The Taxidermist's Daughter

The enthralling new novel from the bestselling author of THE WINTER GHOSTS, CITADEL and LABYRINTH.

Sussex, 1912. In a churchyard, villagers gather on the night when the ghosts of those who will die in the coming year are thought to be seen. Here, where the estuary leads out to the sea, superstitions still hold sway.

Standing alone is the taxidermist's daughter. At 17, Constantia Gifford lives with her father in a decaying house: it is all that is left of Gifford's once world-famous museum of taxidermy. The stuffed animals that used to grace every parlour are out of fashion, leaving Gifford a disgraced and bitter man.

The bell begins to toll and all eyes are fixed on the church. No one sees the gloved hand pick up a flint. As the last notes fade into the dark, a woman lies dead.

While the village braces itself against rising waters and the highest tide of the season, Connie struggles to discover who is responsible, but finds herself under suspicion. Is Constantia who she seems - is she the victim of circumstances or are more sinister forces at work? And what is the secret that lies at the heart of Gifford House, hidden among the bell jars of her father's workshop?

Told over one summer, THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER is the haunting new novel from the bestselling author of LABYRINTH, SEPULCHRE, CIDADEL and THE WINTER GHOSTS.  


My Review

This is my first taste of what author, Kate Mosse can do with pen and paper. I have to say that I am impressed and I want to read more. Yet before I go on about the book I want to comment and say that I thought that the story would have more of a haunting, dark feel to it. Although, it did not I was not disappointed in the book overall. I found the characters engaging, the plot to move along at a good steady pace with a nice backdrop for the location and a good ending.

Connie in a field of men did stand out as a strong, forward thinking woman. I like that she took up her father's profession. One that not many women would choose as one of their top three picks. While the idea of taxidermy can be grotesque after reading about the delicate care and the idea of bring something back from the dead and sculpturing it into something beautiful did intrigue me. In fact, I could actually see why people get into this profession. The story does pick up and get better the further that I read. The last half of the book is where the action really happens.