Flash Review
The author weaves the gothic threads of this strong debut novel on a loom of historical plausibility and sensational 'grotesquerie'. You might not always, if not at all, "sympathize" with the "heroine" of this atrocious murder mystery plot, but her clever and lucid voice will get a hold of your attention for a good span of the book.
My rating: 4 stars.
***Review copy generously offered by Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an unbiased opinion.
About the Book
THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON
By
Sara Collins
Published by Harper Collins
May 21, 2019
Hardcover, 384 pages
Historical Fiction, Mystery
Amazon
They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how can I confess what I don't believe I've done?
1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning - slave, [...], seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth.
For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed.
But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved?
