All Her Beautiful Deaths

by A. Rushby

A gothic tale in two timelines in which the lives of two women intersect through a series of mysterious, eerily beautiful photographs of the dead

London, 1865. Minnie has been sent to Culpepper House to work as a maid. She’s been told that the Culpepper twins are odd, and odd they are. Edmund and Edith seem to do as they please, with Edmund running a laboratory from the house and Edith running about with glass plates in order to create photographs. When Minnie spies what Edith is photographing—a young woman and swan, both dead—she is horrified. But with nowhere else to go, there is nothing to do but remain and try to unlock the mystery of Culpepper House’s secrets before she becomes the victim of such a photograph.

London, present day. When Sydney-based artist Hadley is involved in an art world scandal revolving around an album of exquisite Victorian death photographs, she’s met with a flurry of media attention and the offer to create an installation centering on a heartbreaking image of a young woman and a swan. Then comes a shocking offer from the enigmatic Kit Culpepper of the Culpepper Trust…an eye-watering sum of money, with the condition that Hadley sell him the album and never speak of its contents again. As Hadley digs deeper, she begins to suspect Kit Culpepper is guarding a deathly secret…and she’s not entirely sure how far he’ll go to keep it.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, Gothic

464 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 22, 2026

About the author

A. Rushby (also writing as Allison Rushby), was gifted the middle name of Jane, for Jane Austen. Wordsmithing was duly destined and, under several pseudonyms, she has published more than thirty books. She has long been a fan of cities steeped in history, wild, overgrown cemeteries, red brick Victorian museums, the curious and the uncanny. She prefers to write with a cup of French Earl Grey tea by her side and a cat curled up in her lap.

Reviews

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 (4.25 stars)


To be honest, this story completely exceeded my expectations!
But let’s start at the beginning, I chose this because I was fascinated by the synopsis and I thought the cover was absolutely stunning (yeah, I’m this type of person who judges books by its covers sometimes) and as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. The story was soo well written and constructed so interestingly with the dual timeline and narrative that one didn’t want to put the book away even for just a minute.
I have to admit, that I liked Edith and Minnie’s timeline more than Hadley’s but that’s mostly because I feel always more drawn to sapphic characters and especially given the fact that Edith and Minnie’s timeline plays in 1865, I was just overall soo interested in knowing more about death photography and the Culpepper household from that era. That said, I still liked Hadley’s timeline too, I loved how mysterious it was written and how - as a reader - one kept guessing too who could be the ‘bad’ guy and if Kit is actually good or bad or both?
Moreover, I really adored how the timelines somewhat intersected and how we got to see Minnie’s timeline as soon as Hadley - more or less - found something important out about the family. And I also really liked how the story still had a romance in each timeline as well as the fact that it included sapphic as well as gay characters (William and Edmund have also part of my heart now).
Nevertheless, I also have a few things that I didn’t like so much, though that said, I want to highlight that I’m being picky about it because I did like the book sooo much. I would’ve loved to see even more of Minnie’s timeline especially after Hadley found out the truth. I don’t wanna spoil so I cannot name what exactly but generally, I would’ve loved to see even more.
Overall though, it was a really great and super interesting read. One that I will definitely cherish for a long while to come and also one that I will buy as a physical copy 🙈.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest and voluntarily given review.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Her Beautiful Deaths is a gorgeously macabre dual‑timeline mystery that slips between Victorian London and the present day with the ease of a shadow crossing a wall. From the first pages, there’s a sense of something haunting and irresistible at work—an old house, a forbidden photograph, a family name that seems to echo through time.

In 1865, Minnie’s story unfolds with a deliciously gothic tension. Desperate for work, she steps into the strange world of the Culpepper twins: Edmund with his unsettling laboratory, Edith with her morbid photography, and a house that seems to breathe secrets. Minnie’s attraction, her desperation, and her dawning horror are handled with such care that you feel the walls of Culpepper House closing in alongside her. By the time she realises the danger she’s in, the trap is already set.

In the present day, Hadley’s grief‑soaked fascination with a Victorian death‑photography album creates a perfect mirror to Minnie’s world. The image of the girl with the swan is both beautiful and chilling, and the art‑world scandal that follows pulls Hadley into the orbit of Kit Culpepper—a man whose charm feels like a mask for something far darker. The tension builds quietly as Hadley digs deeper, sensing that the past isn’t just lingering but actively guarded.

What makes the novel so compelling is how seamlessly the two timelines speak to each other. Themes of class, ownership, exploitation, and the way art can both reveal and conceal run through both women’s stories. The atmosphere is rich and immersive—fog‑damp Victorian streets, dimly lit studios, modern galleries humming with ambition—and the mystery unfurls with a steady, irresistible pull.
All Her Beautiful Deaths is a beautifully crafted gothic mystery, equal parts eerie and elegant. It explores grief, desire, and the dangerous power of the gaze, all while delivering a story that feels both intimate and sweeping.

A haunting, exquisitely layered novel perfect for readers who love their mysteries steeped in history, art, and the shadows that linger between them.

With thanks to A Rushby, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Torrie Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, 5AM, we have to stop meeting like this, but I fear we never will because the books are simply too good. ((This time it's A. Rushby's fault and please remind me to send a thank you.)) Now, I may have taken a small detour between finishing this book and writing this review to ensure that I IMMEDIATELY preordered a physical copy, but the important thing is that I'm here now. All Her Beautiful Deaths has earned a spot on my List of Books I Will Not Be Shutting Up About, and now you get to be my captive audience as I explain why.

I love dual timelines, but sometimes I find myself loving one and tolerating the other(s). Rushby gave us two timelines here that both feel equally compelling and kept me fully invested. Hadley and Minnie are both strong characters with beautiful growth and fierce convictions. They don't just go along with what is easy or expected. They're women that you want to root for, that you can find pieces of yourself in. And they aren't the only ones. Elke, Gretchen, Edith, Charlie, Artie... they're us, someone we know, or someone we aspire to. They're characters, but they aren't. They feel tangible, and so you feel their pain, turmoil, fear, ferocity, and decisiveness. I love them, I adore them, and I miss them already.

This book also sent me into a research spiral ((my second, at the hands of this author)) and the amount of detail I've read around Victorian memorial photography over the past few days is potentially concerning. But it's also been deeply fascinating and the way it's used in this book is incredible. It feels so symbolic and there's a certain purity to it that I can't fully explain without ruining the whole book... and believe me, you should go in blind.

If you're on the fence or if this book wasn't yet on your radar, please change that. I'm going to need people to discuss All Her Beautiful Deaths with ASAP.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, & A. Rushby for this complimentary copy.))

[Elia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book, and so deceptively simple. It's one of those where not much HAPPENS, but so much actually happens.
It also explores a variety of deep themes: life, death, family, sexuality, love and starting over. The two timelines weave together nicely, though I slightly wished we spent a bit more time with the Victorians, because they were all such interesting characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience.

[Cas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I absolutely adored this book. The story was unique and the characters were written well. I was captivated by both perspectives. I also did not predict the twist, but it felt like a rewarding reveal.