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rosieclaverton's review against another edition
5.0
Compelling historical mystery with strong horror/fantasy elements and deeply rooted in its local context.
I loved the characters, even when I wanted to shake them, and I’m very much looking forward to Book 2.
I loved the characters, even when I wanted to shake them, and I’m very much looking forward to Book 2.
groadie's review against another edition
I don't know why, but the characters just weren't interesting to me! I think maybe I'll have to pick this one up some other time.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
5.0
Travel to Cornwall in Victorian times Falling Creatures
This was a fascinating book. I’d never heard of this case and I quickly became very involved with it. It’s raw and eerie setting on the Cornish Moors, the wild and horrific nature of the girl’s death and the mystery of who might have done it and why was a fascinating insight into the life and times of 1830s Cornwall.
The Cornish landscape has never seemed so vividly desolate and haunting. Fact and fiction roam the hills on the Cornish moorland. Gothic mists, desolate moors and dark shadows roam each and every page.
The mystery of why Charlotte went missing and then the investigation which followed was simply captivating. Police at the time used methods and ways that seem so alien to us now, and of course there was little to no technology so the opinions and attitudes of the day were very different.
The writing is crisp and the entire case is set up very well so you get fully immersed in the darkness and shadows. I was fascinated with the police investigation and the reactions of those who lived nearby. The landscape sweeps the reader along with the mystery and the trees on Rough Tor wrap their spindly branches around your throat as you read.
There’s something about revisiting old crimes that sets them apart from modern ones that really allows the reader to see inside the heart of times past. I loved the character of Shilly and the mysterious Mr Williams as the world of modern detection opens up.
This was a fascinating book. I’d never heard of this case and I quickly became very involved with it. It’s raw and eerie setting on the Cornish Moors, the wild and horrific nature of the girl’s death and the mystery of who might have done it and why was a fascinating insight into the life and times of 1830s Cornwall.
The Cornish landscape has never seemed so vividly desolate and haunting. Fact and fiction roam the hills on the Cornish moorland. Gothic mists, desolate moors and dark shadows roam each and every page.
The mystery of why Charlotte went missing and then the investigation which followed was simply captivating. Police at the time used methods and ways that seem so alien to us now, and of course there was little to no technology so the opinions and attitudes of the day were very different.
The writing is crisp and the entire case is set up very well so you get fully immersed in the darkness and shadows. I was fascinated with the police investigation and the reactions of those who lived nearby. The landscape sweeps the reader along with the mystery and the trees on Rough Tor wrap their spindly branches around your throat as you read.
There’s something about revisiting old crimes that sets them apart from modern ones that really allows the reader to see inside the heart of times past. I loved the character of Shilly and the mysterious Mr Williams as the world of modern detection opens up.
nadia_g's review against another edition
4.0
"We were close as moor stone and the ground that held it. Until someone uprooted us."
Falling Creatures is the first book in Katherine Stansfield's series of Gothic Cornwall mysteries. The story is narrated by Shilly, a young girl determined to find the killer of her lover, Charlotte, and who partners up with the odd Mr Williams who needs a guide around these parts to pursue his own investigation into Charlotte's murder.
Shilly first met Charlotte at the local Inn where both girls were taken to work as maids for Mrs Peter, a stern but kindly woman. Charlotte is a magnetic character, everyone is attracted to her. She knows plants and spells, and she slowly initiates Shilly into these practices as both become lovers. Then Charlotte is found murdered on the moor and an innocent farmhand is arrested for her murder.
The visuals and the sense of place in this novel are so well developed I could feel the wetness of the marshland, and the cold of the moor stone. Nature is one of the main characters here. Stansfield "grew up in the wilds of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall" her bio says and she has clearly given much thought and respect to nature's role and how it is used and perceived by the people of this book.
Stansfield's prose alone is delicious. She plays with rhythm to give a period style to her writing, giving the narration melody, without it ever feeling forced. The relationships between characters was my favourite part of this novel, people get into trouble because they help each other, nature knows people's secrets and those who pay attention to nature can know much. Mr Williams' secret is a fantastic statement to the strength of women's resolve.
Falling Creatures is based on real events.
Falling Creatures is the first book in Katherine Stansfield's series of Gothic Cornwall mysteries. The story is narrated by Shilly, a young girl determined to find the killer of her lover, Charlotte, and who partners up with the odd Mr Williams who needs a guide around these parts to pursue his own investigation into Charlotte's murder.
Shilly first met Charlotte at the local Inn where both girls were taken to work as maids for Mrs Peter, a stern but kindly woman. Charlotte is a magnetic character, everyone is attracted to her. She knows plants and spells, and she slowly initiates Shilly into these practices as both become lovers. Then Charlotte is found murdered on the moor and an innocent farmhand is arrested for her murder.
The visuals and the sense of place in this novel are so well developed I could feel the wetness of the marshland, and the cold of the moor stone. Nature is one of the main characters here. Stansfield "grew up in the wilds of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall" her bio says and she has clearly given much thought and respect to nature's role and how it is used and perceived by the people of this book.
Stansfield's prose alone is delicious. She plays with rhythm to give a period style to her writing, giving the narration melody, without it ever feeling forced. The relationships between characters was my favourite part of this novel, people get into trouble because they help each other, nature knows people's secrets and those who pay attention to nature can know much. Mr Williams' secret is a fantastic statement to the strength of women's resolve.
Falling Creatures is based on real events.
nadiasfiction's review against another edition
4.0
"We were close as moor stone and the ground that held it. Until someone uprooted us."
Falling Creatures is the first book in Katherine Stansfield's series of Gothic Cornwall mysteries. The story is narrated by Shilly, a young girl determined to find the killer of her lover, Charlotte, and who partners up with the odd Mr Williams who needs a guide around these parts to pursue his own investigation into Charlotte's murder.
Shilly first met Charlotte at the local Inn where both girls were taken to work as maids for Mrs Peter, a stern but kindly woman. Charlotte is a magnetic character, everyone is attracted to her. She knows plants and spells, and she slowly initiates Shilly into these practices as both become lovers. Then Charlotte is found murdered on the moor and an innocent farmhand is arrested for her murder.
The visuals and the sense of place in this novel are so well developed I could feel the wetness of the marshland, and the cold of the moor stone. Nature is one of the main characters here. Stansfield "grew up in the wilds of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall" her bio says and she has clearly given much thought and respect to nature's role and how it is used and perceived by the people of this book.
Stansfield's prose alone is delicious. She plays with rhythm to give a period style to her writing, giving the narration melody, without it ever feeling forced. The relationships between characters was my favourite part of this novel, people get into trouble because they help each other, nature knows people's secrets and those who pay attention to nature can know much. Mr Williams' secret is a fantastic statement to the strength of women's resolve.
Falling Creatures is based on real events.
Falling Creatures is the first book in Katherine Stansfield's series of Gothic Cornwall mysteries. The story is narrated by Shilly, a young girl determined to find the killer of her lover, Charlotte, and who partners up with the odd Mr Williams who needs a guide around these parts to pursue his own investigation into Charlotte's murder.
Shilly first met Charlotte at the local Inn where both girls were taken to work as maids for Mrs Peter, a stern but kindly woman. Charlotte is a magnetic character, everyone is attracted to her. She knows plants and spells, and she slowly initiates Shilly into these practices as both become lovers. Then Charlotte is found murdered on the moor and an innocent farmhand is arrested for her murder.
The visuals and the sense of place in this novel are so well developed I could feel the wetness of the marshland, and the cold of the moor stone. Nature is one of the main characters here. Stansfield "grew up in the wilds of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall" her bio says and she has clearly given much thought and respect to nature's role and how it is used and perceived by the people of this book.
Stansfield's prose alone is delicious. She plays with rhythm to give a period style to her writing, giving the narration melody, without it ever feeling forced. The relationships between characters was my favourite part of this novel, people get into trouble because they help each other, nature knows people's secrets and those who pay attention to nature can know much. Mr Williams' secret is a fantastic statement to the strength of women's resolve.
Falling Creatures is based on real events.
keeperofpages's review against another edition
2.0
“1844. A brutal murder rocks Victorian Cornwall. In a place where the dead lie uneasy in their graves, to find a murderer a young woman must first learn who she can trust.”
That’s the passage on the front of the [arc] book and also my favourite passage of the entire book. Sadly, Falling Creatures was not the book I hoped it would be. I felt the plot and the writing style were rather simple; I feel the combination of both these simplicities prevented some of the themes coming through as strong as I’d have liked. For example, this novel does have a gothic atmosphere to it but for me, it lacked the eeriness that often accompanies such an atmosphere. The death of Charlotte Dymond was horrific, the idea of the Cornish Moors in 1844 being isolated, these are two things I believe could have been maximised to create a haunting reading experience. The elements of the supernatural were subtle, woven into this story, but again I would have liked this theme to have come through stronger, used to build on the already gothic atmosphere.
As you don’t learn much about any of the characters, I struggled to connect with any of them, they were all odd and peculiar, I had no one to pull me through the read. I believe the mysteriousness of the characters would have worked better if I felt a haunting aura surrounding the plot. My favourite character was likely Charlotte as she appeared the most mysterious, there was something appealing about her character that I’d have loved to explore more, but alas, she’s the one who was murdered.
I did like the short chapters as it allowed this to become a quick read and prevented the story becoming too slow in pace. The mystery lies in who murdered Charlotte and I can’t deny I wanted to know who the murderer was – it was that alone that kept me turning pages, but at the same time I would have been satisfied if someone had said to me ‘you don’t need to read anymore, XXXXXX killed her’.
I saw so much potential in this story and I feel like I know the desired effect this book was meant to have, the atmosphere it was meant to create, but sadly I didn’t feel it and it was so frustrating because I could see it there under the surface and I was waiting for it grab hold of me but sadly, I just couldn’t get into this one.
As reviews for this one are slowing emerging, I appear to be in the minority of those who would struggle to recommend this book so please do check out some other reviews before writing this book off.
That’s the passage on the front of the [arc] book and also my favourite passage of the entire book. Sadly, Falling Creatures was not the book I hoped it would be. I felt the plot and the writing style were rather simple; I feel the combination of both these simplicities prevented some of the themes coming through as strong as I’d have liked. For example, this novel does have a gothic atmosphere to it but for me, it lacked the eeriness that often accompanies such an atmosphere. The death of Charlotte Dymond was horrific, the idea of the Cornish Moors in 1844 being isolated, these are two things I believe could have been maximised to create a haunting reading experience. The elements of the supernatural were subtle, woven into this story, but again I would have liked this theme to have come through stronger, used to build on the already gothic atmosphere.
As you don’t learn much about any of the characters, I struggled to connect with any of them, they were all odd and peculiar, I had no one to pull me through the read. I believe the mysteriousness of the characters would have worked better if I felt a haunting aura surrounding the plot. My favourite character was likely Charlotte as she appeared the most mysterious, there was something appealing about her character that I’d have loved to explore more, but alas, she’s the one who was murdered.
I did like the short chapters as it allowed this to become a quick read and prevented the story becoming too slow in pace. The mystery lies in who murdered Charlotte and I can’t deny I wanted to know who the murderer was – it was that alone that kept me turning pages, but at the same time I would have been satisfied if someone had said to me ‘you don’t need to read anymore, XXXXXX killed her’.
I saw so much potential in this story and I feel like I know the desired effect this book was meant to have, the atmosphere it was meant to create, but sadly I didn’t feel it and it was so frustrating because I could see it there under the surface and I was waiting for it grab hold of me but sadly, I just couldn’t get into this one.
As reviews for this one are slowing emerging, I appear to be in the minority of those who would struggle to recommend this book so please do check out some other reviews before writing this book off.
alexandramilne's review
4.0
Read my other book reviews at booksibled.wordpress.com
I should probably say straight off that I sort of know the person who wrote this book. At first, I was actually quite worried about that. What if I hated it? What if it was really boring, or full of typos, or half way through there was a barely concealed rant about how terrible a student I’d been? (because, bless you Kath, that piece I wrote was shockingly cliché and I don’t understand how you didn’t casually trip me out of the window and go straight back to writing your novel) Well, I’m relieved to tell you that I didn’t need to worry. I went out and picked up a copy assuming that, If I did hate it, I could just pretend I’d not gotten around to it yet. The next day I got on the train and honestly I don’t remember much from the next few days because I spent most it with my nose firmly in this book.
In short ‘Falling Creatures’ is a novelisation of the mystery surround the murder of a young girl on Cornish moorland. Charlotte Dymond was a domestic servant who went missing from the small farm she worked on and later turned up brutally murdered in her Sunday best. I’ve never come across the story before although I’m well acquainted with murders of a similar period and I’m surprised it has never come up. This case has it all, interesting characters, multiple suspects, a dark and eerie setting and so much scope for theorising.
Stansfield has clearly popped down to an archive or two and done her research because so much of the tale she weaves feels effortless. So much so that when I raved about it to my family I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction and we would most likely never really know the truth. The settings are wonderfully described and even the more gory elements of the narrative are bleak but not sensationalised. In this way, the moors are given that same sense of the sublime that carried Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Bodmin Moor becomes another of the novels characters, terrifying and silent and yet, home.
If you held a gun to my head and told me to complain about anything then I would say that I was a little wary of the witchcraft. It’s a subject and a practice that is very close to my heart and years of representation both true and falsified or embellished has brought us to an uncomfortable standstill around most Pagan religions. My serious issues and love for Paganism is not, however, the point of this review and I’m happy to conclude that while I began the witchcraft element of ‘Falling Creatures’ thinking “Oh no, not again”, I honestly ended it far more happy than I thought I would. The magic referenced was mainly folk magic that would have been fairly close to the era and whether it worked or not was left to the reader’s superstitions and beliefs, not openly assumed. I liked that from a historical work. Also, while much of Charlotte’s magic was quite dark it only added to her enthralling character. She is not the typical ‘woe is me’ victim, she can be cruel and vindictive, vain and covetous. All in all I was pleasantly surprised so ha! No complaint for you!
I’d love to run on about the depth Stansfield brought out in all her characters and the mystery she came up with that had me second guessing my assumptions at every turn. How I never knew who to trust, not even the narrator herself and how the addition of a certain Mr Williams was a spark of actual genius that made me gasp and grin rather too much for the commuters on my Victoria Line train. But I honestly don’t want to spoil this one for you. I think you should go out there and experience the same excitement and plot twists that I did. Then you should come back and we can chat about it into the wee small hours.
P.S. A fantastic adaptation of a terrible true murder on the creepy setting of a Bodmin Moor, a whole host of suspects and witnesses who all have reasons to lie, a girl hunting for answers after the mysterious woman she is obsessed with disappears and a race against time to find the killer, all the while sussing out the secrets of Mr Williams who is not as he seems. If you like beautifully dark books, excellent women running the show and a story that will keep you wondering long after you’ve reached the end then this book is for you.
I should probably say straight off that I sort of know the person who wrote this book. At first, I was actually quite worried about that. What if I hated it? What if it was really boring, or full of typos, or half way through there was a barely concealed rant about how terrible a student I’d been? (because, bless you Kath, that piece I wrote was shockingly cliché and I don’t understand how you didn’t casually trip me out of the window and go straight back to writing your novel) Well, I’m relieved to tell you that I didn’t need to worry. I went out and picked up a copy assuming that, If I did hate it, I could just pretend I’d not gotten around to it yet. The next day I got on the train and honestly I don’t remember much from the next few days because I spent most it with my nose firmly in this book.
In short ‘Falling Creatures’ is a novelisation of the mystery surround the murder of a young girl on Cornish moorland. Charlotte Dymond was a domestic servant who went missing from the small farm she worked on and later turned up brutally murdered in her Sunday best. I’ve never come across the story before although I’m well acquainted with murders of a similar period and I’m surprised it has never come up. This case has it all, interesting characters, multiple suspects, a dark and eerie setting and so much scope for theorising.
Stansfield has clearly popped down to an archive or two and done her research because so much of the tale she weaves feels effortless. So much so that when I raved about it to my family I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction and we would most likely never really know the truth. The settings are wonderfully described and even the more gory elements of the narrative are bleak but not sensationalised. In this way, the moors are given that same sense of the sublime that carried Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Bodmin Moor becomes another of the novels characters, terrifying and silent and yet, home.
If you held a gun to my head and told me to complain about anything then I would say that I was a little wary of the witchcraft. It’s a subject and a practice that is very close to my heart and years of representation both true and falsified or embellished has brought us to an uncomfortable standstill around most Pagan religions. My serious issues and love for Paganism is not, however, the point of this review and I’m happy to conclude that while I began the witchcraft element of ‘Falling Creatures’ thinking “Oh no, not again”, I honestly ended it far more happy than I thought I would. The magic referenced was mainly folk magic that would have been fairly close to the era and whether it worked or not was left to the reader’s superstitions and beliefs, not openly assumed. I liked that from a historical work. Also, while much of Charlotte’s magic was quite dark it only added to her enthralling character. She is not the typical ‘woe is me’ victim, she can be cruel and vindictive, vain and covetous. All in all I was pleasantly surprised so ha! No complaint for you!
I’d love to run on about the depth Stansfield brought out in all her characters and the mystery she came up with that had me second guessing my assumptions at every turn. How I never knew who to trust, not even the narrator herself and how the addition of a certain Mr Williams was a spark of actual genius that made me gasp and grin rather too much for the commuters on my Victoria Line train. But I honestly don’t want to spoil this one for you. I think you should go out there and experience the same excitement and plot twists that I did. Then you should come back and we can chat about it into the wee small hours.
P.S. A fantastic adaptation of a terrible true murder on the creepy setting of a Bodmin Moor, a whole host of suspects and witnesses who all have reasons to lie, a girl hunting for answers after the mysterious woman she is obsessed with disappears and a race against time to find the killer, all the while sussing out the secrets of Mr Williams who is not as he seems. If you like beautifully dark books, excellent women running the show and a story that will keep you wondering long after you’ve reached the end then this book is for you.
amy_k's review
4.0
Falling Creatures is a superb historical crime novel set in Cornwall. But is also so much more; beautiful, gothic, confusing, tragic.
'Shilly' - our totally unreliable narrator - meets Catherine and together they set off to work for Mrs Peter at Penhale Farm. Catherine bewitches most of the other characters, with the exception of Mrs Peter, and teaches Shilly what can only be described as witchcraft. Then there is a murder and the rest of the book focuses on investigating and solving the crime.
At times I found Shilly's telling of events frustrating. She describes Catherine's (often confusing) actions in great detail but the reader has no means of measuring the significance of these actions. The early part of the plot was quite slow as a result of this minutiae. There were several incidences with a mouse called St Michael that left me utterly baffled. The cast of male characters was - at times - confusing. I had difficulty keeping Tom Prout and Isaac Roe straight in my mind, and I felt we were being provided with more suspects to 'pad' the investigation.
But Falling Creatures transcends those mundane issues. The reader has a real sense of 'something' moving and shifting just beyond the realms of our understanding. The writing is beautiful. Shilly and Catherine are flawed, and because of their flaws, they are fascinating and complex. Mr Williams was a perfect addition to the cast and links the micro-events of the book to the macro-events of the wider world (namely, the founding of Scotland Yard and the development of forensics) - and also, most cleverly - forward in time to our own world.
The mystery of the murder is eventually solved, but the mystery of the characters remains unsolvable and in that, Falling Creatures catches the essence of the human spirit. A feat achieved by very few books.
'Shilly' - our totally unreliable narrator - meets Catherine and together they set off to work for Mrs Peter at Penhale Farm. Catherine bewitches most of the other characters, with the exception of Mrs Peter, and teaches Shilly what can only be described as witchcraft. Then there is a murder and the rest of the book focuses on investigating and solving the crime.
At times I found Shilly's telling of events frustrating. She describes Catherine's (often confusing) actions in great detail but the reader has no means of measuring the significance of these actions. The early part of the plot was quite slow as a result of this minutiae. There were several incidences with a mouse called St Michael that left me utterly baffled. The cast of male characters was - at times - confusing. I had difficulty keeping Tom Prout and Isaac Roe straight in my mind, and I felt we were being provided with more suspects to 'pad' the investigation.
But Falling Creatures transcends those mundane issues. The reader has a real sense of 'something' moving and shifting just beyond the realms of our understanding. The writing is beautiful. Shilly and Catherine are flawed, and because of their flaws, they are fascinating and complex. Mr Williams was a perfect addition to the cast and links the micro-events of the book to the macro-events of the wider world (namely, the founding of Scotland Yard and the development of forensics) - and also, most cleverly - forward in time to our own world.
The mystery of the murder is eventually solved, but the mystery of the characters remains unsolvable and in that, Falling Creatures catches the essence of the human spirit. A feat achieved by very few books.
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