Uptown Oracle Reads… A Shadow on the Lens | A Small Town Horror Murder Mystery

A Shadow on the Lens
Sam Hurcom

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The Postmaster looked over my shoulder. As I turned to look I saw a flicker of movement from across the street. I felt unseen eyes peer at me.

He walked away without another word. I watched as he climbed onto his bicycle and sped away down the street. I turned back and looked over my shoulder.

Someone had been watching us.

1904. Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, is called to the sleepy and remote Welsh village of Dinas Powys, several miles down the coast from the thriving port of Cardiff. A young girl by the name of Betsan Tilny has been found murdered in the woodland – her body bound and horribly burnt. But the crime scene appears to have been staged, and worse still: the locals are reluctant to help.

As the strange case unfolds, Thomas senses a growing presence watching him, and try as he may, the villagers seem intent on keeping their secret. Then one night, in the grip of a fever, he develops the photographic plates from the crime scene in a makeshift darkroom in the cellar of his lodgings. There, he finds a face dimly visible in the photographs; a face hovering around the body of the dead girl – the face of Betsan Tilny

A Shadow on the Lens is a Historical Fiction Mystery AND Horror book. Whilst you may be thinking that could be too much, I found it to fit into all three easily, and the book was really well written to fit each genre. 

Thomas Bexley is a forensic photographer back when this field was just starting, and has been given privileges by Scotland Yard to investigate scenes. This is why he’s arrived in the small village of Dinas Powys in rural South Wales – to take investigative photos of a murder. The book starts off slow to explain all this and to set up Thomas’s life. 

I loved the little town Hurcom writes about as it feels so real and immersive. After reading up, I found that this is where the author lives, which must be why it’s so well written. But the small village vibes of the close knit community coming together to not talk to the authorities felt very authentic. Everyone knows everyone in these kinds of communities – so why would they ever think it could be anyone but an outside to commit the crime?

Because of the murder mystery in a small town – it also felt very Midsomer Murders (does anyone outside the UK get this reference??) but with a slight supernatural and darker edge to it. It gets to a point in the book where the entire village, people, and situation are eerie and creepy. It starts moving into a more Women in Black-esque horror mood. 

Bexley struggles to get through this case as he starts getting visions and hallucinations and gets extremely ill halfway through. But when a Storm means he can’t contact anyone outside the town, he must continue. Bexley being ill could mean he’s an unreliable narrator for part of the story, which can affect what you think at the end of the book. I found Hurcom left this quite open for readers’ interpretation though!

Overall the story itself is creepy and gripping but the pace of the book wasn’t the best. It can be quite slow at times and sometimes you’re not sure if it will start to pick up. This meant for me it took me a while to read it as I often read before bed (so I was falling asleep reading a LOT instead of reading until the early hours…).

The mystery is mainly around the death of Betsan Tilny, however the book explores the circumstances that lead up to her death too. Despite not being an actual character we interact with, we learn about her backstory and life through other people in the book. I really enjoyed that she wasn’t just a victim and her story was very involved despite the focus being on Bexley. 

Positives of A Shadow on the Lens

• Character depth
• Murder mystery 

Negatives of A Shadow on the Lens

• Can be a bit slow

I received A Shadow on the Lens by Sam Hurcom from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review