The Tarot Reader of Versailles by Anya Bergman (Manilla Press £16.99, 480pp)
The author of the dynamic The Witches Of Vardo heads onto the bloody streets of the French Revolution in this equally propulsive epic in the company of two extraordinary women – Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand, the titular tarot card reader (and a real historical figure), and Cait, an Irish scullery maid with psychic gifts.
Marie Anne, loyal to Queen Marie Antoinette, and firebrand Cait, whose leanings are more republican, unite to make their fortunes in volatile Versailles.
The prose is lush, the love stories beguiling, but Bergman doesn’t shy away from the horror of the reign of terror and the harsh realities of change.
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Hutchinson Heinemann £16.99, 272pp)
There’s a haze of heat over the small, claustrophobic village of Little Nettlebed in 18th-century Oxfordshire, the setting for Purvis’s haunting debut.
The days are parched, the river is drying up and people’s thoughts are addled, honing in on five unconventional Mansfield sisters.
Rumour has it that the siblings can transform themselves into dogs – and in this ‘season of strangeness’, there’s great danger in being different.
Purvis’s story is brimful of dark foreboding; unsettling hints of violence ripple through her prose and there’s a fearful sense that the sisters’ safety is at stake. Reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides, this debut is feverish, finely wrought and unforgettable.
The Rush by Beth Lewis (Viper £18.99, 400pp)
Canada, 1898, and the frozen bleakness of the Yukon has been gripped by gold fever.
Ramshackle claims have been staked, desperate men are seeking their fortune, and Dawson City is the scene of lawlessness. Into this chaotic mix, Lewis places three strong-minded, spirited women.
Journalist Kate is searching for her rebellious sister; bar owner and brothel keeper Martha is determined to keep her business from the local hard-man, while Ellen is worried about her safety as her prospector husband loses his perspective.
When a woman is found murdered, the lives of the three women intertwine as they search for the killer.
A rip-roaring adventure that’s rich with drama and gutsy plotlines.
