After a whirlwind romance, Evelyn is excited to start her new life with her husband, Peter. But when the sudden passing of Peter’s uncle gives him the title Lord Black, along with the family’s remote manor, Blackthorn House, she finds herself in the middle of the wild Yorkshire Moors, separated from the only life she has ever known. She quickly realizes something is wrong with Blackthorn House: children’s laughter can be heard throughout the halls, the constant fog is full of wailing specters, and her dreams are haunted by an entity wearing her mother’s corpse like a suit. Furthermore, her new husband has become a stranger to her, treating her with barely veiled disdain.
Under the constant surveillance of the staff of Blackthorn House, Evelyn struggles to find answers. Unable to gain any insight from the frightened locals in the nearby village, Evelyn and her trusted servant, Lilly, must seek answers from the dead. They learn that the Black family has long kept a dark and terrible secret. A secret that threatens both of their lives and, now, the life of Evelyn’s unborn baby. A secret involving a bargain paid in blood.
Thank you to Quill & Crow publishing house for the advanced copy of The Secrets of Blackthorn House, I am under no obligation to post but would like to share my review.
This book actually creeped me out which, honestly is a feat in and of itself. The description of Blackthorn House is so beautifully terrifying, the ghosts appearances and just the full out fear that inhabits Evelyn’s very existence was palpable.
Even though this is a gothic tale set in a past timeline, there are so many similarities drawn to the type of violence and abuse that women face even in 2025. This book does contain a trigger index so if you are sensitive so those types of things please protect yourself and proceed with caution.
This story is terrifying, unsettling and downright creepy. It would make a great spooky ready but it’s also a really great conversation about female pain and suffering.
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