Eve Chase is one of my favourite authors. I love her dual timeline stories about old houses, and dysfunctional families with dark secrets in their past. I love her books so much it would be hard to choose a favourite. Like a box of quality chocolates, each is equally delicious!
The Glass House is about Rita, who is nicknamed 'Big Rita' on account of her height. She takes on the job of nanny with the glamorous and wealthy Harrington family but soon things go terribly wrong. Jeannie Harrington loses her baby and suffers a breakdown. Her husband sends her and the children to their country house (the remote Foxcote Manor, hidden away in the Forest of Dean) to recover. Rita is given strict instructions to watch over Jeannie and report back to him. As Jeannie goes into a further decline, her daughter finds a baby in the woods and brings her home...
The Glass House (the title refers to Rita's antique terrarium) is a beautifully written, very atmospheric gothic suspense. It's a slow burn, but all the better to appreciate each layer of the mystery unfold. There are two timelines: the early 1970s and the present day. As well as the family secrets, there is a murder mystery too. The ultimate ending was not hard to work out but there are lots of little twists along the way, most of which took me by surprise! I even got the identity of the murderer wrong! I loved the sweet, touching romance between Rita and Robbie, and found myself still thinking about this story several days after I'd finished the book.
The Glass House is one of my favourite reads this year. It would suit readers who love stories about spooky old houses, with characters who have deep, dark secrets, and anyone who is a fan of authors such as Lulu Taylor, Kate Morton and Daphne du Maurier. Thoroughly recommended!
Thank you to Eve Chase and Michael Joseph/Penguin UK for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
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