Boon's Bookcase

 The Whispering Muse

by

Laura Purcell

Be careful what you wish for... it may just come true.

At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

REVIEW

Jenny finds herself desperate for money when her brother disappears leaving the family destitute and when Mrs Dyer, the owner of the theatre where her brother worked approaches her to work at the theatre as a dresser for the new leading actress Lilith, Jenny jumps at the chance to help her family, but little does Jenny know that Mrs Dyer has an ulterior motive for wanting her to work closely with Lilith.

Lilith is a diva in the true sense of the word and wants to be the star of the Mercury theatre at whatever cost and when her lover (who happens to be Mrs Dyer's husband) gives her a watch that is supposed to contain a muse called Melpomene, she thinks that as long as she has the watch in her possession, nothing can harm her and that she will have the world at her feet. 

Lilith may think that the watch will bring her good luck, but every time there is a tragedy in the theatre, the watch has been there. Jenny wants to get the watch off Lilith, but in doing so, would she be passing the bad luck on to her and her family...

There was a good mix of characters in this book. I liked Jenny because she was no pushover with Lilith and stood her ground, it was the authors fabulous writing of the character of Lilith that made me feel a whole range of emotions towards her, from disliking her to actually feeling sorry for her. 

This is the second book I have read of this authors and can't wait to read more. Would thoroughly recommend to lovers of gothic historical fiction.