A historical crime fiction set in New England as narrated by the main character, Lucy Blunt. I was enthralled through parts of this read while feeling bogged down and somewhat confused in others. The interactions between the many women in the house seemed to be on point with current trends in fiction and movies. The relationship between Eugenie and Mr. Burton was confusing to me. I kept wondering if he was aware of all of the reasons behind all the turmoil in the house. I sensed maybe he knew more than I thought when he rode back to say goodbye again to Eugenie. Loved the way the two timelines were woven together. Many thanks to Kim Taylor Blakemore, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read and enjoy this arc.

Lucy has been charged for a double murder, but is she really as guilty as she appears to be? This was a historical fiction novel that kept me guessing about the protagonist’s motives. This novel is very well written that details how women were treated in Victorian society. I also lIke the reader immediately questions the narrator’s reliability. The only thing I did not like about this book was that there was some disturbing scenes. Still, I recommend this for fans of Fingersmith, Blue Asylum, and Wide Sargasso Sea! Full review to come!

I really enjoyed the set up of this book. I liked how the author flipped between the present and the past to keep the truth of the murders until the end. I really enjoyed the story, but I felt like the ending fell a bit flat. I would have also likes to have seen Rebecca's character built up a bit more. Overall, an intense read that kept me hooked!

I really enjoyed reading this! I found it very reminiscent of Atwood’s Alias Grace (with hints of Sarah Waters’s characters) whilst also maintaining an interesting and original storyline. I think the dual timeline adds a lot to the pace of the plot and made it a compelling read.

This book had me captured from the first chapter. What an amazing ride. Ms. Blakenmore’s writing is like a movie playing in my mind. We follow Lucy through heartbreak, love, betrayal. This is a mystery of how Lucy came to be where she finds herself and pull for her through out. An excellent book that draws you in from the first pages

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore. Lake Union Publishing, 2019.

In this mid-19th century New Hampshire story, Rebecca is already companion to the blind mistress when after being cast out of her home, Lucy joins the household as maid, replacing Mary who has just drowned.
As the story moves back and forth through Lucy’s life, we learn why she was thrown out of her family home and realize that at some point soon she will be imprisoned for murder.

While very well written, this story was too grim and hopeless for me. While I can’t fault the plot or the story’s descriptive elements, I did not enjoy it.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Companion0 for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Elegant prose and assured pacing made this historical suspense novel a pleasure to read. The storyline and the atmosphere reminded me of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, a book I adored, but Blakemore's take on the doomed narrator is her own. Lovely and haunting!

Creepy, atmospheric and delicious New England Gothic set in Southern New Hampshire, an old stomping ground of mine. An added bonus is the LGBTQ main characters vying for the love and attention of Mrs. Burton, the blind wife of a local man of means. It is reminiscent of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, with a true crime feel, so you know it’s going to be dark. I love how the plot unfolded, revealing and enlarging on Lucy’s secrets as we get closer to the cold-hearted truth. Lucy is sympathetic and believable, utterly without friends or family (well, almost) and the noose is tightening from page one.

The detail of a rural domestic servant’s life in 1855 is fascinating, the tedium, the battle against the seasons, giving this historical fiction a very authentic feeling. I loved this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by this opportunity.
A well written, atmospheric novel that reminds the reader of Atwood’s Alias Grace and Sarah Waters Affinity.

Lucy Blunt tells lies. Now she is being charged with two murders. She is claiming innocence, could she be telling the truth?
Yes, Lucy has used many aliases. She has changed her papers to get work. This is because she is trying to get away from an alcoholic father. She is a good friend and a hard worker. An excellent companion.
She will be entwined in a murder or accident and another killing she is not involved with. That's if you choose to believe her.

This really reminded me of The Confessions of Frankie Langton by Sarah Collins.

I liked the main character. Her narration is cleverly done and it’s hard for the reader to trust her which is always important when there’s a couple of murders at hand. Keeps the pages turning and makes you read between the lines.

The variety of characters is also interesting, quite a cast when the setting is a house in the middle of nowhere but they all seem to fit. I can totally picture this novel being produced as a film or limited series.

Thank you for the advanced copy! I really enjoyed reading it.

It's 1855 and Lucy Blunt, a housemaid, is about to be hanged for a murder she has committed. the book opens a few days before Lucy's hanging and tells the story of that fateful day as recollected through Lucy's eyes.
This is a very interesting plot with many twists and turns that make it hard to put the book down.
After reading this novel, I would read more of Kim Taylor Blakemore's writing, very good story!
Thanks You NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Historical crime fiction, set in mid nineteenth century New Hampshire and told in unreliable first-person narrative by a double murderer is a tantalising proposition. Nevertheless, whilst there is nothing inherently flawed with ‘The Companion’, to my mind there’s not much point telling a story similar to one which has been told so much better by the likes of Margaret Atwood and Sarah Waters. Comparisons to ‘Alias Grace’ and ‘Fingersmith’ are unavoidable for feminist historical crime fiction aficionados, to Kim Taylor Blakemore’s detriment.
Having said that, this story is worth reading if one is not familiar with the precedents mentioned above. The author’s use of historical detail is effective and naturally woven into the storyline whilst the characters’ dialogue sounds authentic. Lucy Blunt, the accused, is by turns devious, tragic, pragmatic and loving. Whilst we most certainly cannot believe in everything she narrates, we should remember that her path to the gallows begins because she lives in a patriarchy in which women are there to be useful and used. Incarcerated in prison from the outset, Lucy’s case is hardly going to be treated with sympathy, given the world in which she lives. So, the final chapters bring few surprises and the ‘reveals’ are predictable.
My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by this opportunity.

This book was just alright for me. I couldn't click with the characters nor the story. The premises are there but once I've gotten in the book I felt like I was reading something totally different, unfortunately.
Probably the book was not just for me. The writing was nice though!

The Companion is a fantastic historical thriller that I could not put down. A must read for the year. Twists and turns. Well written and great characters.

Interesting storyline with twists and turns the reader won't be expecting. I couldn't put this book down.

Literary fiction at its best.Lucy Blunt is about to be hung on the gallows.Lucy Blunt a housemaid accused of murder as we follow the days leading up too her hanging we are led through twists and turns looking for the true.I found this a book that drew me in kept me involved reminds me of Sarah Waters books highly recommend, #netgalley #lake union publishing.

It’s 1855, and Lucy Blunt is waiting to find out if she is to be hanged. A strong premise for a novel. Felt like Lizzie Borden style read. Set in a rural mill house in America, with jealousy and madness as bedfellows, this is going to have historical fiction fans all of a flutter.

It’s all very atmospheric and immersive. Jealously and madness are two very interesting and opposing characters here and it makes for some very compelling page turning. Twisty and then some.

If a maid who finds employment at a Mill house then becomes a companion to the owners blind wife, then there’s a lot of scope for intrigue. Particularly when the wife already has a companion but one who treats her more like a prisoner. But is all as it seems?

Is anything as it seems, is anyone as it seems. This book made me think one thing and then another and it was as compelling as it was fascinating. It’s all very visual and there’s a texture to each of the scenes which would translate well to film.
Dark and delightful at the same time

Oh finally. Finally, Lake Union, finally. I was just about to give up on you, but then you went and published an actually good book. Which is to say their normal women’s fiction fare is really not for me. But this one, that’s more like it. Technically still women’s lit, but really more along the lines of historical fiction. Oddly enough, I very recently read a strikingly similar and (probably) technically superior book, The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Are murdering lesbians all the rage nowadays? I mean, no one can ever come close to the way Sarah Waters tells it, but since Waters takes so long between the books, all efforts are welcome. And this was a very credible effort. Albeit from a somewhat unreliable narrator, Lucy Blunt. A young woman with a secretive past, she comes to Burton estate as a maid, but soon finds herself getting too closely involved with one of her employers and gets lofty aspirations of becoming a lady’s companion. But the position is already taken, the object of her affection and attention is a moody addict and soon the entire thing becomes a competition threatening to get ugly. Eventually, obviously it does get ugly, the story is narrated by Lucy as she’s about to be hanged for a double murder, but you won’t find out what really took place until the very end. And the story is compelling enough that you’ll probably race through it like I did just to find out the outcome. It’s good, it’s really good. This type of fiction would inevitably draw comparisons to not just Sarah Waters, but the more recent (and robbed by the Academy) The Favourite, It’s just almost deja vu similar to Frannie Langton. What are the odds of two tragic lesbian upstairs/downstairs stories set in the 1800s with servants accused of murder being published this close together? Is this a new trend, In which case…awesome. Otherwise, just weird. And yes, this one is set in America, specifically the snowy Antebellum New England, but that’s just the setting, not enough of a differentiate. This book still is very much the tragic lovechild of Frannie Langton and The Favourite and as such is difficult to judge on the merits of originality. But on the merits of quality, it’s very good. A thoroughly immersive enjoyable atmospheric read. Very well written, completely realized 3 dimentional characters, sustained suspense, the timelines are juggled with great skill, artistically even. I didn’t want to put it down, barely did, in fact, it was that good, Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

In 1855, Lucy Blunt is waiting to find out if she is to be hanged, but did she kill the two people she is accused of killing? Mix in a rural house, jealousy, forbidden love, perceived madness, secrets and you have an amazing recipe for a book.

Lucy becomes a maid in a successful Mill owners house and works her way up to becoming the companion to his blind wife, Mrs Burton. But Mrs Burton already has a companion in her husband's cousin who likes control and takes advantage of Mrs Burton's blindness, acting more like her jail keeper. Or are there good reasons she behaves this way?

I highly recommend this book to others especially readers of The Confessions of Fanny Langton by Sara Collins and The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced electronic copy of this book. All opinions are my own.