The story itself was a bit hard to get into and because it was audio book, it felt like it was even harder for me to realize what was happening. I did enjoy it at first, but toward the middle I honestly got bored and lost. Maybe one day I will try to read this one, but the narration was too hard to follow for me.

**Please see content/trigger warnings at end of review**

Set in London in 1893, this Victorian murder mystery has quite a cast of characters: Octavia, the intrepid reporter looking to prove herself in a profession not friendly to women; Gideon, the college drop out who somehow pretends to be a police Sargent; Inspector Bell whose dry humor and whits propel him through the investigation; as well as a decent group of side-characters.

The mystery starts with a servant throwing herself out of a window of her wealthy employer's house for unknown reasons and the coroner discovering she's had a phrase-apparently self-stitched-onto the skin of her stomach.  As the mystery unfolds, there seems to be a connection to missing servant women.  Gideon's sweetheart, Angela, is one of the missing girls and her story unfolds, along with a possible supernatural connection, as to what's really being done with the missing women and how they are being used.  

I quite enjoyed this mystery and some elements did take me by surprise (including how the supernatural takes a part in the mystery).  The Inspector's dry sense of humor was entertaining and he was a very smart and capable investigator,  but the field notes that Gideon wrote were often laugh out loud funny.  Octavia's determination to find the truth drives her through solving the mystery and you root for her to figure it out in tandem with the Inspector.

I read this book on audio and also really enjoyed the narrator.

Content/trigger warnings: suicide, autopsy, murder, body horror and gun violence.

An atmospheric, gothic, mystery set in London 1893.  The author does a good job of setting the scene of shadowy   London streets, big Victorian houses and mysterious figures. Who can you trust? What secrets will be revealed? The dialogue is well done and often humorous  The mystery has a supernatural element to it, which I am not a fan of, but I did enjoy the 3 main characters. The ending hints that we will hear more from these characters in the future, and I would be interested in reading more about them. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook

Thank you @netgalley for an access to the audiobook! Listening to the audiobook I loved how spooky and eerie the book felt! This really added an extra element to this story. As I did love the characters I felt they fell a little flat towards the middle and never picked up through the rest of the book. The concept was intriguing and I loved following the clues throughout the book. I suggest reading or listening during the Halloween time as this book did have the spooky elements.

The House on Vesper Sands is a Victorian fantasy, mystery. The story starts with a seamstress killing herself at her employers home. But it isn't just any old suicide, this seamstress destroys the final three vials that her employer is hiding. The story then continues with the introduction of Gideon Bliss as he searches for his uncles lodgings but his clergy member uncle is nowhere to be found. Bliss then pretends to be a constable in order to get close to Inspector Cutter, who lives at the same boarding house. They are given this suicide as a case but they are not the only ones looking into it. Journalist Octavia Hillingdon is also on the case. What are these vials for and what happened to the contents of the other nine vials? 
This was an interesting story but it was just okay. It is a story of the haves and have nots and how those of privilege get away with things. I feel like the fantasy element fell short in this story and was kind of a let down in the end.

Just the right amount of creepy to make it interesting.  Great if you like classic Victorian mysteries with a twist.

The narration is great! I am giving it 5 stars. The story on the other hand was kind of hard to get into. Maybe it wasn't my type of book. I should not rate it low because I couldn't get into it. Maybe I just didn't relate to the characters so I am giving it 3 stars. Average 3.5 stars. This book will definitely find its readers

I have to admit this wasn't quite the book for me. I could not stay engaged with the story, most likely because I found myself unable to relate to the characters. I ended up getting distracted while I was listening and not feeling like the story was keeping me entertained.

This took me forever to get into. Luckily I had a copy of the audiobook so the narrator kept me listening. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve stopped not far in. He was absolutely amazing! Each voice was unique and I love the British accent. The start of the book, along with the narration made me think a lot along Sherlock Holmes stories. But it fell flat in that regards. This is my opinion however. And if you like that sort of story, as my hubby does, you may really like this. It’s a more serious murder mystery. I had trouble understanding about Angie. Not what she had become but why she would say those nursery rhymes in a child’s voice. Maybe because of the children that had things happen to them idk but it drive me crazy. But there wasn’t too much of that. I was glad I finished it though because there’s a touch of supernatural to the story and it was so amazing and real. Also, I really liked Gideon and felt bad for him. He was so fond of Angie.

A delightful with entertaining characters and an immersive plot. This Victorian mystery will please a wide variety of readers with its dark details, humor, and supernatural elements.

The narrator was great. He was 5 stars.

I struggled to get into the story however. I can't place my finger on exactly why I struggled but I just didn't get fully into the story

The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O’Donnell was an interesting read. It was my first book by this author. I enjoyed much of it though some was a little hard for me to follow. I listened to the audiobook though and didn’t have the ability to go back and reread sections that confused me. The narrator did a great job though. He had different voices for each character and I was able to tell who was speaking based on those voices, which is always a plus. The story itself followed a detective, a young man, a reporter, and a slew of people trying to save a lady who had been abducted. The characters eventually find themselves all in one location, trying to sort things out. The story had several laugh out loud moments. The ending was satisfying, though not what I expected. A good book and narration. I may look for more by both the author and narrator. Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook. #bookstagram #all_the_pages

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* took me little bit to get into the story but when i did get into it i didnt want to put it down!

Good atmospheric Victorian London mystery, with good interesting characters. The mystery plot is a little weak. Thank you for the advanced copy.

The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell is a fun audiobook that combines mystery and crime with some supernatural elements set in 1893 London. This one took some time for me to get into but enjoyable for long and short listening.

Low 3 stars. 

I was a bit disappointed by this one. I was expecting it to be more atmospheric, more eerie, more wintery... It started off that way and then it just kind of... faded away? I was loving the writing style but even that became tiresome after a while. I listened to the audiobook, which wasn't that long but it took me forever to finish it because it felt like a choir at times. I was considering giving up on it a few times, but I enjoyed the narrator and I wanted to know how the mystery resolved.

Thank you to RB Media and HighBridge Audio for an early audiobook.

The description of this mystery as gothic and set in Victorian England sounded intriguing and right up my alley, but sadly wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped for. For me, the setting was the star of this mystery. O’Donnell does an excellent job of painting the time period and atmosphere, so I felt that I was right there alongside the characters. He is skilled in his writing, and the characters created are interesting and the interactions between them are well-done. All this being said, I just didn’t become as engrossed in the story as I expected. It started out well, but then sort of lost me somewhere in the middle, only to pick up again toward the end. Overall, I enjoyed it well enough. It looks like this is the start of a series.  The reader did a nice job with telling the story.

I was halfway through this book The House on Vesper Sands when it suddenly disappeared off my phone.  I had been given an advance copy through Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I have been reviewing for Netgalley for five or six years and this was a first. Netgalley tried to investigate but got nowhere and we can only assume that this particular publisher takes books back once they are published.

Given that --- I was disappointed.  It had taken me quite some time to get committed to this book.  I found the beginning confusing and couldn't keep the characters straight. But once it became a murder mystery, I found myself involved. At that point, I read some other reviews to learn how others had responded to this book. Most had enjoyed it although a number found it slow out of the starting gate as I did. I gather there was to be a bit of the supernatural involved but I hadn't gotten that far.

So I recommend that you read other reviews, expect a slow start, expect an internally unknown culture from the past, and then get involved.

The House on Vesper Sands is a mystery set in 1890's London. A woman has thrown herself out the 2nd story window of an established gentleman's home with a cryptic message stitched into her side.

Inspector Cutter and Gideon Bliss are on the case after a slight deception leads them to be partners. Cutter seems like he was sculpted out of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Dresden, and pure sarcasm. Gideon is a bumbling sweetheart with a weak constitution but strong skills at observation and note taking. It is an interesting pairing to say the least. Octavia (whom should have had more page time) is a strong woman trying to make a name for herself as a journalist while escaping the stigmas of her upbringing.

What I must describe as magical realism meets mystery seems primed for a sequel.

What I liked:
The characters were well developed, interesting, and likeable.
The dialogue was well done.
The tone and setting were dark and foreboding.
The concept as a whole was intriguing and different.
The narrator had clear and distinguishable voices for all the characters.
He delivered lines in a captivating manner

What I didn't like:
It took more than half the book for the story to get going.
It was hard to keep up at points.
There were 2 or 3 5-minute stretches where the narrator was very audible with inhalation. It was distracting.
Two of the female voices were strange. They were small characters though.
The ending was a bit lack luster.

It has definitely been set up for a sequel. If there is one have more Octavia.

A very atmospheric Gothic horror story, with fantasy and cozy mystery thrown in, making for an amusing Victorian tale set in 1893 England.

The story has a lot in its favor.  It grabbed my interest from the start, had engaging characters and although mostly dark, the author managed to inject some humor at certain points which lightened the mood.  The back and forth between Gideon and Inspector Cutter was a highlight of the book.

I did feel it lagged a bit midway through, but the wonderful narration by Charles Armstrong kept me staying on course. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for allowing me to listen to an early audio version and give my honest review.