Point of View

The House on Vesper Sands is told through third person limited narration. The narrator’s focus alternates between Octavia Hillingdon and Gideon Bliss. These shifts in perspective are useful to solving the novel’s mystery as each protagonist uncovers different secrets relating to the Strythe-Spiriters scandal.

This narration style remains consistent throughout the novel except for the chapters describing Gideon’s notes. These chapters are written in list form, mimicking real notes taken on a notepad. These chapters summarize key developments in the investigation and help the reader keep track of Gideon and Cutter’s complex case.

The secretive nature of Octavia’s work makes this narration style especially useful, as Octavia rarely has opportunities to divulge her thoughts and feelings. At the start of the novel, Octavia makes light of the high society ladies who are fascinated by the occult. By the novel’s...