February, 1929. The Regent Hotel in Birmingham is a place of deception and glamour. Behind its six-storeyed facade, guests sip absinthe cocktails on velvet banquettes, while the staff navigate the hotel's labyrinthine 'below stairs' to ensure the finest service is always at hand. In the early evening, psychoanalyst Nora Dickinson checks in under a false name. It's unlike Nora to deceive - her aversion to lying borders on the pathological - but she's travelling with an agenda. Having shadowed the famous opera singer, Berenice Oxbow, from Zurich, she's determined not to lose sight of her now.
But when a terrible snow storm isolates the hotel - and its guests - from the outside world, reality appears to shift. Nora's grip loosens, and the nightmares she's worked hard to control begin to bare their teeth.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781789543858
Number of pages: 336
Dimensions: 229 x 148 mm
'In Hokey Pokey, Kate Mascarenhas has produced a delicious piece of art deco Gothic which explores the psychological complexities of both the age and the genre. I adore Kate's pitch perfect prose and fearless way with dishing out the thrills.' - Natalie Marlow, author of Needless Alley
'Hokey Pokey is an atmospheric, claustrophobic novel, expertly bringing the glamour of the 1920s to life. Nora's journey of self-discovery is both poignant and chilling, gripping the reader from the first line to the last. A dark and mesmerising read.' - Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women
'Dark and complex and beautifully plotted. I did not want to put it down.' - Rebecca Netley, author of The Whistling
What begins as a compelling psychological mystery in a vividly real setting turns to the supernatural... A well-plotted, original, nightmare blend of madness and monsters - The Guardian
'An immersive and unique treat of obsession, murder and madness, skilfully wrapped in a glittering twist of golden age crime, with a dark supernatural core. Very clever writing.' - Essie Fox, author of The Fascination
PRAISE FOR KATE MASCARENHAS: 'Witty, inventive and unflashily wise about human hearts; Mascarenhas's future promises to be an exciting one' Guardian. 'Breathtakingly tender and wryly understated, The Psychology of Time Travel feels like an antidote to a great deal of reported (and even fictionalized) history, its excised women now finding their way back into the spotlight' New York Times. 'Bringing magical realism to a contemporary Oxford setting in an atmospheric examination of gender inequality' Guardian, on The Thief on the Winged Horse. 'Captivating, inventive and tender... A dazzling mix of crime, romance, magic and myth' Adele Parks, on The Thief on the Winged Horse. 'This is a novel packed with ideas... It'll leave you turning over the concepts in your mind long after the story is finished' - SFX, on The Psychology of Time Travel
I’m rarely negative about the books I choose to read but I’m puzzled by this book – or should I say, by the odd marketing of this book.
The cover design and publicity blurb lead you to expect a glamorous jazz age...
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Where does this book belong? Like other readers, I embarked on this journey expecting a kitsch 1920s Agatha Christie style whodunnit. Snowed in Hotel - small group of characters, great style of writing. I feel a... More
This is a completely different read than I thought it would be I was thinking Agatha Christie as it is set in the 1920,s in a glamorous hotel in Birmingham.It is not like that at all though it starts off well with the... More
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