A Shadow On The Lens by Sam Hurcom is a deliciously dark and creepy gothic style novel that gets under your skin from the very first page. There is an underlying sense of menace running throughout the book that sends shivers up and down your spine. It put me very much in mind of classic novels such as The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, as the author skilfully takes you on a terrifying journey of discovery that will both shock and horrify you.

It’s the story of Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, who is called to the sleepy and remote village of Dinas Powys to investigate the murder of sixteen year old Betsan Tilny, whose body has been found bound and horribly burnt. But it quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and the murder scene has been staged. As the strange case unfolds, Thomas is struck down by a mysterious illness and, in his fevered state, becomes increasingly aware of a presence watching him. With the villagers reluctant to help, all Thomas has to go on are his own gut instinct and the photographic plates of both the crime scene and Betsan’s mutilated body that he develops in the cellar of his lodgings at the local Inn. There, to his shock and horror, he sees a face hovering around the body of the dead girl – the face of the victim herself, Betsan Tilny.

The remote Welsh village of Dinas Powys is brought vividly to life, with the strange and secretive villagers all adding to the sense of fear and foreboding as Thomas tries to uncover the truth behind Betsan’s murder. From the moment he sets foot in the village and meets Councillor Robert Cummings, Thomas is filled with a sense of unease. As he becomes gripped by fever this feeling increases and he begins to see and hear things he knows cannot possibly be true. Is it his illness distorting the truth? Or is the ghost of Betsan Tilney really there watching him as he tries to solve her murder?

A Shadow On The Lens is a fabulously compelling, dark and atmospheric tale that’s full of mystery and suspense, with a spooky supernatural element that will get your heart racing and send icy cold shivers down your spine. The use of forensic photography, still in its infancy at the time this book was set, is a subject I find fascinating and I loved the parts of the book that dealt with this important advance in technology.

The creepiness of the dark cellar as Thomas developed the photographic plates is a part of the book that will stay with me. Heartstoppingly terrifying and the stuff nightmares are made of. Chilling!

Sam Hurcom has written an impressive historical fiction debut that once started I could not put down. The perfect book to read on a cold, dark winters night, especially as we edge ever closer to Halloween. A dark and scary read that I would highly recommend.

Set in 1904 this novel looks at the beginnings of forensic photography. Thomas Bexley has been sent to a small village in Wales to take photographs of a murder scene and to photograph the victim's remains. The victim is a young woman, Bestan Tilny, Thomas finds himself peeling away the layers of secrecy surrounding the death and dealing with superstitions held by many in the village.

This dark, atmospheric crime novel, features an investigator who is an unreliable narrator, a cast of characters who are wary about opening up to an outsider. A great historical crime novel.

I enjoy reading both historical fiction and crime thrillers so my interest was already piqued when I read the blurb of A Shadow on the Lens. Then when I read that the book is set in the small Welsh village of Dinas Powys, which is where my maternal great great great grandfather was born in 1827, I just had to read it. My ancestor had moved to the North East by 1904 (which is when this story is set), maybe leaving brothers and sisters in Dinas Powys, so I was very excited to read a book set in the village he left behind; although no Norris's featured in the story.

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of the book but the murder of Betsan Tilny is so very intriguing that it keeps the pages turning nicely. A forensic photographer is summoned to the village to investigate the crime and this was the first oddity to intrigue me - why a photographer and not a police inspector? It soon becomes clear that the locals want Thomas Bexley to simply take his photos and leave their village without discovering who or what has committed the crime. Everyone in the village appears to be hiding something so the sooner Thomas is gone the better.

We take it for granted these days that we take a photo and see it instantly but there's something so very mystical and magical about developing photographs and back in 1904 (only a few years after the Kodak Brownie was introduced) photos were developed on plates in a dark room. When Thomas develops his photographs he can't believe his eyes as the murder victim appears as a ghostly apparition. When Thomas is suddenly struck down with a fever and his negatives disappear, he wonders if he imagined it all but he remembers clues from the photographs that he couldn't possibly have known about beforehand. This puts him in more danger than he could ever have imagined.

I loved the spooky supernatural element to the story which really makes A Shadow on the Lens something different. Encompassing so many genres means that it will appeal to crime, historical and fantasy readers, which is not something that many books can claim to do. A Shadow on the Lens is a spooky, goosebumpy, gothic-style historical crime thriller and a fantastic debut from Sam Hurcom.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

When the narrator starts the story with a little note, be prepared for a very real story, there’s always a good reason for the note! 😉
Thomas Bexley is a photography forensic who has done so good his job that every time there’s a mystery the police calls him to investigate. But this will not be one of the jobs he is used to, since the beginning he senses that there’s something strange on the case. The body has been moved, the agents investigating the case don’t seem to have any real intentions to discover the truth, and then there’s something more…
With a murder to solve, Thomas will start having hallucinations and fever; all related to a mysterious monster of the woods. It would seems silly, but if you are surrounded by people that believe in it and you start sensing something strange too, what would you do?
The story is based on 1904, where folklore and legends were more credible than science; and this had made the story a really hunting book! Because the reader doesn’t know what to trust, the rational part that says that they are simply hallucination or the heart that says there’s a monster?
I was totally scared with this book, is scary hunting and so well written that I wanted to hide behind the duvets from time to time! Because A Shadow On The Lens is not a light read, is the book that will haunt your dreams. Ready?

I loved this. The spooky, gothic, atmospheric feel of the writing made it seem as though I was in the village as an onlooker watching the events unfold. It was very reminiscent of the UK television show, Midsomer Murders…small villages disrupted by a heinous crime but no one wants to help because they like to keep themselves to themselves and fix their own problems.

There are twists and turns, literally at every corner and the characters are brilliantly written. For a debut novel this is superb. I’m looking forward to Sam Hurcom’s future writing.

Rating: 3.5/5

Betsan Tilney has been murdered and her body burnt. Due to the local villagers superstitions, her body is being kept in an abandoned church. They feel the Death is the result of the demon, Calon Fawr.

Thomas Bexley, a forensic photographer is sent to document the evidence, but he is unwell with a fever and starts to see things …including a shape over the body in one of his photographs …or is it just a flaw?

He visits Bethan’s mother and while unwell he is certain she told him, “Do not look for her with your eyes”….

Will Thomas find the killer, or is there something even darker walking in the village?

This is a creepy, gothic supernatural mystery in the vein of Poe and Lovecraft, there are even rats scratching in the ceiling….if like a historical, supernatural mystery then you’ll love this.

Thank you to The Author, the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for free. . This is my honest, unbiased review.

A Shadow On The Lens is a creepy, atmospheric and supernatural thriller that I really enjoyed. It’s the type of book that would be great to curl up with on a cold winters night, though might make you jump at every noise you hear!

The author does a great job describing the village in this book so it was easy to imagine what it was like living there. The small village mentality with its fear of strangers and anything new helped add to the unease I felt whilst reading. Every character there seems to have a motive for the murder and this, along with the creepy village description, adds to the tension in the book. It also ensured that I had no idea who the murder was so I enjoyed trying to work it out alongside Thomas.

This book starts off fairly slow but soon picks up pace so do stay with it. I enjoyed learning more about forensic photography and the equipment involved as well as finding out more about what life would have been like in 1904. It is a supernatural read so is quite scary in places, though I felt the historical elements of the book balanced it up nicely.

This unbelievably is the author’s debut novel and I’m excited to read more from him in the future.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

A very good book, creepy and gripping that kept me on the edge till the end.
I liked the atmosphere, the growing tension and the horror side that is never too explicit.
The cast of characters is interesting and well written, the setting is both lovely and unsettling.
The plot is full of twists and turns and the solution came as a surprise.
An excellent reading experience, highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This first came on my radar at an Orion event in Cardiff last year. I met Sam (who was lovely by the way) and was super intrigued by his upcoming debut novel. Historical Mystery + Welsh Setting + A hint of the paranormal. Sounds like a definite hit for me. I was so pleased to have been approved for a review copy.

I’m thrilled to say this more than lived up to my expectations. The atmosphere was incredible. There was an incredibly creepy air to the novel throughout. It felt almost claustrophobic, seemingly like our main character Thomas was being constantly watched. We were very much following the story along with him, not always sure what exactly is going on.

The small town setting definitely helped build this. A place where everyone know each others secrets and nobody trusts an outsider.

And of course, possibly most importantly it was a great mystery. There were plenty of red herrings along the way, but also hints which you don’t realise are important until the end.

Overall this was a fantastic atmospheric mystery novel. If it sounds like it’s up your street, I highly recommend picking this up!

Metropolitan Police Special Investigator Thomas Bexley, a forensic photographer whose self proclaimed ‘keen eye for detail when examining crime scenes, and a surprising talent for piecing together evidence, brought many a guilty man and woman before judge and jury’, travels to a small village in south Wales to assist with a murder enquiry. Bexley, fresh off a successful case in Oxford, is rather arrogant and seems to expect this to be a simple case. He is fairly dismissive of the village, ‘quite pleasant, if not a little inert’, and of the village people who dress ‘in none of the high fashions of central London’ - Bexley expects to tie this up quickly and return to the metropolis. Things do not go as Thomas expects.
Sam Hurcom’s debut is a superb procedural with an interesting, if a little unsympathetic, central character, a confident investigator whose faith in himself and his abilities is shaken as he is drawn deeper into the fate of Betsan Tilney and the feeling that things are spiralling beyond his control. There are some really interesting supporting characters and several stunning twists.
Hurcom captures the mannerisms and speech patterns of the times, the deference of many of the villagers to authority. The mannered, first-person prose has the feel of a late 19th or early 20th century gothic novel while retaining a modern readability. The novel is a little Sherlock Holmes, a little The Wicker Man and there are a few scenes which are really scary and skin-crawlingly creepy, scenes Stephen King would be proud of.

A SHADOW ON THE LENS is a thrilling read and, as a debut, it makes me intensely anticipate where Sam Hurcom, and Thomas Bexley, go next.

Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the invitation to take part in the BlogTour and to Orion Fiction and NetGalleyfor the review copy.

The year is 1904 and Thomas Bexley works for Scotland Yard as a specialist investigator in forensics. He is dispatched to the small village of Dinas Powys in South Wales, where a young girl, Betsan Tilney, has apparently been murdered in a most bizarre way.

He arrives and is almost immediately struck down by a mysterious ailment that brings him down with fevers, headaches and hallucinations. As the story progresses, Bexley becomes an increasingly unreliable narrator as we follow his investigation, which is constantly hampered by what he considers to be ‘backward’ locals. He is assisted by the obstructive head of the local council and the young, bumbling local policeman, who isn’t much help either! They’re enmeshed in parochial superstition and determined to convince Bexley that his illness will hamper his investigation. But he is anxious to pursue the case and discover why Betsan was killed, and by whom.

It’s hard to believe this is Hurcom’s first novel! It ticks all the boxes to attract the toughest and most hardened readers of supernatural fiction. It’s creepy, disturbing, eerie, dark, spine-chilling and macabre in every way that a gothic thriller should be. It will make you uneasy, your skin will crawl and you will not want to switch the lights off! But you also won’t want to put it down!

Hurcom’s descriptions of village life and mentality are spot-on (yes, he currently lives in Dinas Powys – but we’re talking about life back in the early 1900’s). That collective animosity towards outsiders, together with a fear of any suggestion or hint of the unknown is highly evident. The reader can literally feel Bexley’s isolation at the way he’s treated by the locals, and this adds to the overall sense of unease throughout the book.

This is an excellent 4-star debut. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

A Shadow on the Lens is the perfect book for my gothic fiction loving heart. Full of mystery, debate about the supernatural and the secrets only a small village can have.

I enjoyed Thomas as a character and loved the description that went in on the use of early forensic equipment. My main love however had to be the small village politics, with secrets being hidden in every house and everyone having a motive for the horrible crime.

There is an element of superstition and doubt in Shadow on the Lens which I loved leaving the reader to wonder if the supernatural is real or not.

I would completely recommend Shadow on the Lens for anyone who wants to feel uneasy at night!

*ARC received from Orion via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for my invitation to the tour and to Orion for my copy of the book in return for a a fair and honest review.

It is not very often that I can say I am surprised by a book but this one totally did.

I was expecting a historical crime story which it is, but with so much more, almost as soon as Thomas arrives in the small village strange things start to happen. Thomas becomes ill and he begins to see some really disturbing things. He puts this down to his fever but it is or is there more to it ?

This book is seriously creepy in places and I had to put it down once or twice, if you like creepy thrillers you will love this.

It is also very descriptive in places about his findings as a forensic science so possibly not for the fainthearted !

I was really gripped by the book and I wanted to keep reading to find out what really happened to Betsan and the author keeps the reader guessing which added to the suspense.



A creepy atmospheric gothic thriller with a some gruesome details that kept me engrossed throughout, it is a really great debut novel.

The Shadow on the Lens is an atmospheric, gothic, historical crime novel set in Wales. Narrated by the main character Thomas Bexley, a forensic photographer sent to the remote village Dinas Powys to investigate the death of a young woman, Betsan Tilny, who appears to have been brutally murdered. A soon as he arrives he realises that all is not as it first seems, there are secrets kept within the village and old susperstitions hinder his investigation. This is a wonderfully dark tale, with memorable characters and an unreliable narrator, culminating in a shocking conclusion.
Thomas Bexley is a unique, unreliable and incredibly interesting narrator of this dark and chilling murder investigation.  In 1904 Forensic Photography is still a fairly new scientific breakthrough, but one that was life changing for the police.  Thomas is more than just a photographer though, he is treated by the London Police as an honorary Inspector after his years of experience, which is why he finds himself in Wales on his own.  Once there he becomes ill with a fever, but he won't let it stop his investigation and carries on regardless.  This fever makes him have hallucinations, claiming to see the murdered girl in one of his photographic plates, and a paranoia that someone is watching him.  This adds to the drama and suspense of the book, and leaves the reader and Thomas questioning  what is real and what is not.
The setting of this book, in a small and quiet village, gives a feeling of claustrophobia. The villagers are distrustful of someone new in their midst and not willing to give anything away. They are very superstitious and believe an evil spirit, Calon Fawyr, is responsible for the murder of Betsan Tilny.  The stormy weather, secrets, and unreliable narration add to the gothic and uneasy feel of this novel. The darkness only intensifies as the plot progresses and the investigation moves forward, building the tension and suspension that had me on the edge of my seat with my pulse raised.
The Shadow on the Lens is a superb historical crime thriller, with a dark gothic feel and a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.  Thomas Bexley is a brilliant narrator, his descent into a madness that comes from the fever adds suspense, apprehension, and uncertainty to the his investigation.  This book is full of memorable characters and suspects, a creepy and atmospheric setting and a tense and thrilling plot; a spine tingling read.

“He never left, he still remains. The demon of this village.”

Murder mystery meets supernatural thriller and gothic fiction in this chilling tale. Thomas Bexley is writing his story a decade after the events take place, using his diary entries for reference and we see extracts at various points in the book. He begins with a note addressing the reader directly and I loved the promises of the chilling, dark and sinister things to come. This is the first time he’s really spoken about what happened during that strange case and he admits to feeling concerned about how he will be viewed once he reveals the truth of all that transpired.

Forensic photography is still in its infancy and Bexley, known in the field for his eye for detail and his gift for putting the evidence together, is a specialised investigator who is sent to assist with serious crime cases across the country. When Betsan Tilny is brutally murdered in the isolated Welsh village of Dinas Powys, Bexley is called to help solve the crime. But on his arrival he’s dismayed to find that those in charge seem to resent his presence. They’ve made up their mind who committed the crime and see Thomas as an unnecessary complication stirring up trouble and not understanding how they do things.

Soon after his arrival Bexley has a sense of being watched, which only increases over time. He also comes down with a fever that inhibits his ability to work and forces him to take to his bed. And is it this fever that is making him imagine seeing the ghost of Betsan Tilny? He’s a man of science and doesn’t believe in such nonsense and decides that it is a manifestation of his fever. But he can’t shake the fear that what he’s seeing is all too real and the victim trying to tell him something. Impeding his investigation is the unwillingness of the villagers to assist in the investigation. They’re hiding something, maybe even harbouring a killer, and Bexley is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Bexley is a serious, focused man who has no time to make friends or laze about. He’s there to do an important job in a thorough manner and will not let anything get in his way, not even being so sick he can barely stand. He was a great protagonist and I liked that unlike most others he saw no correlation between Betsan’s rumoured promiscuity and her death, reminding people repeatedly that nothing gives anyone the right to rape or kill another and nothing someone does mean they deserve such things happening to them. I was glad she had Thomas in her corner, fighting to find the truth and bring her killer to justice when others were glad of an easy way out and eager to brush the whole thing under the carpet.

Councilman Robert Cummings is a loathsome character. He is the polar opposite of Thomas and seems completely uninterested in solving the crime. He makes no secret of the fact that he doesn’t want Thomas there, his repulsion of the victim, or that he’s made up his mind about who killed Betsan no matter what the evidence shows. He goes out of his way to prevent a real investigation and Thomas wonders if Cummings is the reason everyone is reluctant to talk to him. Like Thomas I was suspicious of what he really knew and what he didn’t want him to unearth.

As truths were slowly revealed and the secrets of the village begin to be brought to light, the book became increasingly hard to put down. I was gripped and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. A brilliant debut that is a superb mix of some of my favourite genres and one I would recommend. The atmospheric prose made me feel fully immersed in the story and there was an eeriness throughout. This is one of those books you need to read with the lights on.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for my ARC copies of this book.

June 17th, 1904, Dinas Powys (southwest of Cardiff, Wales, for those of you not familiar with the area). The Labour party has been formed. The Second Boer War has come to end. Women’s suffrage is dominating the headlines. World War I is far into the future, its horrors as yet unknown.

And the body of Betsan Tilny has been found bound in chains, her eyes gouged out and body burned. It is up to Thomas Bexley to investigate, but the villagers of Dinas Powys are not exactly forthcoming with information.

On a personal level, I absolutely loved reading A Shadow on the Lens as it is set in areas I know and love. Although it might not be exciting to many, there is something about having a book set on your own doorstep that makes it all the more enchanting.

This book is many things. Gothic, horror, crime, mystery, but most of all, downright scary. And I don’t mean in a gory sort of way. I mean in a creeping, shivering, looking-over-your-shoulder kind of way. Hurcom builds the atmosphere slowly but steadily, spooking you to your core when you least expect it.

I don’t consider myself easily spooked but there was one point when reading this book that I was so engrossed that I got a huge fright when a door was caught by the wind and slammed shut. It was great, I loved it!

The plot and story gently twists and turns, garnering enough pace to keep you interested but without feeling frantic. I made many guesses at the identity of the murderer but each time Hurcom led me away down a different path only to find myself at a dead-end yet again. The character development is excellent, particularly that of our protagonist Bexley, whose stubborn determination is as endearing as it is noble.

Forbidding, masterful, and ghostly: A Shadow on the Lens is a fantastic debut novel for everyone and anyone.

You’ll love A Shadow on the Lens if you enjoyed:

M. R. James – Oh, Whistle And I’ll Come to You, My Lad
Charles Dickens – The Signalman

Thanks to Orion and NetGalley, as well as Compulsive Readers, for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a book!! Chilling and creepy. A crime occurred in 1904 and a young girl Betsan Tilny was found murdered in the woods. Thomas Bexley, a forensic photographer, who consulted with the police was called to take photographs. While developing them he found a shadow hovering over the girl. Was that the shadow on the Lens or the beginning of something creepy and evil entering this village?

My first book by Sam Hurcom, I expected a murder mystery, but what I got was a story which caused a shiver to start from the core of my being. I love horror and when this book showed signs of creeping into that genre, I could barely contain my excitement.

The author's writing blew my imagination away at the scenes that were set to scare me. Evil was never so gory as described in this prose. I loved how the tale of evil creature of Carlin Farw quickly overtook the minds of the people and the main character. Thomas Bexley was metamorphosed well from a man who didn't believe in supernatural to someone who, under the feverish hallucinations, changed his outlook, brought his strength to the forefront, and used all his courage to expose the murderer. Clues and twists made it more exciting.

Many scenes creeped me out as the author set forth an atmopshere so dank and dreary with superstitions flying. The book was the perfect example of sinister, dark gothic folk tale which had my heart dancing out in its strange rhythm. I didn't warm up to main character, but I sure warmed up to the atmosphere of this book where reality and beliefs clashed to produce this storm of a book.

its 1904, and Thomas Bexley, a Forensic Photographer, one of the first in his field is sent to investigate the grisly murder of a young girl, found bound and burned, in a small, very much off the beaten track, rural village called Dinas Powys

On arrival, Thomas soon realised things are not all as they seem, from what appears to be a staged murder scene, to the evasive local councillor and far from useful, local police constable.

As his investigation gathers pace. Thomas is struck down by a raging fever which renders him unable to tell what is real and what is not. Who can he trust, who is telling the truth and who , if any one will talk to him?

Sam Hurcom writes a compelling, chilling story, an excellent tale of a small insluare village, frightened of myths and superstition.

what starts as a historical thriller , soon becomes something much more, darker, more macabre and gothic, and has a very satisfactory end.

with twists and turns a plenty, the author takes you deeply into the story of murder and deception. its a classically written story, and is written extremelu well, and i really did enjoy this and will be looking out for more from Sam Hircom

A Shadow on the Lens is a murder mystery book that's set in a Welsh town. It's full of creepy people and there's lots going on. There's also a paranormal aspect to the story.
It's a perfect Halloween read. I was going in between is it a ghost or not? Very entertaining read. Highly recommend.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is Sam Hurcom’s debut novel and it is Victorian gothic crime at its chilling best.
Set in South Wales, Thomas Bexley, is a forensic photographer and he has been sent by the police in London to investigate the mysterious and violent death of a young woman. From the outset he is treated with suspicion by the villagers and they seem to be willing to go to any lengths to hinder his investigation. All this adds to the tense atmosphere around the village, but why are they so reluctant to help him? Clinging to their old superstitions, Bexley starts to struggle to differentiate between reality and the supernatural.
There are a number of red herrings thrown in to the mix in an attempt to throw the reader off the scent and it did keep me guessing right until the end. There are plenty of sinister twists and turns throughout the story to keep it interesting.
As first novels go, this is an excellent debut and I look forward to more from Hurcom in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.