Book Extract: The Death & Life of Lucy Westenra by Rosie Fiore

I’m so happy to be welcoming Rosie Fiore to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Death & Life of Lucy Westenra.

What desperate steps will Lucy Westenra take to save her own life?

Hillingham in Hampstead, once the home of the well-to-do Westenra family, is now divided into apartments. When teacher Kate Balcombe sets about renovating her flat in the attic, she finds an unsent letter written 130 years before by Lucy, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the house.

You may know Lucy from Bram Stoker’s Dracula… a pretty, flirtatious girl with three ardent suitors, she is Mina Harker’s best friend. When Lucy falls mysteriously ill and dies, Van Helsing identifies her as a victim of the vampire.

But what if the monsters who hunt Lucy are much closer to home?

As Kate begins to investigate Lucy’s story, she meets James Harker, Mina’s great-great grandson, and together they uncover a long-hidden story of deception and murder. 

Rosie has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it. 

*****beginning of extract*****

This is the opening of the novel. It features two letters: one from Lucy Westenra to her friend Mina (in 1894), one from Noni Rosen, who lived in a flat in the same house in the 1980s, and the opening of a chapter told from the perspective of Noni’ s daughter, Kate, in 2024.

Prologue

Letter from L.W. To Mina Harker

14 September 1894

Hillingham

Dear Mina,

I am so weak; I think I may not recover. Can you come to me? I know Jonathan needs you, but I am in terror for my life.

Oh Mina, I have never felt so alone. Mother is weak and frail and can offer me no aid. I pleaded with the Professor, but he scorned me and dismissed my words as the delirious ravings of a child.

I watch my window every night, waiting for that ominous shadow. I feel certain that he will return soon. Every time I try to sleep, I sense his dark eyes on me, slicing my skin like hot blades. He is relentless and I know that should he gain entry here once more, he will have no mercy.

I think if you came and came soon, there is a chance we could plan my escape. Although he knows of our friendship, I believe I might be safe if I came to Exeter to be with you. I have considered fleeing to Whitby, but of course he would know to follow me there.

Please come if you can, but do not write of your intentions. If you do, he will be certain to intercept the letter and try to prevent you.

With all of my love, as you know,

L.W.

Letter from Noni Rosen to Jacob Balcombe

10 February 1982

Hillingham Court

My beloved Jacob,

I’m writing this sitting up in bed, resting my notepad on the hot water bottle you gave me. Every now and then I have to stop and warm my hand. It’s cold up here under the eaves. It was much cosier when you were lying in this bed beside me.

I’ve been experimenting with a new work − it’s to do with different qualities of light. The light in the studio at the Slade is sharp and like steel. The light out on the Heath is thick and grey. But right now, the shaft slanting in through my dormer window is unexpectedly warm and rich – like melted butter. It feels denser, because of all the dust (I know, my love, I’m no good at housework!).

I raise my hand and the light rolls over my fingers. I want to squeeze out a tube of yellow cadmium, and then cut it with the smallest dab of cobalt so I can capture its essence. I know I’d have moments before it transmutes and changes again, as light does….

Oh Jacob. I wish you loved these small rooms as I do. You say that it’s an artist’s garret, but it feels like home – unlike anywhere else I’ve ever lived. I lie here at night and imagine who slept in this room before me – the maids and manservants, maybe young, maybe homesick… and the people who moved through the rooms downstairs. What secrets does this house keep? I imagine you smiling at me, laughing at my fancy. But there are whispers in these walls and I’m learning to listen to them.

The light has changed again, even as I wrote those few words. It’s filtering through the leaves of the ivy now… an almost indecent emerald green has crept in.  My cold, cold fingers itch to paint it.

I cannot wait to see you again.

Your darling

Noni

x

Chapter One

10 January 2018 – Kate

The house loomed out of the darkness, creepers smothering its brick walls. I dragged my cases up the crescent-shaped gravel drive which was crowded with residents’ cars. A few steps led up to polished, double wooden doors. I craned my head back and looked up. Light twinkled from dormer windows, high under the eaves.

I stopped to pull the keys from my pocket. Once I’d struggled through the door, I found myself in a circular, high-ceilinged hallway with a marble floor. A wide, curved staircase swept upwards and an institutional bank of mailboxes filled the wall beneath the stairs. This must once have been a Georgian family home, with big, elegant rooms, but someone had chopped it up into apartments with scant regard for its symmetrical proportions. These common areas looked dusty and unloved.

I grabbed a case in each hand and climbed up one flight of the wide, curved stairs, and then another. The third flight was suddenly narrow and straight. I must have passed beyond the main part of the house and into the servant’s quarters. Each step had a noticeable dip in the centre, as if thousands of feet had trodden them down. That seemed right, given the description in Mum’s letter. I turned left at the top of the stairs. A door directly ahead of me bore a brass number eight. I glanced up at the ceiling and saw how the door cruelly bisected the moulding. The partitioning work had been done by Philistines.

I wrestled my suitcases through the door. The still air smelled of disinfectant and the faint, wet-dog scent of recently shampooed carpet. I flicked on an overhead light. So this was it. The fabled apartment, owned by my family for all of my lifetime, which until now, I had never seen.

*****end of extract*****

About Rosie Fiore –

Rosie Fiore is the author of eight published novels, including Wonder Women, After Isabella and What She Left, as well as The After Wife, written as Cass Hunter.

She is a teacher of creative writing and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.

She lives in North London with her family, and can frequently be found wandering on the Heath or haunting a churchyard.

Say hello to Rosie on Facebook, X and Bluesky.

The Death & Life of Lucy Westenra was released on 2nd May 2o25. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.