Reviewed by Emma Crowley
People disappear. Secrets remain . . .
1940: In south-west Ireland, the young and beautiful Lady Charlotte Rathmore is pronounced dead after she mysteriously disappears by the lake of Blackwater Hall.
In London, on the brink of the Blitz, Nancy Rathmore is grieving Charlotte's death when a letter arrives containing a secret that she is sworn to keep - one that will change her life for ever.
2019: Disgraced young journalist Ellie Fitzgerald flees Dublin for the safety of rural Kerry. When she discovers a faded letter, tucked inside the pages of an old book from Blackwater Hall, she finds herself drawn in by the mystery of Lady Charlotte's disappearance, and uncovers a long-buried secret...
Many thanks to Headline via NetGalley for my copy of The Midnight House to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
A proof copy of the debut novel, The Midnight House by Amanda Geard, came though my letter box early last year and I read the blurb and thought it sounded like just the kind of book I adore. A multi timeline story with plenty of mystery and riddles and secrets to be uncovered. But don’t ask me how but it’s only now as paperback publication is this month that I have gotten around to reading it and quite frankly I’m ashamed that I let such a brilliant book linger for so long on my ever increasing tbr pile. It’s a beguiling and riveting book with a few mind blowing twists that keep the reader rapidly turning the pages as you move between the past and present as Ellie becomes drawn into the mystery surrounding Lady Charlotte’s disappearance so many years ago.
The striking cover with its muted tones no doubt would attract your attention if you saw it residing on a shelf in a bookshop. The use of the keyhole is brilliant as it implies open the doors of Blackwater Hall and you will find many puzzling questions and characters who have kept serious things close to their chests for many years. This is a brooding, atmospheric mystery with gothic undertones packed full of unease and tension and so many necessary words unspoken and I adored every minute of it.
September 2019 and disgraced journalist Ellie Fitzgerald has returned to her homeplace of Ballinn in County Kerry. She hasn’t been home for any significant length of time in many years but as we are all want to do when hard times befall us we return to a place of comfort the place where we know we will feel safe and secure and to Ellie that is on the family farm run single handedly by her mother since the death of her father many years ago. It’s a rural area with no wi-fi or phone reception which perhaps will serve Ellie well as she has become a viral sensation but for all the wrong reasons. The details of the reason for Ellie returning are slowly teased out over the course of the book as she reveals more of herself to the reader and they go a long way to explain why she feels broken and has such a desire to turn back the clock.
Both her personal and professional life are a complete mess and she needs time to revaluate things and decide in which direction her life should turn next. Ellie’s story wasn’t the sole focus of the book and although I found it interesting and understood why and how it was there and how comparisons could be made between it and the two other strands of the story it was really Charlotte and Nancy’s story which captivated me. But it was Ellie who was the catalyst for stirring up a hornets nest which many perhaps would have liked to have kept quiet, secret and calm for the remainder of their days.
When Elie discovers a letter hidden in a set of books in the local charity shop from a Charlotte written to a Teddy stating that she is coming, of course the journalist in her is piqued and despite what she is going though and the fact she has promised to stop looking into other people’s business she is keen to learn more. She soon learns the books were donated from Blackwater Hall and when she goes to return the letter she meets Lord Rathmore where the house is in a state of decay and neglect and his mind is not the best. He refers to things she has no clue about but still the contents of the letter and the brief bit she learns about the family from local gossips have stirred something in her she thought had been damaged forever.
Who are Charlotte and Teddy? What happened to Charlotte in 1940 and what significance does the letter have? What detail is there that makes Ellie want to investigate more that makes her question is it possible to step out of a life but not to leave it behind? Without Ellie, the story of the past would not have been unravelled piece by piece and a few truths learnt that turn what people thought on their heads but as much as she was integral to the plot and I couldn’t find any fault with her the historical fiction addict in me was just totally enraptured with the chapters set in the past.
Charlotte was a remarkable character. A free spirit ahead of her time and desperately wanting to break free of the shackles imposed on her by her well to do British landowning family and by the constraints of society at the time. She was such a crucial and central character to the overall story but at times she felt like an enigma and it seemed that way to Ellie too. That Charlotte was made to be something greater than she was or was it the fact she was lost so young and early in her life that gave her an elevated status and persona of sorts? I will not say more regarding Charlotte as to do would give away the core and heart of the story but suffice to say she is tenacious and a woman who did a lot to pave her own way.
In 1957, Nancy, married to Charlotte’s brother Teddy, just wants to get documents signed and return back to England. The hall and the family have always made her feel uncomfortable and unwanted most notably the lady of the house and her cold attitude. But Charlotte was someone she felt a deep connection and kinship with and she is still desperately grieving her loss. We learn more of Nancy through her daughters eyes as a young innocent who spend holidays at the hall but to me there was a constant sense of anxiety surrounding Nancy that she could never be her true self and I wondered was there more to her than at first met the eye. Was she too hiding things just like they all were? Is there a curse on the family? Can Ellie in the present day bring conclusion and certainty for those in the past and in trying to do so do the same for herself in the present?
There are three timelines within the book. Those being Ellie in 2019, Charlotte in 1940 and Nancy in the 1950’s. I am used to dual timeline stories and there being three here could have become confusing but it didn’t at all and everything flowed seamlessly between chapters and time periods. The writing is flawless, the narrative effortless and the descriptions and imagery pure perfection. You become accustomed to what is going on in one timeline and then it alters but it never felt disconcerting instead all just very natural. You are left at the end of each chapter with a cliff-hanger that has you crying out for an answer but yet at the same time you are happy to see what a different character has been getting up to and how all three strands of the story will weave themselves together once of course some discovery and unravelling has occurred. For Ellie she discovers a wonderful mystery to get her teeth into and that sums up how I felt overall about this scintillating story which I can definitely say I devoured in short order.
The Midnight House was a fantastic read from start to finish with brilliantly drawn characters hiding a multitude of secrets. The slowly unravelling mystery that it contains had me on the edge of my seat right up until the satisfying ending although it was heartbreaking and I had secretly hoped for a certain ending. It’s a real just one more chapter kind of book and before you know it much time has passed and you have read 100 pages or more. You know you should go to turn out the light and leave it for the next day but I just couldn’t bare to leave it out of my hands as I was so caught up in the enigma that surrounded Blackwater Hall and its residents.
If this is the calibre of Amanda’s debut novel I can only imagine what is to come in the future and I have a feeling she may just be the author I have been looking for ever since the passing of Lucinda Riley whose books were my absolute favourite. I don’t say that lightly as long time readers of the blog will know I adored everything Lucinda wrote but there is just that something special about Amanda Geard that has made me very excited to see what new, engrossing and exciting stories she will bring us in the future. Thankfully, seen as it took me way too long to read this book, I now only have a few short months to wait for The Moon Gate which will be published in June. It has another stunning and intriguing cover and sounds like another winner for this talented author.
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