5 STARS

"When Hannah Maloney’s aunt dies in a car accident, she returns to her family’s castle in the Catskills and the epicenter of a childhood trauma: her sister’s unsolved disappearance. It’s been seventeen years, and though desperate to start a new life with her fiancé, Hannah is compelled to question the events of her last summer at Brackenhill.

When a human bone is found near the estate, Hannah is convinced it belongs to her long-lost sister. She launches her own investigation into that magical summer that ended in a nightmare. As strange happenings plague the castle, Hannah uncovers disturbing details about the past and startling realizations about her own repressed childhood memories..."
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This was my first Kate Moretti book but it certainly won't be my last! GIRLS OF BRACKENHILL sucked me in from the first page and wouldn't let me go all day (yes, I read this in one sitting!) This book had it all - a haunted castle, unexplained disappearances and a spooky, Gothic atmosphere FULL of twists and turns! I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened to Hannah and her sister during that final summer at Brackenhill - a place where not everything is as it seems....

if you are looking for a thriller with a large dash of atmosphere and mystery, I highly recommend picking up GIRLS OF BRACKENHILL on 22/09/2020 Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC copy!

Sorry this one goes on the DNF stack. I was looking for a new read in the tradition of Simone St. James, but this one became just a chore to read. I get the technique of the unreliable narrator, but the reader has to have a connection with the main character to want to follow her to the story's conclusion. That connection wasn't there and that, combined with some uneven pacing, didn't cause me to be compelled to finish the book. Perhaps others will have a different experience.

This book was awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. There were some twists I didn’t really predict, but some very predictable ones since I am an avid thriller reader. There were plenty of twists I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed the characters, especially Hannah! 3.5 stars!

This is a character driven novel with a protagonist who is difficult to comprehend. At times, she is straight forward, but at others, she is totally unknown. I couldn’t ascertain whether she was mentally ill or truly wicked. There were several murders in the story, and it was easy to guess who did what. Except for the ending...that was a surprise-never saw that coming...one is left wondering what actually happened. There is no real closure. There is some language that does not add to the story. All in all, the novel is somewhat convoluted and difficult to follow, but for the real mystery loving puzzle solving reader, this is a good one to try to figure out.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of Girls of Brackenhill.

Ok so I’m not 100% sure how I felt about this book... I’m one that enjoys books a little more on the practical and realistic side and this kind of threw me for a loop. I’d read reviews of this being a good ole’ ghost story but deep down was hoping the word “ghost” was a metaphor... it was not! Hannah returns to Brackenhill after her estranged aunt passes away. Left with taking care of her dying Uncle Stuart, while deciding on how long to stay in this enormously beautiful castle, Hannah tries to figure out what happened to her sister Julia 17 years ago when she up and disappeared. Did she run away? Was she murdered? And what about Ellie, another girl who was last seen at Brackenhill, however 17 years later remains a missing person as well? I think if you enjoy a little ghost story here and there this will probably be an enjoyable book for you.

Seventeen years after the disappearance of her sister, Hannah Maloney returns to the family estate in the Catskills after the death of her aunt. She’s poised on the cusp of a new life, ready to marry, but once she steps inside her ancestral home, she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her sister. A human bone found nearby convinces Hannah she’s on the right trail, and long buried memories of that fateful summer begin to surface. This is a delicious Gothic, clever and surprising and one guaranteed to keep readers turning the pages

I absolutely loved this book!!! One of my favorite reads this year! Kate Moretti is what a thriller writer is!
The twists and turns and spooky elements to this book had me frantically turning every page. I loved Hannah and was instantly sucked into her life wanting to know what happened to her sister and the mystery of Brackenhill.
This book has a beautiful cover but the story inside is one I won’t forget.
Put this on your September 2020 TBR! Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

A ghost story that will leave you guessing. Wonderful characters? Breathtaking setting? If you want that read this!

When you wait for the new release of one your favorite authors, your expectations are usually (and unfairly?) high. But then when the advance copy falls into your lap, you just hope the author delivers. And boy did Kate Moretti deliver! Surpassing your high and unfair expectations with such brio you find yourself at a loss for words.
Oh. My. God.
That not enough? Fine.
Girls of Brackenhill is sheer entertainment: compelling characters; an eerie background, a possibly haunted, secluded castle; action-packed; well-written story so intricate it takes you up to the very last page to find out who-what-why. It’s a great combination of ghost story plus a great mystery, left unsolved for seventeen years. A pure delight to read. I woke up the next day with the sensation I was still in the woods surrounding the creepy castle…
This book will be a movie before long. Until then, grab it, read it, enjoy it.
For the fans of Broken Girls (St. James) and Jar of Hearts (Hillier), Girls of Brackenhill is Moretti’s most accomplished work. And it’s my first 2020 favorite. Thank you so much to Thomas & Mercer and Kate Moretti for the advance copy!

Hannah is summoned to her aunt Fae's beside as Fae has been in a car accident. Hannah hasn't seen her aunt in 17 years. Hannah and her sister Julia stayed summers at her aunt and uncle's castle in the Catskill Mountains. Until that last summer when Julia disappeared and Hannah hasn't been back since nor talked to her aunt. When Hannah and her fiance arrive, Hannah must confront all the secrets and lies in the family. This book has it all a haunted castle, so many secrets, and family drama. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I have every Kate Moretti book I have read. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I read the premise for this mystery, gothic thriller, I knew I had to get it. The book alternates back and forth from modern times to when the main character, Hannah was a teenager spending summers with her older sister Julia at her aunt and uncle's castle on the hill, Brackenhill. With a cast of interesting characters, this book will immediately suck you in with a disappearance back then, and a potential murder now and does everything that has been going on for decades tie together? A fast paced book that will keep you enthralled to the very end.

LOVE this book. Honestly, the only issue I had with it was that even being a fairly educated woman, I found myself having to look up words on my Kindle because I had never heard them before!

Hannah hasn't been to Brackenhill nor seen her aunt Fae in 17 years. After the summer her sister Julia disappeared, she never returned so when she receives a phone call saying her aunt has been in a car accident and she needs to come home,she is pretty shocked.

Hannah and her fiancée Huck return to Brackenhill where they find her uncle Stuart in bad shape. He may only be in his sixties, but his mind is somewhere in the 90's...

While at the castle, Hannah's dog Rink discovers a jaw bone buried under one of the gardens. Immediately Hannah feels it is her sister Julia. Hannah's childhood ex Wyatt, has now become a local police detective. The two become fully immersed in the case, and (spoiler alert) eventually each other. In her search for the truth, Hannah uncovers a tangled web of lies her family has spun over the years. Family members she never knew of, secret children, sordid pasts...it is all one huge mess and Hannah is left to deal with the aftermath.

As the lies unfold, so does the truth. What Hannah ultimately discovers shocks even herself. Who is this mysteriously set of bones belong to? Who killed her and why? Not giving away any more spoilers as this one is a must read!

A well written thrilling, twisting gothic novel that keeps you guessing until the very end.
Hannah and her fiancé Huck drive from Virginia to the Catskills in the middle of the night after being told her aunt was in a serious car accident. This means revisiting the castle, Brackenhill, where she and her sister Julia spent their teenage summers, and she has mixed emotions about returning. Hannah loved Brackenhill, exploring the huge and haunting castle, as well as the acres of woods, meeting Wyatt, her teenage love, until the summer she and Julia drifted apart and Julia ran away, never to be found. Going back means facing up to the emotions she has long since stuffed away.
But once back Hannah realizes Brackenhill is in her blood and she can’t leave this time until she finds out what really happened to her sister. When a teenage body is found buried in the woods, Hannah thinks she’s finally going to get her answers.
Part ghost story, part mystery, totally gothic, this is a great read.

This is a story about two sisters and their summers at Breckenhill. Julia and Hannah have visited their aunt and uncle for the last few summers. But suddenly Julia disappears and Hannah is left alone. The story moves back and forth from those summers to today. This was an exceptionally written story, engrossing and engaging. This is my first book by Kate Moretti but will not be my last!

The Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti, published by Thomas & Mercer, is a full length, stand-alone mystery/thriller of it's finest.
I started reading and was immediatedly sucked into the story.
The Girls of Brackenhill is a story full of twists and unexpected turns, an unputdownable, reading cover to cover in one sitting book, raw and gritty.
I will not spoiler here, only so much, the book put me through the wringer, it's raw and gritty, highly suspenseful from start til the end.
I loved the fantastic storyline, the excellent writing and the mind fudge it put me through.
I recommend Girls of Brackenhill, 5 Stars.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and the author, Kate Moretti, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Girls of Brackenhill in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
"How have I missed reading this authors books?" I find myself asking. After reading this book, that is something that is going to immediately be remedied.
I thought this book was really well written. The characters are well drawn and intriguing. The scenery was highly descriptive and deliciously creepy.
The storyline draws you in from the opening pages and does not let go until you reach the stunning conclusion. I read Girls of Brackenhill in one sitting.
Highly recommended.