A Shadow on the Lens, Sam Hurcom
A Shadow on the Lens, Sam Hurcom
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A Shadow on the Lens
The most Gothic, claustrophobic, wonderfully dark thriller to grip you this year

Author: Sam Hurcom

Narrator: John Telfer

Unabridged: 8 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orion

Published: 09/05/2019


Synopsis

The Postmaster looked over my shoulder. As I turned to look I saw a flicker of movement from across the street. I felt unseen eyes peer at me.
He walked away without another word. I watched as he climbed onto his bicycle and sped away down the street. I turned back and looked over my shoulder.
Someone had been watching us.

1904. Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, is called to the sleepy and remote Welsh village of Dinas Powys, several miles down the coast from the thriving port of Cardiff. A young girl by the name of Betsan Tilny has been found murdered in the woodland - her body bound and horribly burnt. But the crime scene appears to have been staged, and worse still: the locals are reluctant to help.

As the strange case unfolds, Thomas senses a growing presence watching him, and try as he may, the villagers seem intent on keeping their secret. Then one night, in the grip of a fever, he develops the photographic plates from the crime scene in a makeshift darkroom in the cellar of his lodgings. There, he finds a face dimly visible in the photographs; a face hovering around the body of the dead girl - the face of Betsan Tilny.

About Sam Hurcom

Sam Hurcom was born in Dinas Powys, South Wales in 1991. He studied Philosophy at Cardiff University, attaining both an undergraduate and master's degree. He has since had several short stories published, and has written and illustrated a number of children's books. Sam currently lives in the village he was raised in, close to the woodlands that have always inspired his writing. A SHADOW ON THE LENS is Sam's debut novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Joseph on June 04, 2020

In 1904 forensic photography is in its infancy, but Thomas Bexley is already recognised as one of its foremost exponents. His experience in scene-of-crime examination has also honed his investigative skills such that, despite not being formally an “inspector” (as he will be the first to admit), he h......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on January 20, 2020

"So strange was all that happened, many cannot even begin to comprehend it. Yet still I write this. Believe me or do not - most think me as madman. On cold nights such as this, I often wish I were." A Shadow On The Lens appealed to me with its promise of a historical gothic fiction with mystery and,......more

Goodreads review by Kirsty ❤️ on December 13, 2019

I really enjoyed this folk horror gothic thriller. It starts off with Bexley arriving in a small Welsh town to look into a murder of a teenage girl and them he seems to descend into a fever induced madness, seeing ghosts and envisioning a whole host of horrors. Nothing is what it seems and secrets a......more

Goodreads review by Nila on August 29, 2019

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 th......more

Goodreads review by Vicki on April 03, 2021

We follow the story through the eyes of Thomas. A private investigator/photographer from London who is asked to assist in the murder investigation of Betsan Tilny. He is met with trepidation and suspicion in a very tight knit community. Just who has something to hide and why? Help comes from an unli......more


Quotes

A sparkling debut from a name to watch. Hurcom expertly weaves a tale of claustrophobic suspicion set in a Welsh village a few miles from Cardiff - but so inward-looking and insular you might as well be in another world. This is top notch historical crime fiction, with a dash of the supernatural. A gorgeous book and a riveting tale. David Young

An intriguing debut. The Times

A promising debut - gothic, claustrophobic and wonderfully dark. Guardian

Wonderfully dark and creepy...I find it hard to believe this is Hurcom's first novel. It's creepy, disturbing, eerie, dark, spine-chilling and macabre in every way that a Gothic thriller should be. It will make you uneasy - but you won't want to put it down. There is a clever and quite brilliant final twist Crime Review