It has been some years since Jonathan and Mina Harker survived their ordeal in Transylvania and, vanquishing Count Dracula, returned to England to try and live ordinary lives.
But shadows linger long in this world of blood feud and superstition - and, the older their son Quincey gets, the deeper the shadows that lengthen at the heart of the Harkers' marriage. Jonathan has turned back to drink; Mina finds herself isolated inside the confines of her own family; Quincey himself struggles to live up to a family of such high renown.
And when a gathering of old friends leads to unexpected tragedy, the very particular wounds in the heart of the Harkers' marriage are about to be exposed...
There is darkness both within the marriage and without - for new evil is arising on the Continent. A naturalist is bringing a new species of bat back to London; two English gentlemen, on their separate tours of the Continent, find a strange quixotic love for each other, and stumble into a calamity far worse than either has imagined; and the vestiges of something forgotten long ago is finally beginning to stir...
"This epic tale of madness, temptation, and political scandal set in early-twentieth-century England strikes a resonant chord with today's political climate" Booklist.
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6 November 1903. Many years have passed since last I thought to set pen to paper in this modest journal of mine. MINA HARKER'S JOURNAL
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(@TitanBooks, 22 September 2020, 576 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my favourite books and as far as I'm concerned one of the best horror novels ever written. I was really looking forward to reading this sequel set about fifteen years after The Harker's and co despatch the Count. I really loved this. The book is made up of a series of journal entries, memos, notes, letters and newspaper articles from different characters detailing the sinister events that plague London and wider England when Van Helsing becomes suddenly ill and slips into a coma. I love this structure. The story is drip-fed in small chunks and you need to keep reading to find out where and how it all connects. I thought this was a terrific read. I can't wait to read more by the author.
