Review: Secrets of Rose Briar Hall

Millie Turner has been preparing for the party of the season and everything is just right. Her guests have started to arrive. Her attentive husband is pleased. Cut to Millie awakening in her cold bedroom. The house is eerily quiet. She learns that she has been semi-conscious at best for several weeks after an unfortunate incident at the party. As Millie begins to piece together what happened that fateful night, she finds that her friends will no longer speak to her, her husband has hired a doctor who has described her as hysterical, thus requiring heavy sedation, and even her parents seem to be taking her husband’s side about what happened. Something isn’t right and Mille is determined to get to the bottom of it before it’s too late.

In “Secrets of Rose Briar Hall” Kelsey James explores the powerlessness of even wealthy women in the early 20th century. Millie has few options to take control of her life and at every turn she is blocked by traditionalist views on women’s roles. Her husband is ready to exert his full legal authority over Millie, including insisting that she be treated by a doctor of his choosing. 

This atmospheric story gets its mood primarily from the season and the cold, dark environment of Rose Briar Hall, where Millie and her husband reside. There are no paranormal elements to this gothic style mystery.

This story is great for those who enjoy gothic stories and historical mysteries.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Kensington Books, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.