The will demands that Thomas must begin working at the bank as a junior clerk and learn the ways of the family business. Left to his own devices, Thomas indulged in a 19th-century, party boy lifestyle in London which made debauchery look downright proper with men gallivanting around in their fancy hats and suits. Thomas Thresher is the shunned youngest son of a successful banking family. So here I go, off into the strange London depicted in The Peculiarities by David Liss. However, there is one thing that will get me every time: stories set in London. This is a fantastic, unique read.I rarely seek out historical fantasy because I like my books to be far removed from the world I know. I’ve read other books featuring him and liked the way he’s portrayed here. Aleister Crowley, the real-life, notorious occultist plays a key role in the novel. I loved the way the author blends the supernatural events plaguing London and magic and more everyday common events such as the Thomas uncovering suspicious transactions at the bank and the tense family relationship between Thomas and Walter. The Peculiarities is a blend of historical fiction, horror and fantasy and offers something very different. I knew I’d love the book within a couple of pages and I was right. I will definitely read more of the author’s work. I thought this was a terrific, original read. ONE, 7 September 2021, 336 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed)

Thomas stands in the ballroom of the massive house near Belgrave Square wishing he were somewhere else. Or perhaps a lycanthropic medium the members of a secret occult society…or even Aleister Crowley. He cannot determine whom to trust: his own family his banking co-workers and superiors the beautiful widow of his companion the woman he is to marry. London’s famous grey fog has been concealing a rash of unnatural afflictions–and worse, the murderous Elegants.Īs Thomas grows leafier, the conspiracies surrounding him become more apparent. Thomas must conclude that it is due to the long-rumoured Peculiarities. Worse, a verdant skin malady has infected him: leaves have begun sprouting on his skin. His childhood friend has mysteriously turned up dead.

There are irregularities at the bank he cannot explain. Thomas’s older brother Walter has trapped him in a tedious clerical job at the family bank in London, and Thomas is expected to wed a wealthy young woman in whom he has no interest.īut Thomas has more serious problems than those of a disaffected young man. He is a twenty-three-year-old man whose best days are behind him. All of his life, Thomas Thresher has been free of obligation and responsibility, but that is over now.