narratives to
question motives, reality, and truth on a ‘bumpy’ ride full of
violence and death.” —Booklist
"A fascinating mystery that’s rich in disquieting detail and
atmosphere.” —BookPage
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