The Shadowing has a very interesting and appealing (for the reader, at least) setting. Hester travels from her home in Bristol to Southwell in Nottinghamshire to investigate the death of her sister in the workhouse there. I've visited the workhouse and I found that Rhiannon Ward really brought it to life in this book. Hester is 22 and fairly naïve to be travelling alone in the 1800s. She comes from a strict Quaker background and her clothes immediately identify her as such. She gets into some quite dangerous situations in her pursuit of the truth about Mercy and the child that she was carrying when she entered the workhouse. It's a really taut and absorbing storyline which kept my interest and built up to quite the ending. What sets Ward's books out are the side plots of spirituality. Hester sees what she calls shadowings, spirits who seem to accompany her in her day to day life, sometimes with a sinister sense of foreboding and other times a little more benign. This aspect felt plausible and very well-written. I loved the descriptions of life in the small town. To me it felt like the workhouse loomed over them, and it and its inhabitants felt very real. I could really imagine life in Southwell from this book and it wasn't hard to imagine how it must have felt to have to enter the workhouse. Hester gets to know the local innkeeper, Matthew, and his two staff, Joan and Annie, and I enjoyed the relationships she forged with them in particular. The author has weaved a historical tale that felt fresh. Hester makes some shocking discoveries during her time in Southwell and undergoes quite a transformation from a meek young woman to one determined to learn the truth and put right the wrongs that she unearths. The Shadowing is an atmospheric gothic read that might just send a shiver down your spine. I enjoyed it very much.

Hester and her Quaker family in Bristol discover that Hester's sister, Mercy has died whilst living at the Workhouse in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. Hester is determined to find out why Mercy ended up at the workhouse alone and pregnant. She also wants to know how she died and what happened to her baby. The story follows Hester's journey to get to the bottom of what happened. Along the way, we meet some dark characters and some kindly ones. Ward's writing made me doubt my intitial impressions of some of these people as the book progressed. We also see Hester grow from a somewhat subservient character to a more forthright young lady who is determined to seek out the truth. Mercy's spirit 'shadows' Hester throughout her quest. Rhiannon Ward has a great way of threading intrigue and suspense through the novel, with dashes of foreboding and murkiness. The chapters are short and punchy leaving me keen to get back to the book to find out what's going to happen next. The book certainly held my attention. A great novel and if you like stories set in Victorian England with a bit of a dark underbelly, I would certainly recommend this one, especially if you've ever visited Southwell Workhouse as the depiction of the place is brilliant.

The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward This was a really good read , so good I read in three days. Hester who has quite a good life finds out her sister has died in a Northampton workhouse. She sets out to find out why , and what had happened to her to end up there. The story takes you down quite a few roads on her quest to find out the truth. There is a Pale Lady - who is she , or is she a ghost ? Very well written , and I look forward to other titles by this author. Atmospheric.

THE SHADOWING This is a delightfully written novel encompassing the supernatural,  history and romance. The themes within the book are cleverly interwoven and drawn together tidily at the end for an intriguing and exciting finish. A most enjoyable read.

The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward I was drawn to this book by its storyline, set in Victorian England it tells Hester seeks out the truth about her sister’s unexpected and unexplained death in a works house in Rhiannon shows traders what life was like during these times, the Quaker lifestyle, the workhouse conditions and we get a taste of how the well off live too. Some very interesting characters help to build the intrigue and mystery. Dark, twisted and creepy, with the mess of child trafficking. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I’m not of fan of the supernatural, I don’t think this story needed it.