Review: The Wicked Cometh

The Wicked Cometh
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Either
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The year is 1831

Down the murky alleyways of London, acts of unspeakable wickedness are taking place and no one is willing to speak out on behalf of the city's vulnerable poor as they disappear from the streets.

Out of these shadows comes Hester White, a bright young woman who is desperate to escape the slums by any means possible.

When Hester is thrust into the world of the aristocratic Brock family, she leaps at the chance to improve her station in life under the tutelage of the fiercely intelligent and mysterious Rebekah Brock. But whispers from her past slowly begin to poison her new life and both she and Rebekah are lured into the most sinister of investigations.

Hester and Rebekah find themselves crossing every boundary they've ever known in pursuit of truth, redemption and passion. But their trust in each other will be tested as a web of deceit begins to unspool, dragging them into the blackest heart of a city where something more depraved than either of them could ever imagine is lurking . . .

I eagerly dove in to this, I mean...two awesome ladies out to solve a sinister mystery? Sign me the hell up! 

The Wicked Cometh is richly written, vivid and very authentic. It's dripping with historical fact and interesting little tidbits, so it's clearly been well researched. For the most part, it's a good read. I loved the way the author didn't shy away from vividly writing the seedier, darker side of London, the poor and the poorer elements where really brought to life in this book whereas most historical novels focus on the rich and middle class. The writing is incredibly authentic and really goes with the time, which helps to pull you in. While I did feel like the romance was a bit unnecessary to the plot, another side track, it was nice to see some LGBTQ rep. 

My issue with this book is that it's quite slow in the beginning, and while things are alluded to vaguely here and there, there's no sign of the mystery element until a good chunk of the way through the book. It didn't really hold my attention much in the beginning and I found my mind wandering. The mystery doesn't really get going until half way-ish through the book, I think it was. From that point on the pace really picks up and the threads of the mystery twine together so brilliantly. I ended up incredibly hooked and it went in a completely different direction than I thought it would! It was like reading a legitimate novel from the time thanks to various aspects. 

All in all, while it failed to immediately hook me in and grab my interest, I loved the writing and how authentic it was. The characters where interesting too! And while it wasn't entirely what I was expecting, once the story got going and the mystery started I was engrossed in trying to work out how everything fit together and who was responsible!