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Shadows & Lies
Following the huge success of The Shape of Sand, shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger award, comes this dramatic story of love, war, and intrigue.
It is the year 1910 and the bloodstained body of an unknown woman is found on the grounds of Sir Henry Chetwynd's Shropshire estate. A reluctant heir to the estate, Sebastian Chetwynd is already battling with divided loyalties: his ambition for a career of his own and his father's expectation that he follow in his footsteps, and his duty to marry for money when he is in love with Louisa, a student doctor and supporter of women's rights.
Unknown to the Chetwynds, there is Hannah, living in London, who has lost her memory of everything that happened in the dozen years previous to a serious accident. In an attempt to unravel her past, Hannah writes down the story of her life as far as she can remember it. As she reaches out to grasp and piece together the fragments of those missing years, it seems that the ongoing murder investigation in Shropshire could hold the key.
Switching between troubled South Africa in the last years of the nineteenth century and the murder in England ten years later, Marjorie Eccles's delicate narrative reveals the lies and deceptions that have lain beneath the veneer of polite Edwardian society.
It is the year 1910 and the bloodstained body of an unknown woman is found on the grounds of Sir Henry Chetwynd's Shropshire estate. A reluctant heir to the estate, Sebastian Chetwynd is already battling with divided loyalties: his ambition for a career of his own and his father's expectation that he follow in his footsteps, and his duty to marry for money when he is in love with Louisa, a student doctor and supporter of women's rights.
Unknown to the Chetwynds, there is Hannah, living in London, who has lost her memory of everything that happened in the dozen years previous to a serious accident. In an attempt to unravel her past, Hannah writes down the story of her life as far as she can remember it. As she reaches out to grasp and piece together the fragments of those missing years, it seems that the ongoing murder investigation in Shropshire could hold the key.
Switching between troubled South Africa in the last years of the nineteenth century and the murder in England ten years later, Marjorie Eccles's delicate narrative reveals the lies and deceptions that have lain beneath the veneer of polite Edwardian society.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
6 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie Eccles
53 books45 followersAka Judith Bordill, Jennifer Hyde
Marjorie Eccles has written several romantic and crime novels, which have been published both in the UK and in the US. Many of her book shave been translated and serialised around the world. She has one grown up son and now lives in Hertfordshire
Marjorie Eccles has written several romantic and crime novels, which have been published both in the UK and in the US. Many of her book shave been translated and serialised around the world. She has one grown up son and now lives in Hertfordshire
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 29, 2013
An author to savor. The prose is leisurely and beautifully crafted and the character development is superb. The story moves between South Africa during the Boer war and England before converging. Ms. Eccles paints a vivid picture of a bygone era in colonial Empire. Impatient readers in a hurry for the story to "move" might want to skip this one because the author lovingly sets atmosphere. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more!
May 18, 2011
I got about one-third of the way through this and gave up. I just wasn't interested in what happened. The book started with a woman who had lost her memory of the previous 10 years of her life because of a head injury. She was writing a journal of the memories she did have to see if that would bring back the missing memories. All very intruiging, but the author had explained all of that pretty much the way I've just written it down. There was no attempt to bring this information out through conversation etc, it was just baldly stated. That kept happening throughout the plot. If the author wanted you to know something she carefully explained it in detail and never relied on the reader to work things out for themselves.
The second problem I had was that no one had seemed to think of contacting the people this woman could remember and seeing what they knew about the years she'd "lost". Obviously, there could have been a reason for that which I don't know because I didn't read all of the book, but as it was, it just seemed to be a plot hole. Even if there was just a cryptic remark suggesting there were reasons why they weren't contacted would have been enough for me. I didn't notice any other plot holes, maybe because the plot kept getting submerged for pages as the author described the lives and concerns of the landed gentry in great detail.
Overall, I think the author is either a keen historian who has done meticulous research, or she is fascinated by the early 20th century. Either way, I suspect she really wanted to write about the life in the early 20th century and just tacked on the mystery element to try to make it more readable. I wish she had just written a non fiction account of England in the 1910s. I think it would have suited her writing style better, and I would have enjoyed reading it more than this.
The second problem I had was that no one had seemed to think of contacting the people this woman could remember and seeing what they knew about the years she'd "lost". Obviously, there could have been a reason for that which I don't know because I didn't read all of the book, but as it was, it just seemed to be a plot hole. Even if there was just a cryptic remark suggesting there were reasons why they weren't contacted would have been enough for me. I didn't notice any other plot holes, maybe because the plot kept getting submerged for pages as the author described the lives and concerns of the landed gentry in great detail.
Overall, I think the author is either a keen historian who has done meticulous research, or she is fascinated by the early 20th century. Either way, I suspect she really wanted to write about the life in the early 20th century and just tacked on the mystery element to try to make it more readable. I wish she had just written a non fiction account of England in the 1910s. I think it would have suited her writing style better, and I would have enjoyed reading it more than this.
July 30, 2014
Summer is an extraordinarily busy time for me, particularly the month of July. It took me 2 weeks to read this book, through no fault of the novel. I enjoyed it, but did not feel a huge sense of urgency to get back to it. I suppose I could have MADE the time if I had really wanted to, but found myself doing higher priority things.
The story was good, but not great. I felt the book got bogged down at times with too many details of the Boer War. Plus, the ending felt a bit rushed to me.
However, I definitely like this author’s writing style, and plan to read more by her.
The story was good, but not great. I felt the book got bogged down at times with too many details of the Boer War. Plus, the ending felt a bit rushed to me.
However, I definitely like this author’s writing style, and plan to read more by her.
February 15, 2014
This book could have easily have been about half its size. The author strayed badly from the mystery and wrote page after page of historical events which were interesting, but definitely detracted from the mystery story. Eccles does this frequently and I find it hard to read some of her stories because she bounces back and forth between the background of the characters and the mystery part of the story. I'm a big fan of including historical events in stories but not to the detriment of the main story which Eccles seems to forget sometimes.
August 30, 2019
This book started slow, but I got totally engrossed in it. The story is well told; it weaves two different stories into one and the plot is excellent. The story takes place around the last decade in the 1800s to the early 1900s. The body of an unknown woman is found on the estate of Sir Henry Chetwynd. As the police unravels this murder another story is woven into the plot. The setting is England and Africa, more specifically South Africa at the time of the Siege of Mafikeng during the Boer War. I really enjoyed this book but you have to focus on the characters as there are many and their interaction and lives are complicated. A really good read, especially since I don't really read crime fiction. This book may have changed my mind and I will definitely look for Marjorie Eccles's other reads.
July 29, 2025
Two strands eventually converge in this mystery set in England in 1909 with flashbacks to Africa during the Boer War. One strand follows the life of Hannah Mary Jackson as she records her life story, trying to rediscover the more recent memories lost in an accident. It is her account that takes the reader to Africa. The other strand begins with the discovery of a woman's body on a rural estate. No one recognizes her or has any idea why she might have been there. But gradually clues appear&clues that lead in a roundabout way to Hannah.
June 27, 2017
Dreadful. On page 52 one of the main characters complains of an interminable day and I cannot agree more. The author tries to build tension through breathless foreshadowing - not successfully.
August 23, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this old English whodunit.
February 26, 2023
Quite slow and chops around a bit
May 14, 2016
This is the book that followed Eccles The Shape of Sand which I also enjoyed. They are both stand alone mysteries. Narrated in part by a woman trying to regain her past and her memory through writing a journal, and an active murder investigation prompted by an unknown foreign woman's body on the grounds of an old prominent family's estate. Historical fiction switching between the present 1910 England during those pesky women's rights protests and the past 1890's Boer War in South Africa -Momentum increases til you cannot stop reading until you know the real story and the real motive and murderer is revealed.
April 12, 2016
I gave this book a shot, even after reading the reviews! Personally, I really enjoyed the writing style. Some parts were a little fast for my liking but the way the book was written really related me. On that note, I understand why it might not for everyone, especially if you aren't a big fan of proper old English expression and mannerism. I would recommend it, but not so much for the crime thriller but the way the author combines the two story lines and then brings them together.
October 4, 2008
The charcters in this book were excellent and well written. I loved the time period and history this book provided, however, figuring out who the killer was was not hard and the ending was lackluster at best. I expected more after the extensive details the author provided! I wish there were half star points because I would have given this about 2.5 stars.
April 11, 2016
Oh, how I wished this book's font was not so small, for there's a story that starts with a case of amnesia and then I was plunged into history which starts well and then goes wrong and I lost focus in the middle, by the time I came to the end, I considered drowning to have the same effect.
Drowning aside, I'd say, it's a story.
Drowning aside, I'd say, it's a story.
December 2, 2007
This isn't a standard Gil Mayo series mystery. It's very skillfully done though you do begin to guess some of the truth earlier than you're probably expected to. However, it's a well-told story and it keeps its grip all of the way through.
March 6, 2008
This book provided me with some background of the Boer War and the seige of Mafaking. The setting for the story is England and South Africa. Overall an engrossing mystery with interesting characters.
December 22, 2009
I enjoyed this but not nearly as much as THE SHAPE OF SAND. Marjorie Eccles is a fantastic writer and while I appreciate this quality over just an exhilirating page-turner any day, this book was a tad slow for me. I also felt the ending was not twisty enough and kind of hurried.
November 20, 2015
Pretty well written and kept the reader's attention. The POV switches between South Africa and England as well as the past and present, which makes the book more interesting with lots of tidbits about the Boer war. The ending was pretty unexpected as well.
December 12, 2008
A good story with interesting characters, but more of a history that unravels than a true murder mystery.
March 12, 2013
A fun bedtime read of the quiet historical mystery type. I would have enjoyed it more, perhaps, if the editing had been better. The amount of errors was very distracting.
June 1, 2013
Don't bother reading!
July 17, 2013
Ponderous. If the author had done research it could have been a great historical novel. The mystery was weak and overall everything felt superficial.
February 16, 2015
Abandoned
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews