#Review: The Storyteller’s Daughter by Victoria Scott @Toryscott @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources #blogtour #BoldwoodBloggers #publicationday #historical #WW2 #mystery #romance #RespectRomFic #TheStorytellersDaughter

By | January 15, 2025

I’m delighted today to be launching the blog tour for The Storyteller’s Daughter, the latest book by Victoria Scott, and sharing my publication day review. Published today (15th January) by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Many thanks, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).

I think Victoria might just be destined to be a permanent fixture in my lists of Books of the Year. I first discovered her writing with The Women Who Wouldn’t Leave – published by Aria Fiction, and one of those chance finds. I really loved it – emotional, engaging, a rare and perfect read, and one of my Books of the Year in 2023 (you can read my full review again here). Her first book with Boldwood, The House in the Water, was first published under the pseudonym Victoria Darke – described as gothic timeslip and historical suspense, very different, but a totally stunning read. It was one of those books that I found entirely impossible to put down, reading into the early hours – and when I wasn’t reading, I could think of nothing else. And yes, I chose it as one of my Books of the Year in 2024 – you can read my full review again here. Might I love her latest book as much? Let’s find out…

A secret buried for decades… A story that will change everything.

 

1940: When twenty-one-year-old Nita Bineham is offered the chance of independence, away from the high walls of her family’s Surrey estate, she grasps it with both hands. But her new role at a local newspaper coincides with the emergence of a sinister rumour in their quiet village: that there is a traitor in their midst. Nita is determined to prove herself by uncovering the truth, but is she prepared for revelations that could change her life forever?

 

2008: Following the death of her great aunt, Beth flees London for the privacy of rural Surrey. Within the confines of her family’s dilapidated manor house, she hides from the dual wreckage of her career and her marriage. But when her aunt’s dying words lead her to a stack of old newspaper articles, Beth finds herself drawn into a decades old mystery: about a long-buried secret, and an enemy dangerously close to home.

This was such an engaging dual timeline story, anchored by the family estate at Melham Manor – with such a strong sense of place that it almost becomes another character in the story.

In 2008, Beth arrives there as her great aunt is dying – she was a key figure in her childhood, with many happy (but hazy) memories, but later shunned by the family. Tasked with wrapping up her estate, the manor becomes Beth’s sanctuary as she escapes the issues in her own life – a disintegrating marriage and an error at her work in the family’s business that’s led to her suspension. But before she dies, her great aunt tells her about a box left for her in the attic – and that leads her on a quest to uncover deeply hidden secrets of the past, while making decisions about where her own future lies.

In 1940, Nita – her life very much controlled by her parents, wanting her to make a suitable marriage – eagerly grabs the opportunity to work at the local paper, owned by a friend of her father, as a volunteer. At first, she’s frustrated to be treated as a dogsbody, struggling to fit in with her wealthy and privileged background – but her growing closeness with one of the reporters sets her on the trail of a Nazi spy operating in the area, and ultimately changes the whole direction of her life.

The story is told from the viewpoints of both main female characters – both sympathetic and very well developed, encountering similar issues in their lives around family relationships and challenges in being able to follow their chosen paths in life despite the very different times they live in. The supporting cast is very well drawn too – the male-dominated newsroom in Nita’s time, the current editor of the paper that Beth finds herself working with, the women they both encounter in their lives when they most need them. And there are other elements to the story I particularly enjoyed – the cryptic clues, a few supernatural touches (not overdone – just intriguing), and the exploration of Wiccan beliefs and the connection with the natural world that ran through both stories.

Nita’s story was particularly compelling and emotional, but the stories were so well balanced, the shifts seamless and easy to follow – I was never wrenched from one timeline when unwilling to follow. And it’s all so beautifully told – excellent storytelling, perfectly paced, well handled emotional touches, a very intriguing mystery, and a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Very much recommended.

About the author

Victoria began her working life as a broadcast journalist at the BBC, before moving into the freelance world. She’s worked for outlets including the Telegraph, Time Out and Al Jazeera, and spent six-years living and working in Qatar. Nowadays she balances novel writing with lecturing in journalism at Kingston University.

Victoria is the author of three novels writing as Victoria Scott – Patience, Grace and The Women Who Wouldn’t Leave. Patience, her debut, was the Booksellers’ Association Book of the Month. Her first book for Boldwood was a Gothic timeslip novel, The House in the Water.

She lives on an island in the Thames with her husband and two children and a cat called Alice.

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