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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Not great but I enjoyed. Give me a mystery, an old English house, secrets and some cute boys, and I’ll read it.
Beautiful characters. Perfect amount of suspense. Lovely book.
A young girl goes missing from Applecote Manor in 1959. A family moves in to the same house in present time to escape London and bond together as a family. This book seamlessly ties in 2 narratives, one of the Wilde sisters who spend a summer in Applecote manor after their cousin's disappearance, and that of Jessie who wants to bond with her step daughter but can not somehow reach her.
Brilliant and literary, this book triumphs in exploring different relationships.
Brilliant and literary, this book triumphs in exploring different relationships.
This held my interest, I enjoyed the characters and how the two timelines came together
This is a dual timeline read that is definitely akin to Kate Morton's books, so if you're a fan of those, I recommend checking this one out. I appreciated the theme of sisterhood that is emphasized throughout this story, rather than it being solely about romance; it is much more a coming of age tale. I also liked that there were a number of mysteries embedded in the two different storylines, rather than just one central mystery. Generally, I found the historical storyline (set in 1959) to be more compelling and evocative than the contemporary one, although I did get a bit more invested in that one towards the end of the book. There's a lot to explore and ponder about the relationships in this novel from a psychological perspective (). It gives off summer vibes as well, the author making the hot, sticky atmosphere in the English countryside come to life.
That said, it's certainly not a "cozy mystery" kind of read -- it has an unsettling, haunting kind of quality to it, and I was left feeling bittersweet, which I think was intended.
Spoiler
the way that Sybil was trying to turn Margot into Audrey, for example, and the way that Margot let herThat said, it's certainly not a "cozy mystery" kind of read -- it has an unsettling, haunting kind of quality to it, and I was left feeling bittersweet, which I think was intended.
This book reminded me a lot of Kate Morton’s writing, but I didn’t like it as much. Her scene jumps were often hard to follow and felt disjointed. They always seemed to start with a long description of a scene that made the storyline drag. Overall, a good story though.
Chase is great at linking the past & present with mystery.
During the hot summer of 1959, Margot and her three sisters are dumped at Applecote Manor by their feckless mother - and into the care of their aunt and uncle, whose own young daughter disappeared five years previously. It is unsettling for them, not least because their cousin Audrey still 'haunts' the house; her bedroom is as she left it, her parents have obviously never got over the shock, and the villagers regard the family with deep suspicion.
In the present day, Jessie and Will are hoping for a new start in the now ramshackle Applecote Manor, along with their young daughter Romy, and Will's rebellious teenage daughter Bella.
I loved everything about this book. It ticked every box for me: family secrets, an old mystery and a spooky house. I found the 1959 timeline authentic and totally absorbing. By contrast, it was the present day part that felt more dreamlike - but in a good way! This concentrated on the increasing tensions between Jessie and Will, and the never-that-great-to-begin-with relationship between Jessie and her step-daughter, whom she can never quite bring herself to trust. When Bella becomes obsessed with the history of the house, and the teenage girl who disappeared sixty years previously, Jessie feels own her grip on reality begin to unravel. Will the sinister atmosphere of the house destroy them? And will the tragic events of sixty years ago start to repeat themselves?
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde* is part coming-of-age, part gothic mystery/romance, and part psychological suspense. It's brilliantly written, with memorable characters, and is very cleverly plotted. I loved the relationships between the four sisters, the sibling rivalry over the village boys, and the way they ultimately looked out for each other. For fans of Kate Morton, Daphne du Maurier, and perhaps Shirley Jackson too. One of my favourite reads this year.
Thank you to Eve Chase, Michael Joseph and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.
*Published as The Wilding Sisters in the USA.
In the present day, Jessie and Will are hoping for a new start in the now ramshackle Applecote Manor, along with their young daughter Romy, and Will's rebellious teenage daughter Bella.
I loved everything about this book. It ticked every box for me: family secrets, an old mystery and a spooky house. I found the 1959 timeline authentic and totally absorbing. By contrast, it was the present day part that felt more dreamlike - but in a good way! This concentrated on the increasing tensions between Jessie and Will, and the never-that-great-to-begin-with relationship between Jessie and her step-daughter, whom she can never quite bring herself to trust. When Bella becomes obsessed with the history of the house, and the teenage girl who disappeared sixty years previously, Jessie feels own her grip on reality begin to unravel. Will the sinister atmosphere of the house destroy them? And will the tragic events of sixty years ago start to repeat themselves?
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde* is part coming-of-age, part gothic mystery/romance, and part psychological suspense. It's brilliantly written, with memorable characters, and is very cleverly plotted. I loved the relationships between the four sisters, the sibling rivalry over the village boys, and the way they ultimately looked out for each other. For fans of Kate Morton, Daphne du Maurier, and perhaps Shirley Jackson too. One of my favourite reads this year.
Thank you to Eve Chase, Michael Joseph and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.
*Published as The Wilding Sisters in the USA.
The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde, or as it was previously entitled, The Wildling Sisters is an emotional and deeply human novel. It shifts between the point of view of Margot, a young woman learning to love herself and trying find herself in the 1950s, to the point of view of Jesse, a young mother in the 2000s, who is on a very similar path. The novel explores their lives, how they intersect and how they are bound by the memories, and the house that they share. This novel is about new beginnings, love and finding your feet in a strange world.
This isn't the sort of novel that I would usually pick up, but I'm incredibly glad that I did because I loved it.
This isn't the sort of novel that I would usually pick up, but I'm incredibly glad that I did because I loved it.