patelyne 's review for:

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer

4.0

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book wasn’t what I expected going in, but I really enjoyed it all the same.

There’s definitely an eerie vibe - you can’t help but have that when a woman’s body is found trapped and hidden away in a secret room - and secrets. So Many Secrets. While I’d love to be on a property with hidden doors, passages and rooms like the ones in this book, I’d like it minus the remains please! I’m not *that* adventurous! 

But overall, I felt like the book was less about the mystery of the woman who died, and more about how the discovery effected the lives of everyone who was around present day. Still there are a lot of interesting historical facts in here. My reading was slowed more than a few times because i wandered off to search on the side to find out more. 

Some truly heartbreaking parts, I couldn’t help but feel how overwhelmed the Hannah was with everything (her son Nicky and family situation especially). I would have liked to see an epilogue set further down the road, but the flashback was … no spoilers, but wow. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC