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Little Spark
A secret cannot stay locked away forever
Bodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesn't know where she came from, but she knows she’s different. Gaslights flare as she walks past. Cutlery spins. Shocks fly from her fingertips.
For years, she was ‘Little Spark’, the star of an electrifying sideshow – until the act went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.
Now she’s been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.
But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years – and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.
Bodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesn't know where she came from, but she knows she’s different. Gaslights flare as she walks past. Cutlery spins. Shocks fly from her fingertips.
For years, she was ‘Little Spark’, the star of an electrifying sideshow – until the act went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.
Now she’s been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.
But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years – and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.
Hardcover
Expected publication February 9, 2027
About the author
Jess Kidd
27 books2,715 followersJess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder, published as Mr. Flood's Last Resort in the U.S. and Canada was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her latest book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
August 18, 2026
Jess Kidd is back to her creepy best with Little Spark.
Bodkin has a strange gift - she can make electricity inside her body and, as such, is a wonderful party act that she and her travelling partner, Cornelius, use to divest rich clients of their money. But Cornelius is much more to Bodkin than her boss - he is her saviour and the man she feels safe with.
But all that changes when she is arrested and Cornelius disappears. Bodkin's life behind bars feels neverending but when a prison visitor takes a special interest she might well wish to be back in prison.
What will life hold for Bodkin at Mote Point and what terrible secrets are the Haseley's hiding from her?
Much as I have enjoyed Ms Kidd's foray into detective novels (and Nora Breen is a new favourite character) I will always love Kidd's mastery of the disturbing novel. Her characters are so lightly drawn they could be anything - good or evil. In Little Spark we meet yet more oddities in Ramshaw, Hesperia, Shuttleworth and a whole house of creepy contractions.
Highly recommended. It made my skin crawl at times.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Canongate Books.
Bodkin has a strange gift - she can make electricity inside her body and, as such, is a wonderful party act that she and her travelling partner, Cornelius, use to divest rich clients of their money. But Cornelius is much more to Bodkin than her boss - he is her saviour and the man she feels safe with.
But all that changes when she is arrested and Cornelius disappears. Bodkin's life behind bars feels neverending but when a prison visitor takes a special interest she might well wish to be back in prison.
What will life hold for Bodkin at Mote Point and what terrible secrets are the Haseley's hiding from her?
Much as I have enjoyed Ms Kidd's foray into detective novels (and Nora Breen is a new favourite character) I will always love Kidd's mastery of the disturbing novel. Her characters are so lightly drawn they could be anything - good or evil. In Little Spark we meet yet more oddities in Ramshaw, Hesperia, Shuttleworth and a whole house of creepy contractions.
Highly recommended. It made my skin crawl at times.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Canongate Books.
October 6, 2026
4.5★s
Little Spark is the fifth stand-alone novel by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. In 1868, Bodkin is about nine years old, and has been with Cornelius Bell a few years. He’s a charlatan, but she’s pretty sure he loves her. He tells different stories about how he found her: she doubts any are true. They have an act that hinges on the electrical charge that builds up in her body, something the well-off pay to see.
Thirteen years on, that electricity has led to trouble: a man who tried to kiss her has died. Bodkin Bell is serving a six-month sentence in prison, not for murder, but for causing a public nuisance. Cornelius is nowhere to be found.
When Lady Hesperia Haseley turns up offering her a place at Point Mote, in the remote North Kent marshlands, as assistant to her nephew, an automatist, she’s wary. Is she swapping prison for something equally restricting? Or is this a covert rescue orchestrated by Cornelius? Not that she actually has any choice.
On the train journey to Low Barton, guarded by a prison Matron, Bodkin encounters Betty Knaggs, who warns her not to trust Hesperia. From Low Barton, with Matron Hogg having inexplicably disappeared, she is taken to Point Mote by Reverend Swithin Finch, who kindly tells her a bit more about the place, in particular, the many marvellous automata, much in demand by gentleman collectors, made by Sir Ramshaw Haseley and his late father, Sir Spendlove Haseley.
While some of the very few staff are sort of friendly, Mr Shuttleworth, the butler is not, and she is to be locked in her attic bedroom. When she eventually meets Sir Ramshaw, it’s clear this strange individual would rather work alone, so she wonders just what her purpose at Point Mote is.
He does, eventually, reveal just why he is so fascinated by automata: “Granted, our hearts tick and our lungs inflate and our minds whirr, fast or slowly – just like worm wheels and bellows and cams, but really there is no comparison. Automata are superior because they are predictable, repairable. They perform exactly what they’ve been created to do – and do it perfectly. Over and over and over. They are outside time and beyond death’s reach, unlike us.”
The longer Bodkin is at Point Mote, the more she learns about this strange family that seems to hold such power. Tragic deaths about which no one wants to talk. On a visit to Low Barton, some of her curiosity is satisfied by villagers, but her interest is further piqued: comments and vague memories lead her to believe she has a connection to the place.
Kidd manages to make her nineteenth Century era and setting truly fascinating, keeping the reader entranced right through to the jaw-dropping twists and the dramatic climax. Is her focus on automata particularly topical given the current AI explosion? This is gothic mystery at its best.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate Books.
Little Spark is the fifth stand-alone novel by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. In 1868, Bodkin is about nine years old, and has been with Cornelius Bell a few years. He’s a charlatan, but she’s pretty sure he loves her. He tells different stories about how he found her: she doubts any are true. They have an act that hinges on the electrical charge that builds up in her body, something the well-off pay to see.
Thirteen years on, that electricity has led to trouble: a man who tried to kiss her has died. Bodkin Bell is serving a six-month sentence in prison, not for murder, but for causing a public nuisance. Cornelius is nowhere to be found.
When Lady Hesperia Haseley turns up offering her a place at Point Mote, in the remote North Kent marshlands, as assistant to her nephew, an automatist, she’s wary. Is she swapping prison for something equally restricting? Or is this a covert rescue orchestrated by Cornelius? Not that she actually has any choice.
On the train journey to Low Barton, guarded by a prison Matron, Bodkin encounters Betty Knaggs, who warns her not to trust Hesperia. From Low Barton, with Matron Hogg having inexplicably disappeared, she is taken to Point Mote by Reverend Swithin Finch, who kindly tells her a bit more about the place, in particular, the many marvellous automata, much in demand by gentleman collectors, made by Sir Ramshaw Haseley and his late father, Sir Spendlove Haseley.
While some of the very few staff are sort of friendly, Mr Shuttleworth, the butler is not, and she is to be locked in her attic bedroom. When she eventually meets Sir Ramshaw, it’s clear this strange individual would rather work alone, so she wonders just what her purpose at Point Mote is.
He does, eventually, reveal just why he is so fascinated by automata: “Granted, our hearts tick and our lungs inflate and our minds whirr, fast or slowly – just like worm wheels and bellows and cams, but really there is no comparison. Automata are superior because they are predictable, repairable. They perform exactly what they’ve been created to do – and do it perfectly. Over and over and over. They are outside time and beyond death’s reach, unlike us.”
The longer Bodkin is at Point Mote, the more she learns about this strange family that seems to hold such power. Tragic deaths about which no one wants to talk. On a visit to Low Barton, some of her curiosity is satisfied by villagers, but her interest is further piqued: comments and vague memories lead her to believe she has a connection to the place.
Kidd manages to make her nineteenth Century era and setting truly fascinating, keeping the reader entranced right through to the jaw-dropping twists and the dramatic climax. Is her focus on automata particularly topical given the current AI explosion? This is gothic mystery at its best.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate Books.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is my seventh Jess Kidd book, and as always I loved her imaginative writing and her ability to create such a vivid atmosphere. Little Spark definitely felt like a return to the quirky, gothic style of Things in Jars and Himself, which really worked for me.
I especially enjoyed Bodkin, the rest of the oddball cast, and all the wonderfully strange descriptions of the automatons.
The only reason I’m not rating this higher is the ending. After a slow build-up, it felt a little rushed and anticlimactic, and somehow out of step with the rest of the book.
I especially enjoyed Bodkin, the rest of the oddball cast, and all the wonderfully strange descriptions of the automatons.
The only reason I’m not rating this higher is the ending. After a slow build-up, it felt a little rushed and anticlimactic, and somehow out of step with the rest of the book.
August 25, 2026
Jess Kidd has become one of my favourite authors…..
I have very much enjoyed the first two books in her ‘Nora Breen Investigates’ series, as well as several of her stand alone novels.
Her writing can be wonderfully quirky, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint me, as the story of a very unusual young girl unfolded.
Bodkin is certainly an enigma……her origins are a mystery, but somehow she has become a curiosity, an entertainment at wealthy patrons dinner parties, where her ability to discharge electricity from her hands creates a spectacular show.
She has become the travelling companion of Cornelius….a showman who has given her a home in his colourful caravan in exchange for her being his main attraction, and a source of income.
Things obviously haven’t gone entirely to plan though…..the story jumps to a different, future timeline, with Bodkin finding herself in a world of trouble, which leads her to a new life that awakens in her unsettling memories, which put her in grave danger.
There’s a cast of very strange characters……some the victims of evil, some who are evil.
There’s a crumbling mansion full of disturbing secrets, set in an eerie landscape, lots of twists, and a storyline that goes back and forth between past times and a dangerously unfolding present.
Definitely entertaining……
I have very much enjoyed the first two books in her ‘Nora Breen Investigates’ series, as well as several of her stand alone novels.
Her writing can be wonderfully quirky, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint me, as the story of a very unusual young girl unfolded.
Bodkin is certainly an enigma……her origins are a mystery, but somehow she has become a curiosity, an entertainment at wealthy patrons dinner parties, where her ability to discharge electricity from her hands creates a spectacular show.
She has become the travelling companion of Cornelius….a showman who has given her a home in his colourful caravan in exchange for her being his main attraction, and a source of income.
Things obviously haven’t gone entirely to plan though…..the story jumps to a different, future timeline, with Bodkin finding herself in a world of trouble, which leads her to a new life that awakens in her unsettling memories, which put her in grave danger.
There’s a cast of very strange characters……some the victims of evil, some who are evil.
There’s a crumbling mansion full of disturbing secrets, set in an eerie landscape, lots of twists, and a storyline that goes back and forth between past times and a dangerously unfolding present.
Definitely entertaining……
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Finished reading: August 11th 2026
"Bodkin will not leave empty-handed and while silver and trinkets are tempting enough, she's after something rarer than hen's teeth in this house: the truth."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Canongate Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
REVIEW
WARNING: be ready to board the unpopular opinion train again!!
August 24, 2026
This is a historical fiction story about an orphan. Bodkin Bell had been found by Cornelius, a sideshow entrepreneur. They were separated when he was arrested, and she was sent to gaol. A visitor from an estate on the Kent Marshes asked to see her and invited her to stay with them.
Once there, Bodkin is aware of rumours, although there is not much she can do now she is there. Isolated, and unaware of why she has been chosen. Leaving would result in her going back to gaol. As she learns more about her new home, we discover more about Bodkin and her life. The author builds more and more mystery as this story goes on, giving it more and more uncertainty.
This is a gothic-style mystery with a definite dark side. Bodkin's past is gradually becoming clear; memories are returning, and while she is at the house, she discovers more and more bizarre items, people and experiences.
I really enjoyed this; there is an air of mystery and suspense, suspicion and ulterior motives. It is not until further into the story that the author begins to piece things together, although there were things I was able to sort of work out myself.
This is one for those who like gothic, mystery, suspense, historical fiction with a fantasy twist. I really enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend it.
Once there, Bodkin is aware of rumours, although there is not much she can do now she is there. Isolated, and unaware of why she has been chosen. Leaving would result in her going back to gaol. As she learns more about her new home, we discover more about Bodkin and her life. The author builds more and more mystery as this story goes on, giving it more and more uncertainty.
This is a gothic-style mystery with a definite dark side. Bodkin's past is gradually becoming clear; memories are returning, and while she is at the house, she discovers more and more bizarre items, people and experiences.
I really enjoyed this; there is an air of mystery and suspense, suspicion and ulterior motives. It is not until further into the story that the author begins to piece things together, although there were things I was able to sort of work out myself.
This is one for those who like gothic, mystery, suspense, historical fiction with a fantasy twist. I really enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend it.
Review of advance copy
This is a very odd but fascinating look at Bodkin Bell and her father, Cornelius--a magician--in the 1800's. Bodkin is trained to do whatever he says and people are fascinated with "Little Spark" as they. call her. But later she discovers all is not as it appears when she is loosed upon the world!
October 22, 2026
I'm always interested in openings, how an author introduces you to their book. You can trust Jess Kidd always excels at first lines: 'The child looks down at her feet, moving only her eyes, slowly.' With this opening, Kidd proceeds to give an exceptionally vivid depiction of setting, atmosphere, character, and action. Take this, from the first few pages:
Jess Kidd's talent for scene-setting is genuine stagecraft; the opening of ‘Little Spark’ reads like Agatha Christie stage directions. Forgive the long citation, but compare the above with Christie’s setting from The Mousetrap: A Play Act One, scene one (printed by Samual French, 1954):
Yet unlike a stage play, Kidd is able to stir up all her descriptions with (for those of us who love language craft) mouthwatering prose. She makes things mooove! Her sentences, phrases, descriptions, dialogue - God! Even down to the adjectives and verbs she chooses - you can lap them up like thick cream: 'In other seasons, they collect elderberries or blackberries or those hard green fellas that wink up at them from their buckets and never soften however long they boil them.' Her tone would be hard to replicate.
The tone Kidd does strike is lyric and intimate; I could feel a tug on the line threading ‘Little Spark’ back to her 2022 novel The Night Ship. Both protagonists share such immediacy. ‘Little Spark’ also – for me – reaches back and grasps hard at Tartt’s The Little Friend. I’m seeing plenty of people saying this is their favourite Jess Kidd novel, and I can see why. This is one of those books (like ‘The Little Friend’) that I know I will be thinking about for a time to come.
And by way of comparisons, of course I’m going to see the ghost of Natasha Pulley lurking behind ‘Little Spark’ because, boy, do I love a book about clockwork! There’s also something distinctly Elizabeth Macneal-y here, as well as some Kate Mascarenhas - The Thief on the Winged Horse has happily comparable notes of a spooky crafts[wo]manship inherited down through family lines.
The theme here is illusion and misdirection. Bodkin’s companion, Cornelius Bell is a P. T. Barnum character, described as a 'dapper magician’ with a ‘flashy blade of [a] smile’. We are to suspect, as Bodkin comes to, that ‘her old gaffer’ Cornelius is not her father, and neither has he ‘fished her from a lake, or found her in a tree, or caught her in his arms as she fell from the sky.' They have, however, ‘never been apart’, and she muses that if she ‘ever felt lonely for another soul's company,’ it would be for his.
Yet as the plot paces along, we come to ask ourselves, if Cornelius is a magician, what possible illusions could he have cast upon Bodkin? Furthermore, are all the characters misdirecting Bodkin? Those who claim, ostensibly, to take care of her – Cornelius, Matron Hogg, Rev. Finch, Hesperia Haseley, Mrs Knaggs, the cook, (the maids Coralie and Claudine?), and her eventual love interest – we come to see how each of them performs their own particular sleight of hand upon her.
I’m tempted to sweepingly generalise and say the villains are all the Great White Males of Victorian-age Science (with a capital S), but I don’t want to issue any spoilers over gender reveals. Those Physicists/Machinists who flock to Point Mote to see the latest scientific innovations are reminiscent of industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy from Bridget Collins’s The Silence Factory, and the previous century’s Victor Frankenstein himself. Kidd, I think, wants us to consider: what is advancing science, and what is bare cruelty?
Kidd has set her novel in the Golden Era for automata makers like Joseph Faber’s (admittedly confounding) ‘talking machine’ Euphonia. We spend a lot of time with our little spark Bodkin, but if I could have changed any one thing about the novel, it would be to spend longer on Bodkin’s training in the design and construction of the Haseley’s matchless mechanical contraptions.
It’s just astonishing to me, what an incredibly original way in Kidd devises to illustrate the inventiveness of the Victorian Age, when those few certain forces came crashing together: the impulse for Natural History education (facilitated by colonialism and access to new specimens), and the nineteenth-century craze for collecting (similarly fuelled by imperialism’s commercial trade). Bodkin personifies our contemplation of what should or shouldn’t be sacrificed for scientific advancement.
Through her, Kidd also asks: where is the line between charity helping, and charity harming? Just a few decades later than Bodkin’s story, Charlotte Brontë asked the same with her orphan, Jane Eyre. And I don’t think we are supposed to be particularly shocked by Bodkin’s identity reveal; I feel like the machinations that get Bodkin to Point Mote can be dismissed as a matter of plot function. The real pleasure as a reader, is residing in Bodkin’s mind for the duration of her narrative. Similarly with her memory recovery; that’s not where the plot’s tension lies, in my opinion. The publisher issues the novel under ‘Mystery and Thrillers’, but I don’t necessarily view ‘Little Spark’ as a mystery novel.
Instead, ‘Little Spark’ calls in Wuthering Heights and The Hound of the Baskervilles, not only in its setting, but in the layered presentation and interrogation of the rapid progress that the Victorian age brought with it. Jess Kidd adds to the canon of stories set in the nineteenth century that grapple with the revolutionary changes at that time in the spheres of the natural sciences: Biology (ecology, evolution); Physics (industry and capitalism, transportation, pollution); Sociology (economics, politics, class, urbanisation). The characters of ‘Little Spark’ depict the era’s shift in knowledge and understanding as they regard the deep canyon of discovery and development cutting through the unity of their known world. ‘Little Spark’ proclaims, Hail Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Age of Machinery’!
From the age of machinery, my mind naturally hops to the World Expositions of the time: all the marvels of the Industrial Revolution on display in London’s Crystal Palace and Chicago’s ‘White City’. In fact, wasn’t the White City L. Frank Baum’s inspiration for the Emerald City of Oz? Look at Tik-Tok the mechanical man (then there’s Walter Murch’s ‘Return to Oz’ adaptation. Not to issue any spoilers, but IYKYK – Kidd’s central twist reminded me of Mombi’s exchangeable heads, Jack Pumpkinhead’s cobbled-together body parts, and the bizarre part-human part-machine species, the wheelers).
And still, Kidd makes room for romance. Personally, the space Kidd holds for Bodkin’s Sapphic sexuality is the cherry on the top of the most delectable cake! Speaking of that, how it all comes together for the climax is its own marvel. The ending is wonderfully flashy – overquick, if anything.
What else can I say? If you enjoy the exquisite Historical Fiction of Bridget Collins, you will adore this. My deep thanks go to Canongate Books via NetGalley for the eARC.
'The sound comes from a box discreetly attached to the underside of an iron ceiling strut. The chamber reverberates with [her fellow performers, a captive swarm of hornets'] collective energy, which builds to such a frenzied pitch that the structure occasionally elicits an alarming ting, much like a crystal glass tapped with a knife. At this sound the ladies and gentlemen taking their seats usually balk and become skittish and [the ringmaster] must step forward to reassure them that the chamber is designed to safely contain even the most powerful forces. Of this, she is doubtful.There we have it; we know where we are, what's happening, and to whom. And it all zings! Kidd can paint a vignette like no one else (save, maybe, Sarah Perry or Emma Donoghue). Kidd gives her protagonist Bodkin, a (notoriously tricky) present-tense narrative voice that is pure vivacity.
These are the moments when she must fight the urge to jump down from the podium, escape the glazed cage, kick open the drawing-room door and run.'
Jess Kidd's talent for scene-setting is genuine stagecraft; the opening of ‘Little Spark’ reads like Agatha Christie stage directions. Forgive the long citation, but compare the above with Christie’s setting from The Mousetrap: A Play Act One, scene one (printed by Samual French, 1954):
(When the curtain rises the stage is in complete darkness. The music fades giving place to a whistle of the same tune, “Three Blind Mice.” A woman's piercing scream is heard then a mixture of male and female voices saying: "My God; what's that?" "Went that way!" "Oh, my God!" Then a police whistle sounds, followed by several other police whistles, all of which fade to silence.)
VOICE ON THE RADIO. ...and according to Scotland Yard, the crime took place at twenty-four Culver Street, Paddington.
(The lights come up, revealing the Hall at Monkswell Manor. It is late afternoon, and almost dark. Snow can be seen falling heavily through the windows up centre. There is a fire burning. A freshly-painted sign board is standing on its side on the stairs against the archway, left; it has on it in large letters: Monkwell Manor Guest House.)
The murdered woman was a Mrs. Maureen Lyon. In connection with the murder, the police are anxious to interview a man seen in the vicinity, wearing a dark overcoat, light scarf, and a soft felt hat.
(MOLLIE RALSTON enters through the arch up right. She is a tall, pretty young woman with an ingenuous air, in her twenties. She puts down her handbag and gloves on the armchair centre then crosses to the radio and switches it off during the next speech. She places a small parcel in the desk cupboard.)
Yet unlike a stage play, Kidd is able to stir up all her descriptions with (for those of us who love language craft) mouthwatering prose. She makes things mooove! Her sentences, phrases, descriptions, dialogue - God! Even down to the adjectives and verbs she chooses - you can lap them up like thick cream: 'In other seasons, they collect elderberries or blackberries or those hard green fellas that wink up at them from their buckets and never soften however long they boil them.' Her tone would be hard to replicate.
The tone Kidd does strike is lyric and intimate; I could feel a tug on the line threading ‘Little Spark’ back to her 2022 novel The Night Ship. Both protagonists share such immediacy. ‘Little Spark’ also – for me – reaches back and grasps hard at Tartt’s The Little Friend. I’m seeing plenty of people saying this is their favourite Jess Kidd novel, and I can see why. This is one of those books (like ‘The Little Friend’) that I know I will be thinking about for a time to come.
And by way of comparisons, of course I’m going to see the ghost of Natasha Pulley lurking behind ‘Little Spark’ because, boy, do I love a book about clockwork! There’s also something distinctly Elizabeth Macneal-y here, as well as some Kate Mascarenhas - The Thief on the Winged Horse has happily comparable notes of a spooky crafts[wo]manship inherited down through family lines.
The theme here is illusion and misdirection. Bodkin’s companion, Cornelius Bell is a P. T. Barnum character, described as a 'dapper magician’ with a ‘flashy blade of [a] smile’. We are to suspect, as Bodkin comes to, that ‘her old gaffer’ Cornelius is not her father, and neither has he ‘fished her from a lake, or found her in a tree, or caught her in his arms as she fell from the sky.' They have, however, ‘never been apart’, and she muses that if she ‘ever felt lonely for another soul's company,’ it would be for his.
Yet as the plot paces along, we come to ask ourselves, if Cornelius is a magician, what possible illusions could he have cast upon Bodkin? Furthermore, are all the characters misdirecting Bodkin? Those who claim, ostensibly, to take care of her – Cornelius, Matron Hogg, Rev. Finch, Hesperia Haseley, Mrs Knaggs, the cook, (the maids Coralie and Claudine?), and her eventual love interest – we come to see how each of them performs their own particular sleight of hand upon her.
I’m tempted to sweepingly generalise and say the villains are all the Great White Males of Victorian-age Science (with a capital S), but I don’t want to issue any spoilers over gender reveals. Those Physicists/Machinists who flock to Point Mote to see the latest scientific innovations are reminiscent of industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy from Bridget Collins’s The Silence Factory, and the previous century’s Victor Frankenstein himself. Kidd, I think, wants us to consider: what is advancing science, and what is bare cruelty?
Kidd has set her novel in the Golden Era for automata makers like Joseph Faber’s (admittedly confounding) ‘talking machine’ Euphonia. We spend a lot of time with our little spark Bodkin, but if I could have changed any one thing about the novel, it would be to spend longer on Bodkin’s training in the design and construction of the Haseley’s matchless mechanical contraptions.
It’s just astonishing to me, what an incredibly original way in Kidd devises to illustrate the inventiveness of the Victorian Age, when those few certain forces came crashing together: the impulse for Natural History education (facilitated by colonialism and access to new specimens), and the nineteenth-century craze for collecting (similarly fuelled by imperialism’s commercial trade). Bodkin personifies our contemplation of what should or shouldn’t be sacrificed for scientific advancement.
Through her, Kidd also asks: where is the line between charity helping, and charity harming? Just a few decades later than Bodkin’s story, Charlotte Brontë asked the same with her orphan, Jane Eyre. And I don’t think we are supposed to be particularly shocked by Bodkin’s identity reveal; I feel like the machinations that get Bodkin to Point Mote can be dismissed as a matter of plot function. The real pleasure as a reader, is residing in Bodkin’s mind for the duration of her narrative. Similarly with her memory recovery; that’s not where the plot’s tension lies, in my opinion. The publisher issues the novel under ‘Mystery and Thrillers’, but I don’t necessarily view ‘Little Spark’ as a mystery novel.
Instead, ‘Little Spark’ calls in Wuthering Heights and The Hound of the Baskervilles, not only in its setting, but in the layered presentation and interrogation of the rapid progress that the Victorian age brought with it. Jess Kidd adds to the canon of stories set in the nineteenth century that grapple with the revolutionary changes at that time in the spheres of the natural sciences: Biology (ecology, evolution); Physics (industry and capitalism, transportation, pollution); Sociology (economics, politics, class, urbanisation). The characters of ‘Little Spark’ depict the era’s shift in knowledge and understanding as they regard the deep canyon of discovery and development cutting through the unity of their known world. ‘Little Spark’ proclaims, Hail Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Age of Machinery’!
From the age of machinery, my mind naturally hops to the World Expositions of the time: all the marvels of the Industrial Revolution on display in London’s Crystal Palace and Chicago’s ‘White City’. In fact, wasn’t the White City L. Frank Baum’s inspiration for the Emerald City of Oz? Look at Tik-Tok the mechanical man (then there’s Walter Murch’s ‘Return to Oz’ adaptation. Not to issue any spoilers, but IYKYK – Kidd’s central twist reminded me of Mombi’s exchangeable heads, Jack Pumpkinhead’s cobbled-together body parts, and the bizarre part-human part-machine species, the wheelers).
And still, Kidd makes room for romance. Personally, the space Kidd holds for Bodkin’s Sapphic sexuality is the cherry on the top of the most delectable cake! Speaking of that, how it all comes together for the climax is its own marvel. The ending is wonderfully flashy – overquick, if anything.
What else can I say? If you enjoy the exquisite Historical Fiction of Bridget Collins, you will adore this. My deep thanks go to Canongate Books via NetGalley for the eARC.
September 7, 2026
It’s a good book, and I liked the pace, but it felt too on the nose. Maybe I expected the book to be written differently, a bit more challenging. This doesn’t mean that Kidd doesn’t have a way with words. She describes the scenery and events gracefully and I did get somewhat sucked into the book, but if I can guess the big reveal not even 20% into the book, it does leave me wonder if it was on purpose or not to make it that obvious.
Read
August 16, 2026A spiritual, if not a literal, sequel to Kidd's 2019
Things in Jars.
Following on from that book's genre commitments, this one takes inspiration from the world of Victorian automata, but opens itself to the possibility of a little more efficacy and verisimilitude from those automata than is possible in our reality. Kidd deploys her Gothic tropes well - the big house with a secret, the disapproving locals, the menacing old retainer, the unlikely ally, the vulnerable young woman - but knows when and where to infuse them with a more modern sensibility. I particularly like the way she handles her narrative voice, a close third-person present tense that avoids sinking into vagueness or overwrought lyricism (both common problems with present tense narratives, especially historical ones). The landscape and atmosphere are effortlessly conjured and believable, and the characters, major and minor, are handled with skill.
Plotwise, I guessed the majority of the twist in chapter three, which may have been intentional but still seems a little bit too soon. I also think it's become rather easy to point to wealthy, single-minded men of science as villains. They are, of course, currently making it extremely easy for us to do so, but for this novel in particular, that strikes me as a less interesting endpoint than, for example, a serious ethical contemplation of the brutality behind the early science that taught us things about mammalian and human anatomy. How worthwhile are those kinds of cruelties and sacrifices? What if there's no way to learn something, with the tools and methods available, without causing pain? Would we give up pacemakers and pregnancy tests if it meant erasing the harm done to dogs, mice and rabbits during the development of those treatments? Where do you draw the line between doing something to advance science and doing something for your own selfish advantage? How can you tell when you've crossed it? Those are bigger questions than Little Spark is really game for, but it invites them by making its villains who they are. If you can put that to one side and just enjoy a solid, diverting piece of neo-Victoriana, though, this one's for you. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. Little Spark was published in the UK on 13 August 2026.
Plotwise, I guessed the majority of the twist in chapter three, which may have been intentional but still seems a little bit too soon. I also think it's become rather easy to point to wealthy, single-minded men of science as villains. They are, of course, currently making it extremely easy for us to do so, but for this novel in particular, that strikes me as a less interesting endpoint than, for example, a serious ethical contemplation of the brutality behind the early science that taught us things about mammalian and human anatomy. How worthwhile are those kinds of cruelties and sacrifices? What if there's no way to learn something, with the tools and methods available, without causing pain? Would we give up pacemakers and pregnancy tests if it meant erasing the harm done to dogs, mice and rabbits during the development of those treatments? Where do you draw the line between doing something to advance science and doing something for your own selfish advantage? How can you tell when you've crossed it? Those are bigger questions than Little Spark is really game for, but it invites them by making its villains who they are. If you can put that to one side and just enjoy a solid, diverting piece of neo-Victoriana, though, this one's for you. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. Little Spark was published in the UK on 13 August 2026.
August 28, 2026
This is a deliciously gothic tale of buried secrets and of the queer macabre Victorian world.
The story follows Bodkin Bell, an orphan who is part of a travelling sideshow act as Little Spark. When she finds herself imprisoned for accidentally shocking someone, she takes the chance to serve out her sentence at Point Mote, a remote mansion in the middle of the Kent marshes. Whilst there, mystery on top of mystery are unraveled and slowly she starts to realise that her ‘invitation’ there was not mere chance and that her origins are more complicated and horrifying than she could imagine.
I LOVED Bodkin-what an amazing protagonist! Fierce, brave and deeply loyal, loved her coming of age story.
Jess Kidd has such a knack of creating amazing characters that pop off the page and come alive (rather like the automata in the story!) The setting was hauntingly atmospheric with an isolated house, smugglers, a creepy butler, a village witch, graveyards, villains and fog aplenty. Nothing was as it seemed which was thrilling, especially with all the twists. The pace picked up to a gothic frenzy in the last third with an explosive and horrifying resolution. I felt the automata in the story reflected this period well: industrialisation and men manipulating nature for their own gains and amusement. Also loved the subtle neurodiverse & queer rep.
A darkly compelling story that gave me Fingersmith by Sarah Waters vibes. Officially a Jess Kidd superfan.
The story follows Bodkin Bell, an orphan who is part of a travelling sideshow act as Little Spark. When she finds herself imprisoned for accidentally shocking someone, she takes the chance to serve out her sentence at Point Mote, a remote mansion in the middle of the Kent marshes. Whilst there, mystery on top of mystery are unraveled and slowly she starts to realise that her ‘invitation’ there was not mere chance and that her origins are more complicated and horrifying than she could imagine.
I LOVED Bodkin-what an amazing protagonist! Fierce, brave and deeply loyal, loved her coming of age story.
Jess Kidd has such a knack of creating amazing characters that pop off the page and come alive (rather like the automata in the story!) The setting was hauntingly atmospheric with an isolated house, smugglers, a creepy butler, a village witch, graveyards, villains and fog aplenty. Nothing was as it seemed which was thrilling, especially with all the twists. The pace picked up to a gothic frenzy in the last third with an explosive and horrifying resolution. I felt the automata in the story reflected this period well: industrialisation and men manipulating nature for their own gains and amusement. Also loved the subtle neurodiverse & queer rep.
A darkly compelling story that gave me Fingersmith by Sarah Waters vibes. Officially a Jess Kidd superfan.
October 6, 2026
4.5★s
Little Spark is the fifth stand-alone novel by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. The audio version is narrated by Juanita McMahon. In 1868, Bodkin is about nine years old, and has been with Cornelius Bell a few years. He’s a charlatan, but she’s pretty sure he loves her. He tells different stories about how he found her: she doubts any are true. They have an act that hinges on the electrical charge that builds up in her body, something the well-off pay to see.
Thirteen years on, that electricity has led to trouble: a man who tried to kiss her has died. Bodkin Bell is serving a six-month sentence in prison, not for murder, but for causing a public nuisance. Cornelius is nowhere to be found.
When Lady Hesperia Haseley turns up offering her a place at Point Mote, in the remote North Kent marshlands, as assistant to her nephew, an automatist, she’s wary. Is she swapping prison for something equally restricting? Or is this a covert rescue orchestrated by Cornelius? Not that she actually has any choice.
On the train journey to Low Barton, guarded by a prison Matron, Bodkin encounters Betty Knaggs, who warns her not to trust Hesperia. From Low Barton, with Matron Hogg having inexplicably disappeared, she is taken to Point Mote by Reverend Swithin Finch, who kindly tells her a bit more about the place, in particular, the many marvellous automata, much in demand by gentleman collectors, made by Sir Ramshaw Haseley and his late father, Sir Spendlove Haseley.
While some of the very few staff are sort of friendly, Mr Shuttleworth, the butler is not, and she is to be locked in her attic bedroom. When she eventually meets Sir Ramshaw, it’s clear this strange individual would rather work alone, so she wonders just what her purpose at Point Mote is.
He does, eventually, reveal just why he is so fascinated by automata: “Granted, our hearts tick and our lungs inflate and our minds whirr, fast or slowly – just like worm wheels and bellows and cams, but really there is no comparison. Automata are superior because they are predictable, repairable. They perform exactly what they’ve been created to do – and do it perfectly. Over and over and over. They are outside time and beyond death’s reach, unlike us.”
The longer Bodkin is at Point Mote, the more she learns about this strange family that seems to hold such power. Tragic deaths about which no one wants to talk. On a visit to Low Barton, some of her curiosity is satisfied by villagers, but her interest is further piqued: comments and vague memories lead her to believe she has a connection to the place.
Kidd manages to make her nineteenth Century era and setting truly fascinating, keeping the reader entranced right through to the jaw-dropping twists and the dramatic climax. Is her focus on automata particularly topical given the current AI explosion? This is gothic mystery at its best.
Little Spark is the fifth stand-alone novel by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. The audio version is narrated by Juanita McMahon. In 1868, Bodkin is about nine years old, and has been with Cornelius Bell a few years. He’s a charlatan, but she’s pretty sure he loves her. He tells different stories about how he found her: she doubts any are true. They have an act that hinges on the electrical charge that builds up in her body, something the well-off pay to see.
Thirteen years on, that electricity has led to trouble: a man who tried to kiss her has died. Bodkin Bell is serving a six-month sentence in prison, not for murder, but for causing a public nuisance. Cornelius is nowhere to be found.
When Lady Hesperia Haseley turns up offering her a place at Point Mote, in the remote North Kent marshlands, as assistant to her nephew, an automatist, she’s wary. Is she swapping prison for something equally restricting? Or is this a covert rescue orchestrated by Cornelius? Not that she actually has any choice.
On the train journey to Low Barton, guarded by a prison Matron, Bodkin encounters Betty Knaggs, who warns her not to trust Hesperia. From Low Barton, with Matron Hogg having inexplicably disappeared, she is taken to Point Mote by Reverend Swithin Finch, who kindly tells her a bit more about the place, in particular, the many marvellous automata, much in demand by gentleman collectors, made by Sir Ramshaw Haseley and his late father, Sir Spendlove Haseley.
While some of the very few staff are sort of friendly, Mr Shuttleworth, the butler is not, and she is to be locked in her attic bedroom. When she eventually meets Sir Ramshaw, it’s clear this strange individual would rather work alone, so she wonders just what her purpose at Point Mote is.
He does, eventually, reveal just why he is so fascinated by automata: “Granted, our hearts tick and our lungs inflate and our minds whirr, fast or slowly – just like worm wheels and bellows and cams, but really there is no comparison. Automata are superior because they are predictable, repairable. They perform exactly what they’ve been created to do – and do it perfectly. Over and over and over. They are outside time and beyond death’s reach, unlike us.”
The longer Bodkin is at Point Mote, the more she learns about this strange family that seems to hold such power. Tragic deaths about which no one wants to talk. On a visit to Low Barton, some of her curiosity is satisfied by villagers, but her interest is further piqued: comments and vague memories lead her to believe she has a connection to the place.
Kidd manages to make her nineteenth Century era and setting truly fascinating, keeping the reader entranced right through to the jaw-dropping twists and the dramatic climax. Is her focus on automata particularly topical given the current AI explosion? This is gothic mystery at its best.
October 19, 2026
I wanted this Netgalley pick to be so much better than it was. I absolutely adored Things in Jars and was hopeful this would be on that level. The initial set up is promising, with Bodkin as a travelling act with mysterious powers. Unfortunately that setting swiftly turns into the very standard Sinister House Story and then while it's all competently writing in terms of setting, the characters are wafer thin and the plot is rather weak and incredibly slow.
August 31, 2026
I am so here for this twisted book and world.
Bodkin doesn't know where she comes from or why she has the power of electricity. All she knows is her 'gaffer' and the wandering life of a traveller. All that ends when she is arrested and thrown in goal for the accidental death of a young man. This sets in motion a series of events that wind up with Bodkin being sent to Point Mote, where nothing is as it seems.
Point Mote is so gothic, it is a masterclass in a creepy old mansion. The marshland that it sits on only adds to this, as do the locals and the rumours of smugglers dotted in the landscape. This is a house where the walls are high and the only exit is locked securely every night. It is isolated, desolate and perfect as a setting for a tale as creepy as this.
This is a slow paced book, the tension builds gradually and there are chapters where it feels as if little happens. It's all needed for the experience of the book, but those looking for a faster paced story would do better elsewhere.
The characters are a mix of delightful and super creepy. Bodkin is a great main character to follow, she's led a very unusual life that has left her both wise and sheltered in odd ways. The injustice of her life, of what has happened to her works because
The servants in the house are an odd bunch, but none are as creepy as the butler, Shuttleworth. There is a malice in his every word and action, which makes sense as you learn more about him, his loyalties and his past.
The main 'twist' of the book, you can see coming. But I can't help but wonder if that's partly because you, the reader, know what world you're in. Bodkin doesn't understand the world, she doesn't know that its fantastical, magical and so the fact it takes her longer to make the leap can be forgiven. The clues are there for any savvy reader to catch, but they aren't so obvious that you will be mad at them for not putting it together.
There is also more layers to the twist as you delve deeper and deeper into the mystery.
I would have liked a little more to the ending, it felt somewhat rushed but at the same time, the ambiguous elements of the ending are just perfect for the tale that was told. And what happens to one character, worse than death (to them), was just perfect and fills my dark little heart with glee.
Perfect for fans of gothic mysteries, especially where romance isn't the forward thrust of the book.
~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review~
Bodkin doesn't know where she comes from or why she has the power of electricity. All she knows is her 'gaffer' and the wandering life of a traveller. All that ends when she is arrested and thrown in goal for the accidental death of a young man. This sets in motion a series of events that wind up with Bodkin being sent to Point Mote, where nothing is as it seems.
Point Mote is so gothic, it is a masterclass in a creepy old mansion. The marshland that it sits on only adds to this, as do the locals and the rumours of smugglers dotted in the landscape. This is a house where the walls are high and the only exit is locked securely every night. It is isolated, desolate and perfect as a setting for a tale as creepy as this.
This is a slow paced book, the tension builds gradually and there are chapters where it feels as if little happens. It's all needed for the experience of the book, but those looking for a faster paced story would do better elsewhere.
The characters are a mix of delightful and super creepy. Bodkin is a great main character to follow, she's led a very unusual life that has left her both wise and sheltered in odd ways. The injustice of her life, of what has happened to her works because
The servants in the house are an odd bunch, but none are as creepy as the butler, Shuttleworth. There is a malice in his every word and action, which makes sense as you learn more about him, his loyalties and his past.
The main 'twist' of the book, you can see coming. But I can't help but wonder if that's partly because you, the reader, know what world you're in. Bodkin doesn't understand the world, she doesn't know that its fantastical, magical and so the fact it takes her longer to make the leap can be forgiven. The clues are there for any savvy reader to catch, but they aren't so obvious that you will be mad at them for not putting it together.
There is also more layers to the twist as you delve deeper and deeper into the mystery.
I would have liked a little more to the ending, it felt somewhat rushed but at the same time, the ambiguous elements of the ending are just perfect for the tale that was told. And what happens to one character, worse than death (to them), was just perfect and fills my dark little heart with glee.
Perfect for fans of gothic mysteries, especially where romance isn't the forward thrust of the book.
~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review~
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Bodkin Bell is unlike any character I've ever met before. There's something rather remarkable about her. A gift, a talent, or a curse? Whatever it is, she travels the country with Cornelius and performs an electrifying sideshow to earn money. Until one day, a shock ends up with disastrous consequences. Cornelius disappears and Bodkin ends up in gaol.
Bodkin has no idea where she came from. Her whole life has been Cornelius and the waggon they traveled in, but she's pretty sure he's not her father. Being without him in the cells is frightening and claustrophobic. However, Bodkin is nothing if not resourceful, brave, determined, and a true survivor. Surely all she needs to do is to hang on until Cornelius comes up with a plan to rescue her? But then someone offers her another way out. A chance to help an inventor at a desolate house on the marshes. A way to spend the rest of her sentence outside of the four walls of her cell. Surely, a house is easier to escape from than a gaol? Not that Bodkin has a choice.
This house is not what it seems though. Neither are its inhabitants. Grief has settled over this house like a dark cloud. Once an opulent home, it is now falling into disrepair. The inventor Bodkin is supposed to be assisting couldn't care less about her if he tried. The lady of the house is a powerful and cunning woman. She must surely have some kind of plan but what? Secrets abound and Bodkin quickly realises she's been sent here for a reason. When the truth is finally revealed, it is sad but also rather creepy.
I don't think it's hard to figure out what makes Bodkin so special. Yet the reason she came to be who she is is heartbreaking and also infuriating, as it once again shows that people with money and power don't care about what they do or whom they do it to, as long as it suits them and fills their pockets.
I'm relative new to Jess Kidd's books, my only reference point being her 'Nora Breen' series, which is entirely different from this latest offering. I find that there is something about her writing that really works for me. It is quite mesmerising at times, it pulls you into the story from the very beginning and even when it feels there is little happening, the descriptions make the entire page come to life. The setting in 'Little Spark' also works perfectly, with the doom and gloom of the marshes and its seemingly endless mist adding to the overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia.
Set in the Victorian era, 'Little Spark' is a sinister and slightly disturbing tale, full of intriguing characters. I found it utterly engrossing and atmospheric and it has definitely sparked an interest in me to discover more of Jess Kidd's work.
Bodkin has no idea where she came from. Her whole life has been Cornelius and the waggon they traveled in, but she's pretty sure he's not her father. Being without him in the cells is frightening and claustrophobic. However, Bodkin is nothing if not resourceful, brave, determined, and a true survivor. Surely all she needs to do is to hang on until Cornelius comes up with a plan to rescue her? But then someone offers her another way out. A chance to help an inventor at a desolate house on the marshes. A way to spend the rest of her sentence outside of the four walls of her cell. Surely, a house is easier to escape from than a gaol? Not that Bodkin has a choice.
This house is not what it seems though. Neither are its inhabitants. Grief has settled over this house like a dark cloud. Once an opulent home, it is now falling into disrepair. The inventor Bodkin is supposed to be assisting couldn't care less about her if he tried. The lady of the house is a powerful and cunning woman. She must surely have some kind of plan but what? Secrets abound and Bodkin quickly realises she's been sent here for a reason. When the truth is finally revealed, it is sad but also rather creepy.
I don't think it's hard to figure out what makes Bodkin so special. Yet the reason she came to be who she is is heartbreaking and also infuriating, as it once again shows that people with money and power don't care about what they do or whom they do it to, as long as it suits them and fills their pockets.
I'm relative new to Jess Kidd's books, my only reference point being her 'Nora Breen' series, which is entirely different from this latest offering. I find that there is something about her writing that really works for me. It is quite mesmerising at times, it pulls you into the story from the very beginning and even when it feels there is little happening, the descriptions make the entire page come to life. The setting in 'Little Spark' also works perfectly, with the doom and gloom of the marshes and its seemingly endless mist adding to the overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia.
Set in the Victorian era, 'Little Spark' is a sinister and slightly disturbing tale, full of intriguing characters. I found it utterly engrossing and atmospheric and it has definitely sparked an interest in me to discover more of Jess Kidd's work.
October 17, 2026
This book was strange, in that I loved the concept a lot but really didn't enjoy the execution. I think my main problem was the writing style; I'm not one to usually care too much about "correct" sentence structure, but the amount of sentence fragments in this book was so distracting and constantly caused me to be taken out of the narrative. I was also puzzled by the inverted use of quotation marks; I'm not sure if this is common and I just haven't come across it, but it was confusing to have dialogue contained with apostrophes while quotation marks were only used once when a character was quoting a word someone else had used, so the quotation marks were within the apostrophe'd dialogue. The language of the narration was also very dense and overly flowery for my tastes, as if the author had a thesaurus next to her and she would substitute as many words as possible with less common alternates. This might have been on purpose to set the book more realistically in the 1800s...? But it came across as confusing and left me tired after a few chapters at a time. There was also a typo of a character's name (Artelus became Artemus for one sentence) and that on top of everything else made me wonder about the editing process here. I feel it really would have benefitted from one more pass at least.
The story itself was interesting, but so much of it was bogged down by slow pacing. The twists were very obvious, which I don't necessarily mind, but that on top of the pacing made it feel like I was wasting my time throughout most of the middle section. I also felt the ending was very rushed and fell flat for me. (spoiler here) Artelus in particular really confused me at the end -- he seemed to be a bad guy leading up to the climax but then seemed like he was just still working there and everyone was fine with it? It just felt like a lot wasn't really concluded in a satisfying way.
Again, I really love the concept, and Bodkin was an interesting character when she wasn't making questionable decisions (particularly around the climax). But her work in the workshop felt oddly contrived and unnecessary, and her relationship with Cornelius confused me by the end; I really expected him to have more connection to Point Mote or her mother.
All in all, it was intriguing enough to get 2.5 stars out of me, but I don't know that I'd check out any further works by this author based on the execution here. I wish it had been edited differently and maybe given a few more passes on the story structure before publishing.
The story itself was interesting, but so much of it was bogged down by slow pacing. The twists were very obvious, which I don't necessarily mind, but that on top of the pacing made it feel like I was wasting my time throughout most of the middle section. I also felt the ending was very rushed and fell flat for me. (spoiler here) Artelus in particular really confused me at the end -- he seemed to be a bad guy leading up to the climax but then seemed like he was just still working there and everyone was fine with it? It just felt like a lot wasn't really concluded in a satisfying way.
Again, I really love the concept, and Bodkin was an interesting character when she wasn't making questionable decisions (particularly around the climax). But her work in the workshop felt oddly contrived and unnecessary, and her relationship with Cornelius confused me by the end; I really expected him to have more connection to Point Mote or her mother.
All in all, it was intriguing enough to get 2.5 stars out of me, but I don't know that I'd check out any further works by this author based on the execution here. I wish it had been edited differently and maybe given a few more passes on the story structure before publishing.
August 24, 2026
Jess Kidd has a fairly varied output from the speculative gothic mystery Things in Jars to her exploration of the historic, ill-fated Batavia voyage to Australia in The Night Ship to more recently her cosy 1950s murder mystery series featuring ex-nun Nora Breen. With Little Spark, Kidd successfully returns to her more gothic mode with a dark, lightly steampunk fantasy set in Victorian England.
Little Spark opens in 1881 with Bodkin Bell, a young woman who seems to have an extraordinary ability involving static electricity. Being Victorian times, she and her travelling partner (and protector) Cornelius monetise this ability by using it as a parlour trick. It is through this that Bodkin earned the nickname ‘Little Spark’. Eventually, though, an accident with this ability lands Bodkin in jail. But while there she is noticed by a wealthy visitor to the prison – Lady Heperia Halsey – who offers to take her onto her staff for the remainder of her sentence. Lady Hesperia lives in a remote, walled estate called Point Motte, in a marshy area on Kent where the family is famous for the creation of lifelike automata.
The plot revolves around two murders twenty years apart and the secrets that surround Bodkin. So there are mysteries in Little Spark that some readers may well guess the answers to in advance. But the joy here is more in the gothic milieu that Kidd has created. The crumbling estate of Point Motte and the surrounding marshland, a long list of strange characters – including the Halsey family, the remaining servants at Point Motte and the local townsfolk. And then there are the automata themselves – clockwork creations that seem to mimic life.
There was a great fascination with automata in Victorian times, a fascination that easily elides into a steampunk aesthetic. Other authors who have played with this idea include Natasha Pulley, in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and its sequels, and of course Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. But Kidd takes a much darker look at this idea than these two authors. And the final act in particular contains some fairly disturbing revelations and characters.
While Little Spark is not a sequel to Things in Jars it certainly shares its approach to dark tales set in Victorian England. It is a register that Kidd excels in as once again she delivers a darkly compelling narrative with an appealing protagonist at its centre.
Little Spark opens in 1881 with Bodkin Bell, a young woman who seems to have an extraordinary ability involving static electricity. Being Victorian times, she and her travelling partner (and protector) Cornelius monetise this ability by using it as a parlour trick. It is through this that Bodkin earned the nickname ‘Little Spark’. Eventually, though, an accident with this ability lands Bodkin in jail. But while there she is noticed by a wealthy visitor to the prison – Lady Heperia Halsey – who offers to take her onto her staff for the remainder of her sentence. Lady Hesperia lives in a remote, walled estate called Point Motte, in a marshy area on Kent where the family is famous for the creation of lifelike automata.
The plot revolves around two murders twenty years apart and the secrets that surround Bodkin. So there are mysteries in Little Spark that some readers may well guess the answers to in advance. But the joy here is more in the gothic milieu that Kidd has created. The crumbling estate of Point Motte and the surrounding marshland, a long list of strange characters – including the Halsey family, the remaining servants at Point Motte and the local townsfolk. And then there are the automata themselves – clockwork creations that seem to mimic life.
There was a great fascination with automata in Victorian times, a fascination that easily elides into a steampunk aesthetic. Other authors who have played with this idea include Natasha Pulley, in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and its sequels, and of course Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. But Kidd takes a much darker look at this idea than these two authors. And the final act in particular contains some fairly disturbing revelations and characters.
While Little Spark is not a sequel to Things in Jars it certainly shares its approach to dark tales set in Victorian England. It is a register that Kidd excels in as once again she delivers a darkly compelling narrative with an appealing protagonist at its centre.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Bodkin Bell - AKA Little Spark - is a foundling. She and her gaffer Cornelius travel between the homes of the wealthy and eccentric performing a unique act...Bodkin can generate electricity. One day things take a turn and Bodkin ends up behind bars, separated from Cornelius for the first time in her life. While in prison, Bodkin is noticed by Lady Haseley - who has a reputation for taking in waifs and strays, and sure enough decides to take Bodkin under her wing. But is all as it seems at Point Mote?
This is a great, creepy, twisty story which never quite goes in the direction you're thinking of. The whole premise is set around illusion, whether it's Bodkin's 'Little Spark' act or her unknown childhood, nothing is straightforward and the truth is always half hidden. The cast of characters is perfect for a gothic story, everyone slightly off - often in ways you can't quite pinpoint. Even the friendlier characters seem to be hiding something and it is always just about off kilter enough to feel unsettling.
The house and setting are characters in themselves too; Point Mote feels almost like a castle out at sea - remote, fog shrouded, surrounded by marshes and sitting behind high walls and constantly locked gates. From the very beginning it feels like a place designed to keep the world out, and secrets in. Somehow oppressive and romantic at the same time, it's the perfect location for this story.
There's no small amount of body horror in this, which can be easy to miss because of the slow build of the book - but when you realise the full truth of what's happening it is genuinely a jolt. I really enjoyed that there were a few threads breadcrumbed enough for the reader to unpick themselves while still keeping enough back to surprise. The conclusion of the book does come about a bit quickly but given the slower pacing of the rest of the story, it does make sense that it would feel sudden. A couple of things are a little vague at the very end but again that's very fitting with the rest of the book.
Definitely recommended for any gothic fiction lover, anyone with a bit of a steampunk vibe, or someone looking for an unconventional lead character.
- Thanks to NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review -
This is a great, creepy, twisty story which never quite goes in the direction you're thinking of. The whole premise is set around illusion, whether it's Bodkin's 'Little Spark' act or her unknown childhood, nothing is straightforward and the truth is always half hidden. The cast of characters is perfect for a gothic story, everyone slightly off - often in ways you can't quite pinpoint. Even the friendlier characters seem to be hiding something and it is always just about off kilter enough to feel unsettling.
The house and setting are characters in themselves too; Point Mote feels almost like a castle out at sea - remote, fog shrouded, surrounded by marshes and sitting behind high walls and constantly locked gates. From the very beginning it feels like a place designed to keep the world out, and secrets in. Somehow oppressive and romantic at the same time, it's the perfect location for this story.
There's no small amount of body horror in this, which can be easy to miss because of the slow build of the book - but when you realise the full truth of what's happening it is genuinely a jolt. I really enjoyed that there were a few threads breadcrumbed enough for the reader to unpick themselves while still keeping enough back to surprise. The conclusion of the book does come about a bit quickly but given the slower pacing of the rest of the story, it does make sense that it would feel sudden. A couple of things are a little vague at the very end but again that's very fitting with the rest of the book.
Definitely recommended for any gothic fiction lover, anyone with a bit of a steampunk vibe, or someone looking for an unconventional lead character.
- Thanks to NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review -
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Anything Jess Kidd writes is gold, and Little Spark adds to her way with the weird so wonderfully displayed in Things in Jars. This time, she draws from the Victorian fascination for both automata, science, and human anatomy which sound like two different things, but in this novel are not.
Bodkin Bell is an orphan who was found by a sideshow entrepreneur. It's a perfect match because the little girl has a sparky personality--shocks fly from her fingertips and she can make a gaslight flare by walking by. She and Cornelius craft a show based on the fascination with electricity and Bodkin's ability to make her own hair literally stand on end. They make a good living performing for the wealthy in their homes and in the occasional theater, but Bodkin can sense that something is going wrong. Cornelius is uneasy, they're performing barely enough to survive, and they're always on the go. Then, their caravan is attacked, Cornelius vanishes and Bodkin is imprisoned. A prison visitor takes an interest in the young woman and Bodkin is taken to a mysterious house in the Kent marshes to be a servant.
We know nothing goes well in isolated, crumbling mansions in remote areas, and indeed, that's Bodkin's experience. What we learn about what goes on in Point Mote is high-end Gothic horror, rooted in science, lunacy, and perversion. The end of the novel is heartbreaking. I hope there is something extraordinary about that apple.
Little Spark is brilliantly atmospheric and at the same time human. The bond between Bodkin and Cornelius is her link to humanity but now she is in a house where everything is questioned. Bodkin is a great creation and it's a treat to follow her on this journey of discovery. The combo of horror, science, and heart make Little Spark a Fine but uncomfortable read.
Thanks to Edelweiss for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Bodkin Bell is an orphan who was found by a sideshow entrepreneur. It's a perfect match because the little girl has a sparky personality--shocks fly from her fingertips and she can make a gaslight flare by walking by. She and Cornelius craft a show based on the fascination with electricity and Bodkin's ability to make her own hair literally stand on end. They make a good living performing for the wealthy in their homes and in the occasional theater, but Bodkin can sense that something is going wrong. Cornelius is uneasy, they're performing barely enough to survive, and they're always on the go. Then, their caravan is attacked, Cornelius vanishes and Bodkin is imprisoned. A prison visitor takes an interest in the young woman and Bodkin is taken to a mysterious house in the Kent marshes to be a servant.
We know nothing goes well in isolated, crumbling mansions in remote areas, and indeed, that's Bodkin's experience. What we learn about what goes on in Point Mote is high-end Gothic horror, rooted in science, lunacy, and perversion. The end of the novel is heartbreaking. I hope there is something extraordinary about that apple.
Little Spark is brilliantly atmospheric and at the same time human. The bond between Bodkin and Cornelius is her link to humanity but now she is in a house where everything is questioned. Bodkin is a great creation and it's a treat to follow her on this journey of discovery. The combo of horror, science, and heart make Little Spark a Fine but uncomfortable read.
Thanks to Edelweiss for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Back in 2019, after devouring ‘Things in Jars’, I really hoped that Jess Kidd would give us another Bridie Devine tale. That was not to be but seven years later she has given us Bodkin Bell, a brave, resilient and determined young woman and what a wonderful successor she is!
Operating as Little Spark in the late nineteenth century and introduced in select drawing rooms by her quasi father-figure, the showman Cornelius Bell, she conducts electricity in the most unexpected manner. Unfortunately, this results in prison from which she is plucked to serve out the rest of her sentence by the imperious Lady Hesperia Halsey. The latter lives in desolate Point Mote in the Kent marshes, alongside an unusual group of servants and her nephew Ramshaw.
Ostensibly, Hesperia has chosen Bodkin as a suitable apprentice for Ramshaw, a talented maker of astonishing automata. However, ever hopeful that Cornelius will rescue her from this far from traditional prison, Bodkin begins to understand that her potential as a craftswoman is far removed from Hesperia’s real reason for bringing her to Point Mote. In doing so she acknowledges that, ‘…people often fight most painfully against accepting what they already know.’
As ever, Jess Kidd uses her unique imagination to conjure up a gothic world of bizarre creations and scientific horror, alongside a cast of sometimes malign, sometimes compassionate and brave individuals. The reader is pulled into her extraordinary world through intricate details, subtle observations and downright unpleasant flourishes whilst all the time believing in the emotional core of the novel. A very good read. (Four stars rather than five because the pace suffered around halfway through the narrative.)
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Operating as Little Spark in the late nineteenth century and introduced in select drawing rooms by her quasi father-figure, the showman Cornelius Bell, she conducts electricity in the most unexpected manner. Unfortunately, this results in prison from which she is plucked to serve out the rest of her sentence by the imperious Lady Hesperia Halsey. The latter lives in desolate Point Mote in the Kent marshes, alongside an unusual group of servants and her nephew Ramshaw.
Ostensibly, Hesperia has chosen Bodkin as a suitable apprentice for Ramshaw, a talented maker of astonishing automata. However, ever hopeful that Cornelius will rescue her from this far from traditional prison, Bodkin begins to understand that her potential as a craftswoman is far removed from Hesperia’s real reason for bringing her to Point Mote. In doing so she acknowledges that, ‘…people often fight most painfully against accepting what they already know.’
As ever, Jess Kidd uses her unique imagination to conjure up a gothic world of bizarre creations and scientific horror, alongside a cast of sometimes malign, sometimes compassionate and brave individuals. The reader is pulled into her extraordinary world through intricate details, subtle observations and downright unpleasant flourishes whilst all the time believing in the emotional core of the novel. A very good read. (Four stars rather than five because the pace suffered around halfway through the narrative.)
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Little Spark by Jess Kidd
Having read Things in Jars with the wonderful character Bridie Devine I wondered if the new character In Little Spark would be as memorable and she is. Bodkin Bell is a fascinating character who is fearless, resourceful and has enormous strength of character. Bodkin works with a father figure, Cornelius Bell, who displays her strange skills to gentlemen in Victorian England. Bodkin is able to conduct electricity and it is this talent which finds her incarcerated in prison and separated from Cornelius.
Then a strange woman, Lady Hesperia, visits the prison and her attention alights upon an embroidery upon which Bodkin has been working. It shows Point Mote, Lady Hesperia’s estate in Kent. Lady Hesperia determines to remove Bodkin from prison and to keep her at her estate. This estate is desolate and isolated there are few servants and only Lady Hesperia and her nephew Ramshaw.
Ramshaw and his father before him are the makers of automata and a Bodkin is faced with these monstrous creations as she arrives at the estate to serve out the rest of her sentence. The author creates a Gothic atmosphere of strange beings and malevolent forces which threaten to overwhelm Bodkin.
There are secrets aplenty hidden within the walls of Point Mote and Bodkin will need all her courage and determination to discover the secrets which lie at its heart. This is a gripping novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it as I have other novels by this author. There are some wonderful descriptive passages and I will be recommending this at my various book groups. Many thanks to Jess Kidd, Canongate and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.
Having read Things in Jars with the wonderful character Bridie Devine I wondered if the new character In Little Spark would be as memorable and she is. Bodkin Bell is a fascinating character who is fearless, resourceful and has enormous strength of character. Bodkin works with a father figure, Cornelius Bell, who displays her strange skills to gentlemen in Victorian England. Bodkin is able to conduct electricity and it is this talent which finds her incarcerated in prison and separated from Cornelius.
Then a strange woman, Lady Hesperia, visits the prison and her attention alights upon an embroidery upon which Bodkin has been working. It shows Point Mote, Lady Hesperia’s estate in Kent. Lady Hesperia determines to remove Bodkin from prison and to keep her at her estate. This estate is desolate and isolated there are few servants and only Lady Hesperia and her nephew Ramshaw.
Ramshaw and his father before him are the makers of automata and a Bodkin is faced with these monstrous creations as she arrives at the estate to serve out the rest of her sentence. The author creates a Gothic atmosphere of strange beings and malevolent forces which threaten to overwhelm Bodkin.
There are secrets aplenty hidden within the walls of Point Mote and Bodkin will need all her courage and determination to discover the secrets which lie at its heart. This is a gripping novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it as I have other novels by this author. There are some wonderful descriptive passages and I will be recommending this at my various book groups. Many thanks to Jess Kidd, Canongate and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.
October 8, 2026
Victorian gothic with a steampunk-esque twist, eerie marshlands, thick rolling fog, a mysterious old house and a wonderfully odd cast of characters. This book was an absolute atmospheric delight!
Bodkin Bell has a rather unique gift, and her gaffer knows exactly how to exploit it. Together, they travel the country performing extraordinary sideshow carnival feats that leave the people astonished. But when her trick goes horribly wrong, Bodkin finds herself thrown into gaol.
That is, until a wealthy philanthropic woman takes an interest in her and insists Bodkin complete her servitude in her household instead. Here, Bodkin encounters a peculiar collection of staff, plenty of secrets, and a mysterious inventor whose fascination with automata threatens to blur the boundaries between machinery and living beings.
But beneath the surface of her strange new home lies something quite unimaginable, and Bodkin may soon find answers to the questions that have plagued her.
I ADORED this book! Jess Kidd has created such a deliciously gloomy world that I swear I could feel the damp mist settling on my skin. The atmosphere was impeccable, the gothic vibes were gothic-ing, and the entire setting felt wonderfully sinister. I love a book that transports me so completely into its world, and this one absolutely delivered.
The host of oddball characters were fascinating, the blend of Victorian gothic and mechanical invention was wonderfully imaginative, and the plot was grossly intriguing in the best possible way. There is something so compelling about a story that is equal parts macabre, mysterious and utterly bizarre.
Dark, whimsical, unsettling and beautifully atmospheric. What a wonderfully strange little read. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!
Bodkin Bell has a rather unique gift, and her gaffer knows exactly how to exploit it. Together, they travel the country performing extraordinary sideshow carnival feats that leave the people astonished. But when her trick goes horribly wrong, Bodkin finds herself thrown into gaol.
That is, until a wealthy philanthropic woman takes an interest in her and insists Bodkin complete her servitude in her household instead. Here, Bodkin encounters a peculiar collection of staff, plenty of secrets, and a mysterious inventor whose fascination with automata threatens to blur the boundaries between machinery and living beings.
But beneath the surface of her strange new home lies something quite unimaginable, and Bodkin may soon find answers to the questions that have plagued her.
I ADORED this book! Jess Kidd has created such a deliciously gloomy world that I swear I could feel the damp mist settling on my skin. The atmosphere was impeccable, the gothic vibes were gothic-ing, and the entire setting felt wonderfully sinister. I love a book that transports me so completely into its world, and this one absolutely delivered.
The host of oddball characters were fascinating, the blend of Victorian gothic and mechanical invention was wonderfully imaginative, and the plot was grossly intriguing in the best possible way. There is something so compelling about a story that is equal parts macabre, mysterious and utterly bizarre.
Dark, whimsical, unsettling and beautifully atmospheric. What a wonderfully strange little read. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Little Spark is a wonderfully strange, immersive tale that feels like stepping into a lantern‑lit dream—one full of crackling magic, mechanical marvels, and secrets buried deeper than the marsh itself. From the moment Bodkin Bell arrives at Point Mote, the story wraps itself around you with a quiet, uncanny pull.
Bodkin is an instantly compelling heroine: sharp, scrappy, and carrying a spark—literal and figurative—that sets her apart. Her past as a travelling spectacle gives her an edge of melancholy, and watching her navigate the eerie halls of Point Mote is both enchanting and unsettling. The house is a character in its own right, full of whirring automata, locked rooms, and a sense that every shadow is hiding something important.
The atmosphere is exquisite. Misty marshes, flickering gaslights, and the strange brilliance of the inventors she serves create a world that feels both gothic and gently whimsical. The tension builds slowly, like a storm gathering over the marsh, until Bodkin begins to uncover truths that were never meant to surface. The mystery is layered, clever, and deeply rooted in the emotional heart of the story.
What makes the book shine is its blend of wonder and unease. It’s a story about identity, survival, and the dangerous power of what we choose to hide. The writing feels lush without being heavy, and the world is so vividly drawn that you can almost smell the marsh air and hear the hum of the machines.
A beautifully atmospheric mystery with a spark all its own—strange, tender, and full of surprises.
With thanks to Jess Kidd, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Bodkin is an instantly compelling heroine: sharp, scrappy, and carrying a spark—literal and figurative—that sets her apart. Her past as a travelling spectacle gives her an edge of melancholy, and watching her navigate the eerie halls of Point Mote is both enchanting and unsettling. The house is a character in its own right, full of whirring automata, locked rooms, and a sense that every shadow is hiding something important.
The atmosphere is exquisite. Misty marshes, flickering gaslights, and the strange brilliance of the inventors she serves create a world that feels both gothic and gently whimsical. The tension builds slowly, like a storm gathering over the marsh, until Bodkin begins to uncover truths that were never meant to surface. The mystery is layered, clever, and deeply rooted in the emotional heart of the story.
What makes the book shine is its blend of wonder and unease. It’s a story about identity, survival, and the dangerous power of what we choose to hide. The writing feels lush without being heavy, and the world is so vividly drawn that you can almost smell the marsh air and hear the hum of the machines.
A beautifully atmospheric mystery with a spark all its own—strange, tender, and full of surprises.
With thanks to Jess Kidd, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In Victorian England, trickery is often a form of entertainment. Bodkin Bell and her 'gaffer' Cornelius Bell, travel round the fine houses treating dinner parties to a show of electricity and static that Bodkin, Little Spark, can conjure up.
Some years later that same static is turned on an unwelcome suitor and Bodkin finds herself in jail. Enter Lady Halsey who has Bodkin taken to Point Mote as an act of charity where she will work with Ramshaw - her nephew, for the remainder of her sentence.
Point Mote is a remote and isolated house on the edge of Kent, surrounded by marshlands. Fear of smugglers and bandits keep the inhabitants locked tight inside and Bodkin finds she is as much a prisoner there as she was in jail. It is only as the past catches up with her that Bodkin realises the full horror of the place and the situation she finds herself in.
The settings in this book are wonderfully atmospheric with flickering lights, creepy marshlands, and swirling fog. The house is old and run down, and the automata creepy, and the whole story has a gothic edge, set against a fantastical elements.
The staff at Point Mote are odd and edgy and at odd with everything Bodkin has known, as the gaffer only showed her kindness and courtesy. Bodkin, however, proves herself to be a feisty character and able to take care of herself.
The writing is excellent with wonderful descriptions. But it is the story that wins out with its mix of gothic, mystery and whimsical. I really enjoyed the read and how different the book felt.
With thanks to the author, Netgalley and Canongate Books for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Some years later that same static is turned on an unwelcome suitor and Bodkin finds herself in jail. Enter Lady Halsey who has Bodkin taken to Point Mote as an act of charity where she will work with Ramshaw - her nephew, for the remainder of her sentence.
Point Mote is a remote and isolated house on the edge of Kent, surrounded by marshlands. Fear of smugglers and bandits keep the inhabitants locked tight inside and Bodkin finds she is as much a prisoner there as she was in jail. It is only as the past catches up with her that Bodkin realises the full horror of the place and the situation she finds herself in.
The settings in this book are wonderfully atmospheric with flickering lights, creepy marshlands, and swirling fog. The house is old and run down, and the automata creepy, and the whole story has a gothic edge, set against a fantastical elements.
The staff at Point Mote are odd and edgy and at odd with everything Bodkin has known, as the gaffer only showed her kindness and courtesy. Bodkin, however, proves herself to be a feisty character and able to take care of herself.
The writing is excellent with wonderful descriptions. But it is the story that wins out with its mix of gothic, mystery and whimsical. I really enjoyed the read and how different the book felt.
With thanks to the author, Netgalley and Canongate Books for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!***
I’ve never read any of this author’s work before but the premise sounded absolutely fascinating and I was intrigued enough to request it.
Unfortunately, the spark I felt (sorry!!) was very quickly extinguished. After the first chapter or so having me pretty hooked and curious, I began to get a little bored. Then a lot bored.
Don’t get me wrong, the writing was beautiful. Super atmospheric and I was so deep in the marshes when we (finally) got there. But getting there? It was a journey. And not a fun one.
I’m sorry to say I had to DNF at 36%. I try my best to give every book a chance, especially advance copies, but I just couldn’t force myself through it. I think a third of the way through a book should give me enough to want more, or to care about the characters, or at least be invested to some extent in the plot. Sadly, I was none of the above.
This book is slow-paced. Far too slow for me, I fear. I put it on pause the other week while I was on nights but I have no urge to pick it up again. The reviews on this seem to be generally positive, so I think perhaps I am an exception to the rule here, but this wasn’t for me.
I actually doubt it’s a bad book - in fact, I’m sure it is actually very good. But it’s not a good book for me. I think other people, who maybe have a little more patience or maybe a few more brain cells than I currently own, will probably have a good time.
I can’t rate it highly because I genuinely could not progress further, but what I read was good writing and an interesting premise, but just too slow and too little for me to keep going.
2 🌟
I’ve never read any of this author’s work before but the premise sounded absolutely fascinating and I was intrigued enough to request it.
Unfortunately, the spark I felt (sorry!!) was very quickly extinguished. After the first chapter or so having me pretty hooked and curious, I began to get a little bored. Then a lot bored.
Don’t get me wrong, the writing was beautiful. Super atmospheric and I was so deep in the marshes when we (finally) got there. But getting there? It was a journey. And not a fun one.
I’m sorry to say I had to DNF at 36%. I try my best to give every book a chance, especially advance copies, but I just couldn’t force myself through it. I think a third of the way through a book should give me enough to want more, or to care about the characters, or at least be invested to some extent in the plot. Sadly, I was none of the above.
This book is slow-paced. Far too slow for me, I fear. I put it on pause the other week while I was on nights but I have no urge to pick it up again. The reviews on this seem to be generally positive, so I think perhaps I am an exception to the rule here, but this wasn’t for me.
I actually doubt it’s a bad book - in fact, I’m sure it is actually very good. But it’s not a good book for me. I think other people, who maybe have a little more patience or maybe a few more brain cells than I currently own, will probably have a good time.
I can’t rate it highly because I genuinely could not progress further, but what I read was good writing and an interesting premise, but just too slow and too little for me to keep going.
2 🌟
September 18, 2026
I absolutely love Jess Kidd’s writing - lyrical and just beautiful. And I also absolutely love a gothic steampunk-esque type novel. So I wasn’t disappointed.
Bodkin Bell has spent her life travelling around the countryside with Cornelius. She is an orphan and isn’t entirely sure what her relationship to Cornelius is, but he’s a father figure to her. The pair show off Bodkin’s particular talent. Electricity literally flows from her. Amazing but unfortunately it lands her in prison when a sneaky spectator stole a kiss.
As was the done thing in those days, the prison showed round rich people, one of whom decides that Bodkin can spend the rest of her sentence at Point Mote - her crumbling gothic pile in the Kent marshes. It’s a sad atmospheric place, stuck in the past and family tragedies.
The point in Bodkin being there, was to work alongside the young heir Ramshaw in furthering the family automaton business, but being somewhat reclusive, this is difficult. Instead Bodkin has to find her own place within the household. She’s also desperate to be reunited with Cornelius so has half her mind planning to run away.
But slowly Bodkin learns about the history of the place, past traumas and secrets, and begins to feel a connection with the place.
There are certainly twists and turns but I would have loved the pace to have been a little quicker. I thought Bodkin was a great protagonist, and I loved the clearly well researched history of the automatons, and the link at the end providing more info and photos. Really very interesting.
Bodkin Bell has spent her life travelling around the countryside with Cornelius. She is an orphan and isn’t entirely sure what her relationship to Cornelius is, but he’s a father figure to her. The pair show off Bodkin’s particular talent. Electricity literally flows from her. Amazing but unfortunately it lands her in prison when a sneaky spectator stole a kiss.
As was the done thing in those days, the prison showed round rich people, one of whom decides that Bodkin can spend the rest of her sentence at Point Mote - her crumbling gothic pile in the Kent marshes. It’s a sad atmospheric place, stuck in the past and family tragedies.
The point in Bodkin being there, was to work alongside the young heir Ramshaw in furthering the family automaton business, but being somewhat reclusive, this is difficult. Instead Bodkin has to find her own place within the household. She’s also desperate to be reunited with Cornelius so has half her mind planning to run away.
But slowly Bodkin learns about the history of the place, past traumas and secrets, and begins to feel a connection with the place.
There are certainly twists and turns but I would have loved the pace to have been a little quicker. I thought Bodkin was a great protagonist, and I loved the clearly well researched history of the automatons, and the link at the end providing more info and photos. Really very interesting.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you’re freaked out by the idea of automata so realistic you could mistake them for the real thing or so grotesque you’ll wonder at the mind that conceived them, then prepared to be unnerved by some of the machines created by the former owner of Point Mote and its new heir, Ramshaw. And, as it turns out, that’s not the worst of it because there are even more sinister things going on.
This is the world in which Bodkin finds herself, chosen to serve part of her prison sentence – the result of a momentary loss of control – in a huge but rather dilapidated manor house on the Kent marshes surrounded by high walls to keep interlopers out – or perhaps to keep the inhabitants in.
Bodkin’s unclear exactly why she’s there, presuming it’s pure chance she was selected by the formidable Lady Hesperia Halsey, Ramshaw’s aunt. But even a gloomy old house is better than prison plus she’s confident that Cornelius Bell, the man who has been her mentor since she was a child, will arrive to rescue her. Indeed, she’s convinced her transfer to Point Mote is all part of his plan. But is Cornelius, a proven trickster, gambler and teller of tall tales, someone she can rely on?
I loved Bodkin. She’s determined, resilient and resourceful. However, the unique physical characteristic that made her such a theatrical marvel sets her apart from others, in more ways than one. ‘She lives with a chest which jangles like a fistful of spoons, hums like a hive, ripples like a bucket of eels. A heart that doesn’t beat so much as teeters and skids like a spinning top on a wet floor.’ In the course of the book Bodkin learns things about her early life, things that have up until now existed as mere fragments of memory.
Point Mote is a house of secrets – many of them macabre – and a place of tragic events. Its eerie atmosphere is combined with an element of madness and obsession. This is a time when scientific experimentation overlapped with the desire of the rich for sensation, the more excessive and outlandish the better. If you’ve read the author’s earlier book Things In Jars you’ll know the kind of thing I mean.
If you reckon you’ve got it all figured out be prepared for a few surprises. Little Spark is a brilliantly atmospheric, deliciously creepy mystery with a completely captivating main character.
This is the world in which Bodkin finds herself, chosen to serve part of her prison sentence – the result of a momentary loss of control – in a huge but rather dilapidated manor house on the Kent marshes surrounded by high walls to keep interlopers out – or perhaps to keep the inhabitants in.
Bodkin’s unclear exactly why she’s there, presuming it’s pure chance she was selected by the formidable Lady Hesperia Halsey, Ramshaw’s aunt. But even a gloomy old house is better than prison plus she’s confident that Cornelius Bell, the man who has been her mentor since she was a child, will arrive to rescue her. Indeed, she’s convinced her transfer to Point Mote is all part of his plan. But is Cornelius, a proven trickster, gambler and teller of tall tales, someone she can rely on?
I loved Bodkin. She’s determined, resilient and resourceful. However, the unique physical characteristic that made her such a theatrical marvel sets her apart from others, in more ways than one. ‘She lives with a chest which jangles like a fistful of spoons, hums like a hive, ripples like a bucket of eels. A heart that doesn’t beat so much as teeters and skids like a spinning top on a wet floor.’ In the course of the book Bodkin learns things about her early life, things that have up until now existed as mere fragments of memory.
Point Mote is a house of secrets – many of them macabre – and a place of tragic events. Its eerie atmosphere is combined with an element of madness and obsession. This is a time when scientific experimentation overlapped with the desire of the rich for sensation, the more excessive and outlandish the better. If you’ve read the author’s earlier book Things In Jars you’ll know the kind of thing I mean.
If you reckon you’ve got it all figured out be prepared for a few surprises. Little Spark is a brilliantly atmospheric, deliciously creepy mystery with a completely captivating main character.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Little Spark. 4.5-5 stars.
What a electrifying read! (Yes, pun intended. I have a terrible sense of humour.)
Little Spark is a queer Gothic horror novel set in the Victorian era, featuring automatons, a sinister stately home and dark secrets. It explores the themes of autonomy, family, community and, above all, what it means to be human. There's also a healthy dose of medical horror and an autistic-coded protagonist.
The writing felt modern Dickensian to me, thanks to its atmospheric settings, vivid character descriptions, and focus on working-class and underclass perspectives. The characters themselves were compelling and richly brought to life.
But, the novel also had something of Frankenstein and Doctor Moreau, with its Victorian-esque sci-fi elements. The science doesn't stand up to modern scrutiny, but it is exactly the type of sci-fi that Victorians were reading – and I found it effectively chilling. I really liked the way that this book felt like a love letter to the period as a whole, including the novels of the time.
Some of the novel's twists were predictable, but there was also something delightful in that. It heightened the sense of anticipation and horror. I really enjoyed the slow, atmospheric creep towards reveals that were obviously going to be horrifying.
I will be keeping my eye out for future books by Jess Kidd!
What a electrifying read! (Yes, pun intended. I have a terrible sense of humour.)
Little Spark is a queer Gothic horror novel set in the Victorian era, featuring automatons, a sinister stately home and dark secrets. It explores the themes of autonomy, family, community and, above all, what it means to be human. There's also a healthy dose of medical horror and an autistic-coded protagonist.
The writing felt modern Dickensian to me, thanks to its atmospheric settings, vivid character descriptions, and focus on working-class and underclass perspectives. The characters themselves were compelling and richly brought to life.
But, the novel also had something of Frankenstein and Doctor Moreau, with its Victorian-esque sci-fi elements. The science doesn't stand up to modern scrutiny, but it is exactly the type of sci-fi that Victorians were reading – and I found it effectively chilling. I really liked the way that this book felt like a love letter to the period as a whole, including the novels of the time.
Some of the novel's twists were predictable, but there was also something delightful in that. It heightened the sense of anticipation and horror. I really enjoyed the slow, atmospheric creep towards reveals that were obviously going to be horrifying.
I will be keeping my eye out for future books by Jess Kidd!
August 13, 2026
I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
This was a wonderful read. The story was compelling, the writing was beautiful, the menace was palpable.
This is a historical novel, with gothic horror elements. It’s not scary per se but the tension, the dread, the injustice are all strongly felt. The atmosphere in this book is incredible. The story involves automa, and it has fantastical elements. But it always seems so utterly grounded in reality. There’s such a cool, scientific approach to some of the content that it felt completely believable.
We follow Bodkin, she’s in prison and a wealthy lady decides she wants to take her into her employ. Her sentence is falsely extended and she’s effectively given to this woman, Hesperia. She’s taken from the prison to an imposing and isolated house. A strange smattering of servants her main company aside from the odd tea with Hesperia and glimpses of the reclusive master.
Bodkin is given portents that something isn’t right, and the longer she stays in the house, the more she realises she might be imperilled and she starts to learn more of people who have suffered tragedies here before.
I was so impressed by the unravelling of the mystery, the seeping dread felt throughout the book, the invocation of the historical period. The writing was excellent.
I was mesmerised by this book, I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.
This was a wonderful read. The story was compelling, the writing was beautiful, the menace was palpable.
This is a historical novel, with gothic horror elements. It’s not scary per se but the tension, the dread, the injustice are all strongly felt. The atmosphere in this book is incredible. The story involves automa, and it has fantastical elements. But it always seems so utterly grounded in reality. There’s such a cool, scientific approach to some of the content that it felt completely believable.
We follow Bodkin, she’s in prison and a wealthy lady decides she wants to take her into her employ. Her sentence is falsely extended and she’s effectively given to this woman, Hesperia. She’s taken from the prison to an imposing and isolated house. A strange smattering of servants her main company aside from the odd tea with Hesperia and glimpses of the reclusive master.
Bodkin is given portents that something isn’t right, and the longer she stays in the house, the more she realises she might be imperilled and she starts to learn more of people who have suffered tragedies here before.
I was so impressed by the unravelling of the mystery, the seeping dread felt throughout the book, the invocation of the historical period. The writing was excellent.
I was mesmerised by this book, I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Bodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesn't know where she came from, but she knows she’s different. Gaslights flare as she walks past. Cutlery spins. Shocks fly from her fingertips.
For years, she was ‘Little Spark’, the star of an electrifying sideshow – until the act went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.
Now she’s been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.
But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years – and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.
A highly atmospheric, gothic novel which is beautifully descriptive taking the reader into the depths of poverty and suffering but having its lighthearted moments whenever Cornelius Bell makes an appearance. The writing is enchanting, especially when describing Bodkin's love of nature and the woods but sometimes I found myself just wanting to get on with the plot, probably because it's such an excellent one.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
For years, she was ‘Little Spark’, the star of an electrifying sideshow – until the act went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.
Now she’s been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.
But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years – and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.
A highly atmospheric, gothic novel which is beautifully descriptive taking the reader into the depths of poverty and suffering but having its lighthearted moments whenever Cornelius Bell makes an appearance. The writing is enchanting, especially when describing Bodkin's love of nature and the woods but sometimes I found myself just wanting to get on with the plot, probably because it's such an excellent one.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
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