The Butcher's Hook: Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2016

A witty and gruesome historical novel with a vulnerable yet dangerous protagonist. It starts off slowly and gently but with an underlying sense of menace that I was't sure was ever going to materialise. And then it did. It's well written and evocative of the era (Georgian) both in the descriptions of homes, streets and lifestyles and in the obvious frustrations of being a woman at such a time. It's a book full of contrasts that provoked conflicting feelings in me. On the one hand some of the descriptions are really very amusing and I loved it, but on the other the events are so twisted and macabre that they can't possibly be entertaining. Ditto, our protagonist has had such harsh things happen in her life and seems so vulnerable that I really felt as if I was on her side, but then the events are so twisted, etc...... You get the idea.
Not sure "enjoyed" is the right word to use but I think it's a great book. If you're not squeamish.