The year is 1985, and O' Hare's Travelling Circus is touring the country.
Their spectacular acts mesmerize audiences everywhere, with entertaining clowns, high-flying acrobats, a muscular strongman and a dare-devil motorcycle stuntman, to name a few.
They also have Psychic Sheila - resident fortune-teller and agony aunt - who stumbles through life one disastrous romantic interlude at a time. Of course, no close-knit group would be complete without its fair share of secrets, and who better to uncover them than Sheila, with her sixth sense and natural nose for a good mystery.
But for some members of the clan, time is running out... and the race to uncover the biggest secret of all is on.
This cozy mystery will have you laughing and crying in equal measure, and might even prompt a visit to the circus.
Praise from
★★★★★ - "I was hooked from the first till the last page. What a wonderful book."
★★★★★ - "Another wonderful story from A.J. Griffiths-Jones. She captures the heart and soul of small traveling circus life and hands it right up to you."
A.J.Griffiths-Jones is a historian & genealogist with a special interest in Victorian Crime. After a decade of living & working in China, she now lives in Shropshire, England. A.J's interests include cooking, travelling & swimming. Her debut book 'Prisoner 4374' was the result of ten years research in to the life of Dr.Thomas Neill Cream, the notorious Lambeth Poisoner & Jack the Ripper suspect. A.J. is currently working on a sequel Ripper book and a series of novels, the first of which 'The Villagers' was published early 2016.
Irish Gipsy, Sheila Hannigan has a sixth-sense and works in a travelling circus, making her living by telling fortunes to the locals in each town.
Sheila is hiding a secret; as are most of the other circus members. Each chapter tells the tale of one of these characters, and how Sheila, through a mix of intuition, sixth-sense, a bit of snooping and nosiness, manages to draw out the truth from each individual.
The forty-something gipsy has no lack of perspective beaus, all clambering for her affection, and she finds herself in some sticky predicaments in which she needs all her wits and cunning to keep her admirers at bay.
By the end of the book, the circus season is coming to a close and Sheila must find another job to survive the winter months. When she is hired by another circus, she must face up to her own hidden secret to bring the novel to its unexpected climax. A gentle, easy read that I would recommend for all ages.
I’ve only read two of this talented author’s books but I have to say, if there’s an award for the best twist at the end, A.J. Griffith-Jones should win it! Gypsy psychic Sheila Hannigan has a sixth sense about the secret lives of all the other circus performers. After all, they all bring outfits over for her to repair on her sewing machine. While stitching and drinking tea, they divulge secrets that weave mysteries into the tale. Sheila knows which ones are lying, if they are stealing, even when they are in love. Despite her inquisitive, brash nature, the attractive gypsy has the attention of many of the male performers and workers. Like a butterfly, she flits around without a serious relationship, solving problems and helping everyone. But summer is over and the circus will soon close down for the season. Everything is changing. The air is cooler and the tents are coming down. What happens next? Sheila isn’t done. Her biggest show is still ahead. There are wonderful characters, trapeze artists, a ringmaster, clowns, a strongman and others who make the circus come alive. Run away with The Circus by reading it today!
Great cozy book that fully captured my attention. The characters became very real and I could see them as if I actually was there at the circus and a member of the circus family.
Psychic Sheila is a member of a circus travelling around England. Sheila gets wrapped up in little mysteries about other members of the circus while at the same time hiding a mystery of her own. She develops friendships and bonds with the other members of the circus. There is laughter, love, and sadness. Highly recommend this book, it doesn't disappoint.
Sheila Hannigan is a fortune-teller and earns her living by travelling around the English countryside with a circus. She is very good at reading the crystal ball and telling her customers what lies ahead for them. So much so, they keep coming back to visit her whenever the circus is in their area.
Sheila is also a woman with a warm heart and is well-liked by the entire circus troupe. Whether they work under the canvas of the Big Top, or outside in the open air, she is always ready to do anything to help anyone of them as she considers them all as her friends. Nevertheless, though Sheila has been with the circus for a number of years, she is still surprised to learn that some of the members of the troupe have a secret they would rather not share. As the chapters unfold, the reader learns something new about each of the people in the troupe. It would appear that not everyone is as open as Psychic Sheila. But then, at the end of the day, might Sheila have a secret she would rather not share…
This is a delightful story. Each chapter focuses on one of the circus entertainers and the secret they would rather keep to themselves. One way of looking at this novel, is that there are several separate stories. Yet they are all linked by Sheila’s curiosity, or maybe that should be nosiness, to get to the truth.
This is the third book I've read by AJ, and what a book! This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
The Circus showcases AJ's ability to introduce a fine cast of characters. Each chapter focuses on another member of the circus, with the Sheila the fortune-teller being the protagonist, pulling the strings at the heart of it all. We feel her loneliness as she looks on at her colleagues, all caught up in their own secrets. She’s there to listen, and also mend the costumes of her friends, twisting a solid story.
I loved the cast of characters. I swiped the pages without realising just how quickly I was moving through the book. This was the sort of story that you don’t need to be second guessing. You can sit back and just simply enjoy it. The ending, by the way, was brilliant, and I really wasn’t expecting it!
It’s a wonderful insight into the workings of a circus. The community, and friendship of a bunch of travelling entertainers. AJ spins a tale at a gentle pace, and for me this was just a feelgood book. This is highly recommended.
Having read other titles by this author, I was keen to take a look at this offering. Set in the '80s, the travelling troupe criss-cross the UK, stopping in various places whilst they wow the crowds with their skills and flamboyance. But there are secrets within, each member of the circus holding something very close to their chests.
A lovely story, beautifully told with memorable characters. I especially loved Shiela, with her blunt ways and the torrent of fecks that pour from her mouth on a daily basis. A real diamond.
Another memorable book from a very talented author. Highly recommended.
Lovely is a most underrated word, but that is what this book is and how I felt when I finished it. I have read 4 of the 5 books in this series and have bought the 5th – the series is bewitching. AJ has a beguiling way of writing about life in situations and time frames that captivates in an enchanting way. This is set in a circus, in the 1980’s. Life as it is observed by the Irish Fortune teller, Psychic Sheila; a nosy cow? Not really, just a very real woman approaching middle-age, and with a gift. As in previous novels in the series, we are delighted with observations, glimpses into the lives of the people who in this instance make up the Troupe and, it is never what you think. Amazing that something so simple can be so charming and seductive, but it is, and it is this that is so ‘lovely’. No plot spoilers, but at the end, I wept. This story, these books, will stay with you and leave you wanting just a bit more of that lovely feeling, because, it’s lovely. And who cannot do with a bit of ‘lovely’ in their lives?
I did like this but it wasn't what I was expecting. It was billed as a modern detective story, so I spent the whole story waiting for a murder to happen (spoiler alert there isn't any) instead the book is made up lots of everyday mysteries like who is stealing from the circus people? why use water to oil a caravan? And who is the seeing who? All solved by the resident psychic. The stories were short bits of fun and ended with each new chapter. They were often funny and I think great for a car ride or a short journey. The characters were fun and I liked the circus setting making it an unusual story. The narrator tried hard with her Irish accents but to an English ear it sounded funny and at times that was what made me laugh.
Every year when I was a boy a "carnival" would come to the town in which I lived. It was not until many years later I learned what a hard life those who worked in the carnival, or circus, lived. This tale, a series of anecdotes about members of the circus, is filled with moments of laughter, sadness, hope, surprise, right up to the last. I won't tell you more of the story because that would spoil it for you. I will say that the one reviewer who asked what was the book about didn't read it through, didn't do what a good reader does, that being putting ones self in the position of the story teller. In this case the story teller is a psychic whose real life abilities far outstrip her psychic senses. The characters in this book are amazing even without a lot of time spent in personal descriptions or descriptions of their thoughts, their lives and so on. The characters, combined with the presentation by the author, combined with the nature of the anecdotes makes this a favorite for me. I expect it will be for you as well if you take the time to read all of it. Masterfully done.
The year is 1985 and our host is Irish psychic Sheila Hannigan the resident fortune-teller and agony aunt of O'Hare's travelling circus. Continuing with the successfully format of the other three books we follow Sheila as she discovers the secrets of her fellow performers, some of who's stories had me crying with laughter. As the story unfolds we discover Sheila herself has a secret from her past which she keeps hidden from her circus family . I highly recommend you buy the book and I promise if you do you won't be disappointed. Well done to the author on another successful book can't wait for the release of the final book in the series. 🎪
I accidentally bought this book on my Kindle while searching for "The Night Circus". I soon discovered my err, as the only thing the two books have in common is a circus. Upon realizing my mistake, I put this book aside and read the other.
Afterward, since this title had already been added to my Kindle library, I decided to plow my way through "The Circus". As mentioned, it follows a completely different genre than "The Night Circus". While there is a supernatural element involved with the novel's protagonist Sheila Hannigan, this is a story about people, the lives they lead, and the secrets they keep. Their secrets drew me in, and the colorful characters held my attention until the stories conclusion. So much for plowing, I could not put the book down. What a stroke of serendipity!
Gypsy psychic Sheila Hannigan is a single woman no longer quite as young as she wishes she was. She isn't really lonely. She has many friends among the performers and as a traveling psychic, many clients who return to visit year after year. She has more than a psychic "gift" though and we discover her using it to uncover secrets among those around her. When a new dare devil joins the troupe, Sheila's thoughts drift a bit more towards romance, but he has her firmly in the friend zone. Follow along as Sheila discovers new information about those she thought she knew. She, herself, may have a couple of secrets. Will they be discovered? Enjoy the show told in remarkable fashion by a talented author and a narrator with diverse range.
This was another great story by Griffiths-Jones, but, I expected nothing less! I could not put this down. I know that this will make me sound a bit jaded but it is rare for me to truly be surprised at an ending but I can honestly say that I did not see the twist to this ending until the very end!
It wasn’t what I expected but I came to love the little short stories weaved into the full novel. It was fun to imagine being in a circus roaming around the English countryside. Really cool book.
Another lovely read from this author. Loved how everyone had their own secrets and demons which gradually came out. Some wonderful characters, that all had a part to play.
I am enjoying these ‘cozy mysteries’ from AJGriffiths Jones and this one is the best yet. They are good studies in human nature however odd the humans are!
There was so much I loved about this book. To start, I thought the cover was eyecatching, and having already previously read and enjoyed another book in the 'Skeletons in the cupboard' series, I was really looking forward to immersing myself in more of this talented author's fiction.
The story is told from the perspective of 'psychic Shiela' - the circus matriarch who concerns herself with the lives of her fellow circus performers. During the story she interacts with some wonderfully crafted characters which you would expect to see at a circus: a seductive knife thrower, a daredevil motor-bike stunt rider, a pair of husband and wife acrobats, amusing clowns and a charming ring master, amongst others. We are given a peek into their lives, but everything is not as it seems and it becomes clear that many are hiding secrets which Shiela is determined to uncover. I really liked the main character. Psychic Shiela was intuitive, kind and funny. She was popular with the men in the circus camp, but will she or won't she have a romance?
The book was well structured. I liked how the author weaved each characters stories into the narrative. It was like reading a collection of short stories and made for very interesting reading. The book is set in the 1980s and there are numerous references to the culture of the time. It really was a fab read, which I thoroughly enjoyed and there was a twist which I did not see coming. I've downloaded the other books in the series and will look forward to reading them in the future. Great series :-) highly recommended.
Two years ago I was introduced to this author by a representative at Austin-Macauley. I was offered Prisoner 4374 to read and review and I loved it. It was a differing genre but had 3 tiny little errors and that was it. An easy 5* read. Now THIS is totally different. Full of mistakes and I've packed it in at only 15%. You'd never believe it's by the same person. The main issue is she has a problem using commas, or not. So many sentences needed one and didn't read the same without them....."Well, you ought to know better Roland O'Hare" or "......going to invite me over for a nightcap Sheila" or "I just wanted to check you were alright Sheila." There were more but I can't be bothered typing them out here ! Ladies was written and it should've been lady's, gage should be gauge, baited should be bated, look should be looked, foregoing should be forgoing, axel (twice) should be axle......bearing in mind I hadn't read much of this at all and yet found all of these mistakes. She also went with American spellings for some reason. I have another already downloaded by her which I will try and just hope it's not in the state this one is. I'm keeping this in my Kindle library in the hope an update may one day be pushed through by Amazon, as I was enjoying the story itself but lack of presentation has ruined it for me.
If any community has skeletons in cupboards, surely, the circus must. On this premise, A.j. Griffiths-Jones creates her lovable Irish fortune telling gypsy, destined to open several cupboards. Gradually, the reader is drawn into Sheila’s own troubled past, passing first through a whole gamut of colourful characters. This book is not to be missed if you like a little intrigue thrown in with the light fluent prose. I loved the ending, which I found particularly poignant and satisfying. 5-stars without hesitation.
This is a lovely lovely book that draws you in until you can smell the sawdust, taste the candyfloss and hear the crowd, Sheila Hannigan is a lovely woman who is also a psychic, she's a warm loving person (who like's to cuss,) and as i read I could hear her soft Irish accent as the words escaped her lips, and it made me smile, I have always found the circus a fascinating place and this one is no exception as you follow the lives and tribulations of the people who live, love, and work there.
I fell in love with the characters is this lovely book. The way A.J. Griffiths-Jones writes is truly gifted. Then add the narration by Gaynor N Kelly and you have a winner. I could see these characters come to life before my eyes. Add in a WOW ending and you have a book well worth your time. I was sorry for this story to come to an end. I was gifted this book with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
It was OK. Quirky and some of the stories were not original. I have heard a few of the stories before. It kept my attention but it could have been better. So no big mystery. Just interesting stories about the lives of the people who work the carnival. Enjoy. Not on top of my list. I have read better.
A thoroughly enjoyable tale of character, personalities, love, and life behind the scenes in a traveling circus, but more especially, a snapshot of life. The ending is unexpected and was a satisfying twist.
I gave the book five stars because I liked it very much. Shelia was a feisty character. And I have to admit the ending was a surprise. It's not very often that happens. It's the sign of a really good writer in opinion.