Cornwall in both the nineteenth century and 2019. This is a tale with a decidedly Gothic tint, following the fortunes of three women who marry into the their husbands’ privileged Fox family which includes the impressive Helygen House. In mid-nineteenth century, Harriet suffers as her children dies from various causes, while in 1881 Elizabeth, generally known as Eliza is a new bride, and arrives in the autumn following her honeymoon. Eliza is from a more modest background than her husband Cassius, and it takes her some time to adapt to her radically different new circumstances and surroundings. Meanwhile in 2019, Josie Corbyn, wife to the Helygen House owner Henry and heavily pregnant with their first child, has her life ripped asunder when Henry is found in the kitchen with much of this face blown off with a shotgun wound. There are evil mothers-in-law and unaccountable noises and apparitions in the property suggesting evil events from years ago, which are slowly uncovered to reveal a thread of dreadful behaviour.
The story rips along pleasantly enough without literary frills or much subtlety. Elements of the plot are somewhat unlikely, even allowing for the Gothic nature of the tale – much of the present day police enquiry are just not plausible. There are also a few examples of ludicrously egregious cultural and linguistic anachronisms – would a young female in 1881 really worry about river pollution, asking her husband “wouldn’t that harm the environment?”, and in in 1847 would someone say “I was in sync then with the storm?”. No of course they would not, and even in a proof copy, such blunders do not enhance the reading experience and make one lose the trust placed in the writer. In the author’s acknowledgements, she thanks her beta readers – surely one of them would have picked up these issues?

The story is told over a dual timeline. This is a multigenerational story that is very dark in places.
It felt very gothic.
However at times it was confusing

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This book is written from the points of view of 3 main female characters although it is based around 4, 2 sets of mother- / daughter-in-law relationships, Josie & Alice from the present and Eliza & Harriet from the past. I do not intend to deliver any spoilers as the plot is far too good to give away any surprises, the gradual reveal of unfolding events confirmed some of my suspicions and threw a few major surprising twists right to the final page. The emotions of each woman are clearly described, and it is impossible to feel no sympathy or understanding for the daughters-in-law, and Harriet. I was completely enthralled by this novel, I couldn't put it down and have signed up to follow the author while I look forward to whatever she writes next!

I really enjoyed this book.

Taking the form of a time split novel, with the house and a family across multiple generations at its centre, this story explores how the shadows of past secrets can impact on the actions of others.

In both time periods the characters and setting are fully developed, totally believable and draw you into the story, gently weaving together the threads until the climax.

Recommended!

A perfectly serviceable novel that ticks off all the boxes in this currently trendy genre. Heroine in peril in the past, interspersed with heroine in peril in the present, how will their stories unravel and collide? Well you'll probably figure it out as it's pretty flat writing written "by numbers" and done much better by other authors in the genre. Of which there are many which I usually enjoy. Just not this one unfortunately.

The House at Helygen is written in two different periods of time in the 1800's and 2019.
Henry Fox moves into Helygen House in 2019 with his wife Josie, their beloved dog Ivy and they are expecting a baby too. It's an exciting time for them, they are blissfully happy so when Henry is found dead, having apparently shot himself, Josie is distraught. She is convinced Henry would not have taken his own life and why is his, often cold, mother, Alice, so willing to accept his death as suicide?
In the 1800's Harriet & Edmund, currently residing in Helygen House, Edmund being the current heir, a couple very much in love, appear to have everything they need. That is until their lives are turned upside down with the loss of some of their children.
Later in the 1800's Eliza, married to Harriet's son Cassius, takes up residence at Helygen. She uncovers some dark secrets in the walls of this imposing house, changing the course for the future of the house and those next to inherit.
I love dual time line books and while I enjoyed this, I did find the deeper into it I got things felt a little muddled from time to time. In saying that, there were some strong female characters, a real air of mystery and I had a dreadful fear something terrible would befall Josie and her little one.

2019: Josie and Henry Fox have big plans to save Henry's rambling, ancestral home, Helygen House in Cornwell. They are committed to making this a family home for themselves and the child Josie is carrying, and turning the estate into a going concern - even if Henry's stern mother Alice disapproves of all the changes they have planned to the house and grounds she see as her home.

When Henry is found dead in the house, apparently after committing suicide, Josie is convinced that it was murder, but who would want to kill Henry? Josie is determined to find out the truth, but this is proving difficult with overwhelming grief, a new born to look after, and a mother-in-law that she is not sure has her and her daughter's best interests at heart. As Josie digs into the dark past of Helygen House, she finds herself jumping at shadows, and fearing that there really is something wrong with this place.

1881: Eliza Fox arrives at Helygen House with her new husband Cassius, full of hopes about their married life together, but her mother-in-law Harriet is far from welcoming towards her and her new husband is not quite the man she thought he was. The atmosphere in this house is strange, and Eliza gets the feeling that there are secrets she has not been told about her new home - secrets that threaten not only her sanity, but her life.

The story is told in two timelines that flip back and forth between the present and the past, in true timeslip style, but rather than just sticking with the narratives of our two brides Josie and Eliza as they navigate their way through the sinister pitfalls of Helygen House, Hawthorne also throws in a nice little curve ball by bringing in the voice of Harriet too. This proves to be very clever story telling as it not only weaves mystery through the parts of the story told through Josie and Eliza as they uncover some uncomfortable truths about the lives they find themselves living, but also allows us a fascinating glimpse of the one person that dictates how their fates play out - Cassius.

There are family secrets galore here as you gradually put together all the little pieces of the twisty parallel mysteries in both time lines, building suspense notch by notch, until all the skeletons come tumbling out of their respective hiding places in two cracking climaxes, that bring everything together in a way that has dangerous consequences for Josie. There are lovely echoes that reverberate through time too, especially in terms of seriously creepy mother-in-laws, and motherhood, and Hawthorne plays up the underlying Gothic atmosphere of voices from beyond the grave scarily well.

I gobbled this one down in one sitting, and really enjoyed how Hawthorne threads the theme of women's rights subtly throughout the story. She also delivers with deliciously satisfying endings in both timelines, which I applaud. There is a lot here that reminded me of the way Stacey Halls captures your imagination, gives you a good dose of an unsettling drama, and urges you to take a good hard look at the injustices that face her female characters, so if you are a fan of Hall's writing then you will find a lot here to enjoy. Haunting, and highly recommended for some historical fiction chills.

This was a twisty, sometimes creepy novel that held me most of the way through. When I got to the middle it did wane a little and the ending seemed rushed. This was a historical dual time-line and I found it was very similar to others I have read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I was absolutely absorbed by the blurb and its book cover. The author took me through an emotional roller coaster ride. I enjoyed reading this historical mystery novel, filled with dark family secrets and unusual things happening around at different timelines 1880's, 1840 and 2019. Henry Fox and his pregnant wife Josie, with their unborn daughter moves to her husband's ancestral home - The Helygen House in Cornwall, England. Built in the 19th century, The House at Helygen took Josie's breath away, astound by the stunning architecture, beautiful grounds and countless rooms it had. Having passed to Henry Fox as inheritance by tradition, Helygen house would be their daughter's. The house needed lot of work, especially the west wing was destroyed once by a fire long time ago. Josie was happy, at peace in the hut of "Little Hely" as she called it. She was excited to revamp the Helygen House as planned with her best friend Flick. Alice, Josie's mother - in - law was always unsupportive and disagreeing with her plans for the house. Only male heirs could inherit Helygen house. Henry along with Josie makes a will changing the order of succession, to ensure thier child, no matter the gender would inherit Helygen.

Around these circumstances, the novel takes a turn when Henry Fox dies suddenly mysteriously lying there in the kitchen, half of his face missing a gun shot wound. Henry is gone, leaving their daughter Willow and Josie with all their future dreams together shattered in grief. The police informs Josie that they are treating Henry's death as self inflicted and not as a suspicious crime.

Josie was very sure Henry has been hiding something he didn't want her to know and he saw no other way out. Josie approaches the detectives tearfully not believing that Henry would kill himself. Is Alice hiding not telling her something? Is Josie's Judgement about Henry's unexpected death right? Next, she finds her best friend Flick dead too at the lake. As her anxiety and fear continues, builders who came to renovate the Hut and police find bones that are hundred years old that were buried beneath several feet of concrete at the House Helygen.

Taking back in time, Henry's family history goes to the 1800's, when Cassius and Eliza lived in the Helygen House, also the dark secrets contained within the walls making the House a graveyard for children. How will be the House at Helygen's family legacy be protected? I kept guessing till the end.

Thanks and I received a copy of The House at Helygen from NetGalley and Quercus publishing in exchange for my honest review.

A gothic novel that mixes past and present and made me think of Daphne De Maurier as some of the main elements reminded me of Rebecca: Cornwall, gothic atmosphere, mansion.
It was an initial impression and the author did a good job in delivering a gripping novel that mixes thriller with historical fiction, family secrets and social injustice.
There’re some sad parts and there’s grief and loss and the author dealt these situations in a empathic way
It's gripping and entertaining even if a bit too long at times.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

(3.5 stars)

This book, for me, is one of those that I finished with quite a lot of jumbled up thoughts in my head. It's taken me a while to work out where to start, but I'm going to begin with the first line of the blurb: "An atmospheric historical suspense novel rich with familial secrets and strong female protagonists. The House at Helygen is a twisted tale of dark pasts, murderous presents and uncertain futures."

It doesn't lie. There are strong female protagonists aplenty, the past is dark indeed and the present has a gruesome murder in it that, after the gentle and happy introduction, gives the reader a short, gasp-inducing shock before compelling them to read on with renewed vigour.

The only word that I'd take a slight issue with is 'historical'. That's correct ... to a point. But the historical narratives of Harriet in the 1840s and Eliza in the 1880s are interspersed with that of Josie in 2019. And it's probably fair to say that the 'present day' story takes up about half of the book. However, I didn't mind this in the least because the story continues at a perfect pace and switches between the three timelines effortlessly. The parallels and contrasts between Josie and Eliza's stories are interesting, whilst the characters of Harriet and Eliza are as unlikeable as they're clearly meant to be. But they're intriguing. I breezed my way through the first two-thirds of the novel and found myself wondering two things: how is this going to end? And: how do these stories relate?

Unfortunately, it's here that the book starts to fall down a little bit, because the ending is so dramatic that it felt a little bit manic. And actually, the stories didn't seem to me to relate all that well. I can't go into detail without giving away spoilers, other than to say that the answer lies in what we're not told rather than what we are. I couldn't help but feel that it might have worked better had the reader been given a clue much earlier, so that we knew something that the present-day Josie didn't and could have watched her search for the answer that was staring her in the face ... if only she knew what to look at.

I also felt that the 'present' narrative of Josie was that bit better written than the 'past' ones of Eliza and Harriet. Maybe it's the author's experience of having written modern psychological and domestic fiction (as Vikki Patis), or maybe it's that I find it easier to imagine 'what if' scenarios in the present day than I do in the past, when I know that the events described will already have happened. But either way, I felt that the 'Eliza' and 'Harriet' chapters actually provided a bit of relief from the fantastically tense 'Jodie' ones, and I'm not sure that was the intention.

There are a few other niggles too. Even though Vikki goes to the trouble to explain that the name of the house is pronounced "Hel-ee-gan" (with the stress on the second syllable), I still couldn't help but pronounce it 'Heligan' as per the real-life property in Cornwall. I wished that the house in the novel had just been called something else. And when coming up with the name for a proposed yoga studio, why stop at 'Feel Fabulous with Flick'? Surely it's only one small step from there to 'Feel Flicking Fabulous', and - irrationally, I know - it bugged me that neither author, editor nor beta-readers had thought that one through.

Mostly, though, my problem was that I couldn't help but make comparisons to 'A Shadow Beyond' by Emma-Nicole Lewis, which has nailed the concept of a historical time-slip novel to something close to perfection. And I have to be brutally honest and say that 'The House at Helygan' is not as good. Perhaps it's an advantage that the other book is about twice as long, and I also think it helps to tell a story based on a true historical event. But the key difference is that 'A Shadow Beyond' is able to bring history to life. 'The House at Helygen' only manages to make it enjoyable to read about.

I'm sorry if this review has come across as negative, because that isn't really fair. I enjoyed this book very much and thought that it was a fine first effort at branching out into a different genre. I suspect, however - although I kind of hope I'm wrong - that it's more likely to be enjoyed by fans of the other Vikki Patis novels than it is by historical fiction readers looking for a new author.

My thanks to the author, Quercus Books and Netgalley for my digital ARC of this book, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly. I will post my review on Goodreads and Instagram now and on Amazon after publication.

Alternating between the 1840s, 1880s and the present time, this is a twisty historical suspense novel from bestselling Author, Vikki Patis, known for her psychological thrillers.

If you’ve read Vikki’s book, Return to Blackwater House, also published this year, you’ll now what I mean when I say the house is a character in itself. It has charm (a little), suspense (a lot) and lots of dark secrets to unravel. And they unravel in a very theatrical way through the generations of families who have lived in the house since the 1800s. I was absolutely hooked on getting to the end to find out exactly what was going on but at the same time I didn’t want it to finish.

Cornwall, a gothic atmosphere, a beautiful but terrifying ancestral home… the ingredients for the perfect book are woven nicely together by Victoria Hawthorne’s expert pen.

Dark & disturbing set over multiple generations.
Couldn't put this one down and read it in a day!
With thanks to NetGalley for the copy.

Spread across three timelines, Josie is married to Henry Fox, heir to Helygen. They are expecting their first child and have made plans for many alterations to the property due to its upkeep costs, much to Henry’s mother’s disdain.

In 1881, Eliza is the wife of Cassius Fox and is an excited new bride to his ancestral home. Things are not however as they seem and she encounters many surprises in the property – in particular, that of her in-laws – Harriett and Edmund Fox forty years earlier.

In the present day, Henry meets his death, apparently suicide according to his mother and the police. But Josie knows that this cannot be the case. She sets to uncover the mystery.

A good read, I would rate it 3 stars.

A superb twisty historical crime novel spanning two centuries as we try to discover the secrets of the House at Helygen. Has you on the edge of your seat and throws you the odd red herring along the way. Great stuff!

Wow - I was NOT expecting to be so creeped out by this novel!

Told through the perspectives of three women from different time periods, this novel details the devastating history of the Helygen house and estate. I loved how the women almost experienced each other’s pain as they each fought against an oppressive tyrant.

A fantastic blend of historical fiction, thriller and horror. If you need a truly immersive novel then this is one to pick up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for the chance to read this novel I’m exchange for my unbiased review.

This chilling historical thriller was unlike my usual read, however I've read the author's other novels written under the name Vikki Patis so I was keen to read this.

The plot begins with Josie, pregnant with her first child and just 6 weeks away from her due date, funding her husband, Henry, dead in the kitchen of their home, Helygen House, that they're sharing with Henry's mother. The police rule it as suicide, but Josie isn't convinced as they've not long moved house, and Henry was excited for their first child, and looking forward to some upcoming business ventures.

The story switches between Josie in 2019, and Eliza who lived at the house in the late 1880s, which occasional snippets from Eliza's mother in law Harriet. In all three timelines there is a haunting undercurrent, spooky happenings, and an air of gloom.

The book does deal with baby loss and child death quite extensively, so avoid if this is a trigger. I was just ever so slightly disappointed in the ending which felt a bit too rushed in comparison to the pace of the rest of the book, but the many twists and turns on the way made it a real page turner, do I've rounded up from 4.5 stars. It was really nice to have a book with only female protagonists, and the way Victoria Hawthorne writes is engaging and captivating. I would absolutely read another historical thriller from Hawthorne.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A highly surprising book with great atmosphere and dark, stressful events. It was not at all what I was expecting. It is a very well crafted piece of writing, which draws you in, in spite of a slightly confusing beginning. Once you have the characters relationships sorted though,
everything becomes clear.
The story is told through the eyes of three of the main four characters and is set alternatively between the 19th century and the present day. Although quite a dark story, it ends on a note of hope and life moving forward.

This book is the definition of suspenseful writing, I could not wait to see what was going to happen as the story progressed.

Without giving spoilers, The House at Helygen follows the story of Josie in the present day, she has married Henry Fox who is the owner of the Helygen estate. It also follows Harriet in the mid-1800s and Eliza in the late 1800s, who has just married Cassius (Harriet's son), also the owner of the Helygen estate. You get to follow the storylines of both women as they move into the house and see how they manage their relationships, family and friendships.

Dual timelines are always something that I have loved reading and the way that Victoria Hawthorne wrote this was beautiful. Each detail revealed in the jump between the past and present timelines must have been meticulously planned out because everything was revealed at what I thought to be the exact right time. I'm so excited to read more from Victoria Hawthorne, her writing in this book was just amazing.

if you like dark forbidding mysteries then this is for you.
too depressing, gloomy and miserable for my taste but well written. I can see it will attract readers who like creepy spine tinglers!