Published By: Pushkin Vertigo
Pages: 304
Released On: 09/04/2026
1879, London.
An investigation into two mysterious deaths leads detective duo Minnie Ward and Albert Easterbrook to the doors of the Spirit Sisterhood, a female-only spiritualist group that facilitates communion with the dead.
Minnie isn’t buying it. She goes undercover at the organisation’s countryside home, where she finds herself drawn into the dark but strangely alluring world of spirits and ghosts.
But, isolated from Albert and everyone she loves, can she find a way out before time runs out?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is book three in the Variety Palace Mysteries, currently consisting of The Tumbling Girl and The Innocents. I read all three books in a row so I apologise if I end up blurring a bit between them.
The first book in the series was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The second book, whilst still very good, felt a bit slow to begin with but soon picked up. So I had high hopes going into this third one.
The characters are still as vivid – if not altogether pleasant – as ever. We get the ones we’ve loved from the previous books, but she’s also added new ones to keep it fresh.
I still love the contrast between Minnie and the time period. It’s the 1800s, where a woman shouldn’t be alone with a man unless they were spouse or family. But Minnie is ahead of her time. She’s strong and confident and passionate, and I loved her, she gives as good as she gets. Albert wants to be a gentleman but she won’t be the lady she’s expected to be. He irked me a bit in this one though, he felt a bit too cocky and argumentative. But their working relationship and friendship has been brilliant throughout and it’s even belter in this one. Their chemistry leaps off the page.
This one felt a bit more unbelievable. I mean, I know it’s not meant to be real, it’s a novel, but the other two felt grounded in reality whereas this one as more of a magical sense about it, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it made it stand out from the other two a bit.
I think this is the longest of the three, but it didn’t feel long and it just sped by.
It is fun and funny, smart and scary, tense and fast-paced, with the occasional romantic element.
I find writing dialogue really difficult and therefore I much prefer reading narrative and prose than dialogue. But the dialogue in this book is so witty and feels so natural that I’m fine with it.
Where I think Bridget really excels is her sense of place and space. You are rooted so well in this world she’s created, the sights and smalls, the characters are so well created that you can practically put yourself into their story.
Are there going to be more installments? This is ended well and if it does end like this then I would be satisfied, but there are still one or two open-ended threads that I would like to read more about.
Books By Your Bedside 