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.

Review: The Curse of Penryth Hall

Ruby Vaughn works for a bookseller in 1920s Exeter. Her grandfatherly employer tasks her with delivering a trunk of books to a folk healer in a village Ruby knows from her past. When Ruby arrives, conflicted feelings bubble to the surface, but she decides that she must check in on her estranged friend Tamsyn, the lady of Penryth Hall. Soon Tamsyn’s husband is found dead and whispers of witches and an ancient curse abound. Ruby gets caught up in the intrigue as Tamsyn begs Ruby to protect Tamsyn’s son from the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses, but strange events put her in danger at every turn.

In “The Curse of Penryth Hall '' Jess Armstrong develops complex characters with many secrets. The atmosphere is delightfully gothic with an old Hall, curses, accusations of witchcraft, attempts at charms of protection, and a somewhat reluctant village Pellar. The story starts off with a bang (“whatever you do, don’t open the trunk of books”) and keeps going until the very end. It’s hard to put down. 

The publisher’s blurb says that the reader is introduced to Ruby Vaughn in “The Curse of Penryth Hall,” so I hope this means that we will see more of Ruby and her adventures. There are a few unanswered questions and an opening for another story that leave readers wanting more.

This book is great for those who like atmospheric and gothic mysteries. 

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

12/2 The Haunting of Abney Heights

Meg, a freelance genealogist, returns to her hometown for a gig. She is researching an early 20th century patient at the former asylum-turned-luxury-condos, and ends up moving into the building for the duration of her work. While Meg is uncovering Ella’s experience as an Abney Asylum patient, she is also forced to uncover the ghosts of her own past. As Meg attempts to exorcize the ghosts of her biological family’s past, her family of choice, a delightful cast of quirky characters, has her back.

The tension builds slowly in “The Haunting of Abney Heights,” but Cat Thomas reminds the reader throughout that something is a little off in both the contemporary timeline and the early 20th century timeline. The atmosphere is dark and moody. The action comes to a head beginning in the last third of the book and is much darker than what I was expecting.

I enjoyed the story and will read more by Cat Thomas. This book would be good for those who like novels with a gothic feel, ghost stories, and early 20th century mysteries. 

Content warning: child abuse.

Thanks #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for providing an ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own. The book is available now!