Title: The Daughters of Foxcote Manor
Author: Eve Chase
Published: July 2020, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Format: ARC E-copy, 386 pages
Source: Netgalley
Summary:
Readers of Lisa
Jewell and Simone St. James will delight in this haunting, touching
story of mothers, daughters, and belonging–and the devastating lies
families tell themselves in order to survive.
An isolated forest estate.
A family with a terrible secret.
The discovery that changes everything.
England,
1970. On the one-year anniversary of the Harrington family’s darkest
night, their beautiful London home goes up in flames. Mrs. Harrington,
the two children, and live-in nanny Rita relocate to Foxcote Manor,
ostensibly to recuperate. But the creeping forest, where lost things
have a way of coming back, is not as restful as it seems. When
thirteen-year-old Hera discovers a baby girl abandoned just beyond their
garden gate, this tiniest, most wondrous of secrets brings a
much-needed sunlit peace, until a visitor detonates the family’s tenuous
happiness. All too soon a body lies dead in the woods.
Forty
years later, London-based Sylvie is an expert at looking the other way.
It’s how she stayed married to her unfaithful husband for more than
twenty years. But she’s turned over a new leaf, having left him for a
fresh start. She buried her own origin story decades ago, never
imagining her teenage daughter would have a shocking reason to dig the
past up–and to ask Sylvie to finally face the secrets that lead her
back to Foxcote Manor.
My thoughts: This is the third book I’ve read by Eve Chase and I just love her books. They are completely atmospheric and engaging and hook me right from the start.
This is another haunting mystery with great gothic undertones. I think that is why I love Eve Chase’s writing so much! This time around, the story is narrated by three characters in two time periods, which I have to say at first, felt a little jarring, but eventually link together in a way I did not see coming. I loved getting to know all these characters and as much as it was hard at first to keep track of where the story was at different points in the beginning, I quickly fell into the rhythm of it and became quite invested with what was going on with everyone and everything.
This book is such a multilayered story and one that is full of family secrets. I loved that it’s not so much a whodunit, but rather it becomes a mystery of trying to figure out how everything connects to that one fateful summer. It really kept me glued to the pages as I looked to see what the connections might possibly be. And when you add in the setting – the creepy, remote house set deep in the woods, it’s almost like you have another character to add to the mix.
I cannot recommend this book enough. There is just enough family drama and intrigue to keep you engaged and the tension slowly builds for quite an ending. I’m three for three with this author and cannot wait to see what she writes next!
It sounds like this book, and Eve Chase's writing as a whole, needs to be picked up! Great review.