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Review Excerpts
Historical Novels Reviews – August 1, 2013
“One of the reasons I was so captivated by Bristol House was that both the contemporary and Tudor London she depicts seemed very authentic. Swerling visited London during the four years it took her to write the novel, and perhaps more crucially, she has lived in Britain on and off during her adult life. This explains her assured handling of the differences in British and American speech and mannerisms, though it is evident that she is a consummate researcher, and like most accomplished novelists, is always paying attention to details.”
Booklist – March 1, 2013
“Swerling, best known for her City of Dreams quartet, adds a paranormal dimension to her latest novel, interweaving narratives set in contemporary and Tudor London. Commissioned by the Shalom Foundation to unearth some ancient artifacts from the Holy Land, recovering alcoholic and architectural historian Annie Kendall arrives in London determined to resurrect more than her career. After subletting a flat in Bristol House, Annie begins receiving disturbing visits by the ghost of a Carthusian monk. Initially fearing that she is hallucinating, she eventually joins forces with investigative reporter Geoffrey Harris—who coincidentally looks just like the ghost—and together they attempt to solve a present-day mystery that is firmly rooted in the past. Elements of romance, religious mythology, cultism, and the supernatural abound as this genre-blending thriller stretches back and forth through time to a suitably dramatic denouement.”
— Margaret Flanagan
— Kirkus Reviews January 2, 2013
“…An intricately woven plot with voices from the past give Swerling’s latest historical thriller an otherworldly aura.”
