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Hopeful Hearts at the Wartime Hotel by Maisie Thomas #Review #PublicationDay

  I am delighted feature another in the WW2 saga by Maisie Thomas. Hopeful Hearts at the Wartime Hotel  is published today by Boldwood Books .  Manchester, 1942. When Kitty Dunbar was forced to confront her husband’s debts and close the family hotel, she transformed Dunbar’s into a storage business for bombed-out families. But with her daughter to support, and relishing her new independence, Kitty is keen to come up with more ways to use the once prestigious hotel. Sharing her home are former chambermaid Lily , and kind-hearted welfare worker Beatrice , both haunted by past loss. Together, the three women create a new kind of family in the heart of the Manchester Blitz: one built on respect and resilience. When Kitty suggests hosting wedding receptions in the old dining room, her friends are happy and willing to lend a hand – and help to serve ‘Dunbar’s Wartime Wedding Punch’! But when Lily meets a handsome doctor, and Beatrice comes face to face with an old ...

The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks #Review

 

I was delighted to be invited along on the blog tour for Elizabeth Brooks' The Whispering House. Published on 6th August in hardback by Doubleday, it was Elizabeth's description of the origins of the story which interested me, immediately.

Elizabeth Brooks writes:

“I began with the idea of two sisters whose stories echo one another’s - they fall in love with the same place, the same man, the same dream of an idyllic bohemian life - but the first sister dies and the second survives. As the middle one of three sisters, I am fascinated by sibling relationships. My older sister, Rachel, committed suicide when she was 28. The circumstances were nothing like those described in The Whispering House, but obviously there were aspects of that experience that I drew on.

I am also very drawn to books about big, creepy houses…the genesis of Byrne Hall was Greenway, Agatha Christie’s house near Dartmouth in Devon”

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella’s suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella – a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought.

Driven to find out more about her sister’s secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya’s relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out.

 

My Thoughts

This mystery will not disappoint. It has atmosphere, changes in timeline, strange characters who you will not be able to second guess and an intriguing mystery at the heart. Much of the plot is character driven and there is a terrible fascination in seeing Freya become drawn further and further into the mire. Byrne House is beautifully evoked. Standing proud, looking out sea, it is seen by some as the ideal wedding venue, but by others as an inherently evil place. You just know that its facade hides some secrets.

     I enjoy a book with literary allusions and for me, this one has hints of the gothic and the Madwoman in the Attic. The iso;ation and seclusion gives it the setting of many a Christie crime novel. You just know, all is not well. Freya's family dynamic is not straightforward. All I can say is thank heavens for Tom! There is a cold detachment in Freya's father on the surface and a need to control. Of course, he is not the only character to have those traits. Highly recommended.

In short: Sinister and beguiling.

About the Author

 

ELIZABETH BROOKS grew up in Chester, and read Classics at Cambridge.

 Her debut novel CALL OF THE CURLEW was shortlisted for the Waverton Good Reads award. The setting for her new novel, THE WHISPERING HOUSE, is a manor house named Byrne Hall and is inspired by the home of Agatha Christie. It is full of dark corners and old portraits that carry untold stories of their subjects.

Elizabeth Brooks lives on the Isle of Man with her husband and children.

You can follow Elizabeth here:  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Facebook 

Book link: Amazon UK  

Thanks to Elizabeth Brooks, Doubleday and Isabella Gaffari Parker for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

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