📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ The Persephone Code by Julia Golding

Harper Collins
One More Chapter
5 April 2024

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1812

Deep below the hills of the Buckinghamshire countryside, the infamous Hellfire Caves house a pleasure palace for the idle rich – a secret society steeped in satanism, opium and debauchery of the highest order.

When the club’s warden, Antony Pennington, is brutally murdered, his bastard sister, Dora, must follow the clues to decode who the killer is, aided by an unexpected ally – ex-Army officer, former opium addict and son of a Viscount, Dr Jacob Sandys.

As a shadow dogs their every footstep, Dora and Jacob find themselves in the midst of a shocking conspiracy, caught between the legendary Illuminati and the Hell Fire Club. With time running out, they must fight against both the most influential gentleman of the ton – and the undeniable attraction they feel towards each other

📖 My Review...

Dora Fitz-Pennington's brother is brutally murdered and with only a handful of clues to his killer, Dora must try to find out why her brother died in such horrific circumstances and of the connection to the notorious Hell Fire Club. With the help of Dr Jacob Sandys, an ex-army officer and a former opium addict they negotiate the tricky clues left behind.

The story gets off to a good start and I enjoyed trying to piece together the many parts of the mystery in order to discover just what was going on in the infamous Hell Fires caves and the significance of the clues which Dora and Jacob must solve in order to discover why the club's warden Antony Pennington met such an untimely death.

The Persephone Code is an exciting romp through the Regency world with an interesting couple of  lead characters who very early on the story realise that they are attracted to one another. Dora is a feisty heroine, her acting backgrounds comes in useful and she is no shrinking violet when it comes to getting what she wants. There are more than enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing and it certainly lives up to its description of The Da Vinci Code meets Bridgerton.

About the Author

Julia Golding is a multi-award winning writer for children and young adults. She also writes under the pen names of Joss Stirling and Eve Edwards. Well over half a million of her books have been sold worldwide in more than twenty different languages.Married with three children, she lives in Oxford, UK.

 

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