Shadow of Night
All Souls • Book 2
by Deborah Harkness
Why You'll Love This
Elizabethan London has never felt more dangerous — or more alive — than when a time-traveling witch lands inside a spy ring Shakespeare actually knew.
- Great if you want: historical immersion with magic, intrigue, and real figures woven in
- The experience: slow and atmospheric — a book to sink into, not race through
- The writing: Harkness layers period detail obsessively, building a world you can almost smell
- Skip if: you need momentum — this one lingers in the past, deliberately
About This Book
Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont have fled to the one place no one can follow them—the past. Sixteenth-century London is a city of spies, shifting allegiances, and barely concealed dangers, and the two arrive carrying secrets that could unravel everything. Matthew's history runs deeper and darker than Diana knew, and as she struggles to understand the full scope of her own powers, the stakes grow far beyond their search for a missing manuscript. This is a love story under pressure, a mystery wrapped in centuries of intrigue, and a portrait of two people learning how much they still don't know about each other.
Harkness writes historical fiction the way a scholar dreams it—richly layered, meticulously researched, and alive with the texture of a world that feels genuinely inhabited. The Elizabethan setting isn't backdrop; it's a living, breathing pressure on every scene. The prose moves with confidence through court politics, occult lore, and intimate character work without losing its footing in any of them. Readers who appreciate novels that reward patience and attention will find this second installment more ambitious and more immersive than its predecessor.
