this was very enjoyable for such a long time, but ultimately i was not all that shocked by the ending even though it felt like i was supposed to be? i’m honestly not even totally sure what the twists were supposed to be, because i feel like the author was trying to present an unreliable narrator, and while they did do this it just left things feeling a bit disjointed and confusing rather than craftily put together.
also it was kinda grinding my gears that there was a lot of telling rather than showing. i got a bit sick of reading basic descriptions of what the room looked like, where the furniture was, and what colour it was. it could’ve been built into the momentum of the scene but instead felt more like an info dump. overall an interesting enough read that i got through it without too much of a slog, but definitely not racing to recommend to anyone and was still a letdown.

EXCERPT: The woman drew nearer. His pulse quickened as she came to a halt outside the shop just a few feet from the car, slapping on the brake of the pram with her foot. She paused to take a final puff of her roll-up, then ground it out with the toe of her platform shoe on the pavement, just below the shop window. He heard the jangle of the entrance bell as the door closed behind her.
This was even better than he'd anticipated. But time was of the essence.
Quickly, he got out of the car and strode towards the shop, his heart thudding. The pram was battered, the hood worn with age; a cigarette burn on the cover. His eyes narrowed as he scanned around anxiously, ensuring no one had seen him, then leaned in to inspect the sleeping infant, unhooking the lip of the brown canvas apron. He caught his breath. Reaching in with trembling hands, he seized his chance.

ABOUT 'THE SECRETS OF MILL HOUSE': A missing child. A broken community. A horrifying secret.

When a baby is kidnapped in broad daylight with no witnesses, an otherwise sleepy suburb is rocked to the core and ten-year-old Flora Lanyon is left terrified.

Decades later, Flora takes a job as a live-in carer for elderly couple, Agnes and Abraham, moving into the decrepit watermill where they live. As strange and inexplicable occurrences start to happen, Flora grows increasingly suspicious.

What dark secrets are hiding in the house? Is Flora safe there? And can she unearth the truth before the past catches up with the present?

MY THOUGHTS: The Secrets of Mill House by Anne Wyn Clark is a mystery/family drama which embraces the topics of child abduction, and child, sexual and elder abuse. There are no vivid descriptions of the abuse.

Anne Wyn Clark mysteries are slow-burn and The Secrets of Mill House is no exception. The timeline is dual, moving backwards and forwards between the past and the present until, at the denouement, the timelines collide. There are one or two surprises in the plotline, and a few places where I could easily see what was going to happen, but I was kept interested throughout.

The true strength of this novel, however, lies in the characters. The men at Mill House, Abraham and Hector are, each in their own way, creepy. Agnes is a sweetie but confused a lot of the time. Flora is quite a difficult character to read. I don't know if I liked her or not. I was disappointed in her at one point in the story and I am sure she knew more than she was letting on about one event that occurred. I did admire her doggedness and determination.

The ending is bittersweet and I felt was quite fitting. All the loose ends are tied up nicely. I found this to be an enjoyable, but not particularly memorable read.

⭐⭐⭐.7

#TheSecretsofMillHouse #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: E.A. Clark also writes under the name Anne Wyn Clark

E.A. Clark lives in the Midlands with her husband and son, plus a rather temperamental cat, a rabbit and a chinchilla. She has three (now grown-up) children and five grandchildren. She is particularly partial to Italian food, decent red wine (or any coloured wine come to that …) and cake – and has been known to over-indulge in each on occasions.
She has a penchant for visiting old graveyards and speculating on the demise of those entombed beneath. Whilst she has written short stories and poetry for many years, a lifelong fascination with all things paranormal has culminated in her first novel for adults, Lay Me to Rest. The setting is inspired by her love of Wales, owing to her father’s Celtic roots.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Secrets of Mill House by Anne Wy Clark for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books for another twisty thriller of a read from Anne.
Well written and it kept me guessing until the end - I now need some sleep!
Highly recommend

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Really good twisty thrill ride! This kept me guessing and was so well written. I couldn't put it down and finished it within two nights.

I was transported to the atmospheric land of this thrilling tale. It is a hauntingly realistic plot that gave me chilling goosebumps. The twists take you on a ride that you will never forget!

Really sorry, but I struggled to finish this story.

The writing style was ok but the story was rather clunky and predictable.

I was hoping for more in this book. When I read the synopsis I was excited to start reading. Unforunately for me it was very repetitive and predictable.

Told in a series of flashbacks and the present, this is the story of a stolen child and how that event shapes the lives of the book's characters. A bit disjointed at times, but a quick read.

This dark and chilly story, though a bit of a slow burn, captivated you with its gothic atmosphere. While not overtly scary, it exuded an eerie sense, particularly with the creepy Mill House and its peculiar residents. The connection of timelines, though somewhat predictable, offered a couple of surprises that added to the intrigue. The novel provided a very good atmospheric read, making it well-suited for the cold and dark nights that are approaching.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was an anticipated book for me. I don’t read many “scary jumpy” books but this one looked liked it would at least creep me out.
Nope.

Not once did I jump or get scared, not even mildly biting my nails or anything I’m sad to say.

The “flashbacks” had my brain fuddled.

It soon was apparent that my relationship with this book was over, however, the trier I am I still went on trying to read it because I’ve liked a previous book by her.

I listened to the ending.
That’s it folks!

I will give her another go with another one and go from there.

The authors who blurbed on the cover said Twisting, etc etc, I didn’t find that unfortunately to be the case for me.

A little too predictable for my liking, writing stlye was good. I would pick up another book by this author.

A little uneven. I liked adult Flora and her storyline but the flashbacks didn't hold my attention as much. It was a good, creepy read for near Halloween though! I can't resist a creepy house book and this one delivered.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
.
.
I have so many hope with this book. But it was overhyped. I get it yes it’s a good thriller but some other parts of the story is I’m getting lost.



❤️shaye.reads

Thank you for the ARC. Unfortunately, this didn't end up being the book for me. Haunted house books are hard. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Sadly, I made it a little more than halfway through this novel before I final gave up and just accepted the fact that it was not for me.

To begin with, I never felt any sense of dread, or anticipation while reading this, even though parts of the story took place in an atmosphere that was meant to be foreboding. I'm not sure if this was due to the alternating timelines, or the fact that I felt as though the plot points were way too convenient to be even remotely believable. Adding to this, most of the novel seemed to drag on to the point that I became bored waiting for something to happen. And when something did happen? Most of the time it seemed to just.... fizzle out leading me to wonder just what the point was of including it at all.

Overall, while this one didn't work for me and I couldn't finish it, if the synopsis intrigues you then I think you should give it a shot as what didn't work for me may just work for you.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Although a bit of a slow burn, I really liked this dark and chilly story. I really liked the gothic atmosphere and although not scary as such it did have a sense of eeriness especially with the creepy Mill House including the strangeness of the residents of the house. As the timelines connect there was some predictably but there were a couple of surprises too. A very good atmospheric read for the cold and dark nights that are approaching. This is my second book by this author and it won't be my last

I found The Secrets of Mill House to be quite predictable. I kept waiting for the twists to come but they never did and I didn't like the ending. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

It's entertaining and there's some interesting twists but it's also a bit too predictable and I wasn't a fan of the solution.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

When a baby is kidnapped in broad daylight with no witnesses, an otherwise sleepy suburb is rocked by a scandal and ten-year-old Flora Lanyon is terrified. Decades later, Flora takes a job as a live-in carer for an elderly couple, Agnes and Abraham, moving into their decrepit watermill where they live. As strange and unexplainable occurances start to happen, Flora grows increasingly suspicious. What dark secrets are they hiding in this house? Is Flora safe there? And can she unearth the truth before the past catches up with the present.

This is quite a predictable read. Flora didn't have an easy life. She only had one friend, Lola. The atmosphere could be chilling. Abraham's conduct could be quite odd, and his son, Hector, has a weird hobby. There's a bit of a gothic feel to the story. This is a quick and easy book to read. There's not a lot of twists, and I wasn't keen on how the book ended.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #AnneWynClark for my ARC of #TheSecretsOfMillHouse in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read & review this! Very recently I’ve “branched out” and began reading different genres to my usual rom-com faves.
I enjoyed the twists & turns and it was easy to keep up with the time line and different characters. I felt the ‘end of’ one character was quite rushed / I didn’t actually want that to be their ending but that’s just me hoping for baddies to get their comeuppance 😁
Overall, I did like this. Thank you A W Clark, netgalley & publishers !