Description

1912 and London is in turmoil…

The suffragette movement is reaching fever pitch but for broke Fleet Street tomboy Frankie George, just getting by in the cut-throat world of newspapers is hard enough. Sent to interview trapeze artist Ebony Diamond, Frankie finds herself fascinated by the tightly laced acrobat and follows her across London to a Mayfair corset shop that hides more than one dark secret.

Then Ebony Diamond mysteriously disappears in the middle of a performance, and Frankie is drawn into a world of tricks, society columnists, corset fetishists, suffragettes and circus freaks. How did Ebony vanish, who was she afraid of, and what goes on behind the doors of the mysterious Hourglass Factory?

From the newsrooms of Fleet Street to the drawing rooms of high society, the missing Ebony Diamond leads Frankie to the trail of a murderous villain with a plot more deadly than anyone could have imagined…

A Val McDermid New Blood Pick, Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
An Alex Gray New Crimes Pick, Bloody Scotland

Publisher Review

'Lucy Ribchester's The Amber Shadows is a spooky and complex psychological thriller set in Bletchley Park during the second world war. Atmospheric and engaging' -- Ian Rankin on The Amber Shadows 'A fascinating historical mystery from a talented new author...fascinating historical detail and brilliant description' * WE LOVE THIS BOOK * 'A glorious tome encapsulating the London of 1912 set amidst suffragettes and circuses' * THE MITFORD SOCIETY * 'A tale of murder, subversion, class and the fight for equality...A most enjoyable read' -- NAOMI FRISBY * THE WRITES OF WOMAN * 'This whodunit teems with larger-than-life characters...Yet this is also, in part, a historical novel, with landmark events (often not seen as being contemporaneous to one another)...all breathing life into Ribchester's London' * GUARDIAN * A sexy fast-paced historical murder mystery...a thrilling combination of corsets, Emmeline Pankhurst and female journalists...' * THE HERALD * 'An entertaining romp' * THE LIST * 'Set in London two years before the start of The Great War, it's a world where newspapers are produced in smoke-filled rooms up rickety stairs' * SUNDAY POST * 'Unexpected plot twists, glamorous underworlds...a really mesmerising piece of historical fiction' * HELLO! MAGAZINE * 'Its fast-paced plot fizzes with intrigue... this story is too good to miss. With a motley crew of characters and a helping of period detail, it is a fantastically fun page-turner that pulses with all the energy of London streets' * THE LADY * 'Page-turning commercial historical fiction...a serious one to watch' -- VIV GROSKOP * RED MAGAZINE * 'Its energy, crackle and humour is infectious' -- ELIZABETH BUCHAN * DAILY MAIL * 'Rollicking whodunit adventure...terrific' -- Ian Rankin