Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader's copy. I have read and enjoyed all of Carol Goodman's books and this new one does not disappoint. This was a fun gothic thriller. Agnes Corey is a junior editor and gets the opportunity of a lifetime to be help the recluse Veronica St Claire transcribe the sequel to her famous 1993 book, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. As St Claire dictates her new book in the events leading up to the fire, Agnes learns more about the history of Wyldcliffe Heights, which used to be a psychiatric hospital for wayward women. Agnes finds about more about Veronica and her life and starts to put things together about an unresolved murder and possible connections to Wyldcliffe Heights and the women who lived there.

Agnes Corey hasn't had an easy life growing up with an unstable mother and several foster homes. She finally feels on her way working for a small publishing house. After writing to Veronica St. Clair, author of The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights, requesting a sequel to the time honored book, Agnes is invited to Wyldcliffe Heights to transcrible the sequel. With the house in disrepair, Agnes is on edge as St. Clair dictates an eerie story, blurring the lines of fiction and real life. Determined to find the truth of what really happened decades ago, Agnes finds herself in danger and questioning her own sanity.

I seem to be an outlier, but this did not work for me. I am a gothic girlie through and through so the premise of this one immediately caught my eye. Unfortunately, I didn't care for Agnes as a narrator (she keeps getting upset that people think she's naive and making bad choices but...she is). A lot of the reveals were followed by monologuing and nothing felt truly surprising. This will definitely find its readers but it was not me.

I really enjoyed this book as a low-stakes gothic mystery. The descriptions of Wyldcliffe heights were amazing and the entire book sets a solid sense of place and time. Being an Update-NY native I especially enjoyed seeing the Hudson Valley shine in this novel. The plot itself moves along and never feels too slow, though occasionally disjointed (you can tell when we need to hurry up and get some threads tied off). The "twist" is not really a surprise, all the clues are there, but it does provide fodder for our protagonists arc. My only critique (and this may just be that I don't read much in this genre) is that it didn't feel particularly like adult fiction. Maybe this is because so much of the story happens to teen and young adults, but the tenor of the narrative felt more like Lois Duncan than Sophie Hannah. That said I really enjoyed the book and plan to hit up the library for Goodman's back catalog to fill out my summer reading list.

When I read that this book was being compared to Jane Eyre and The Thirteenth Tale, I had to devour this story. I can say it exceeded my expectations. Oh my goodness... I thought I had the plot figured out but I was so wrong. Definitely a well written gothic thriller.

I really enjoyed reading this and didn’t want to put it down. 5/5! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I found this piece to be exceptionally well-crafted, and I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to delve into more works by this author. Given its potential popularity among our library patrons, we're certainly looking forward to adding it to our collection

I love everything Carol Goodman writes. I read in them in one-sitting without fail, but Return To Wyldcliffe Heights is without a doubt my all-time favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read Return to Wildcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman, who is one of my very favorite all-time writers ever. Enjoyable, but a wee bit disappointing. I found it to be a confusing ending.

Wow. This book was amazing I had to finish it in one day. The story within the story is so good. And it’s filled with love for friendship and daughters. A copy editor at a publishing company writes to an author saying everyone wants a sequel. A sequel to a book that was written 20 years ago. The author invites her to help her write it. And they start to write a prequel that becomes a true story. The pace of this book is good and there’s no slow, dragged out parts.

It was only afterwards that Agnes Corey realized she shouldn’t have written that letter to
author Veronica St. Clair. Agnes is an editorial assistant at the small press that
published St. Clair’s bestseller, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. For almost thirty years,
readers, including Agnes, have wanted a sequel. St. Clair, a blind recluse, refused to
write it. However, Agnes is shocked when she’s hired to transcribe the harrowing sequel
to the original gothic tale. Arriving at Wyldcliffe Heights, she finds herself wrapped up in
the seemingly autobiographical story of two young women imprisoned at the
experimental mental hospital, and the fire that blinded St. Clair. As she transcribes, she
finds connections to her own family story, and her mother who had mental difficulties.
Agnes’ fears for her own mental stability come to a head on Halloween when the
shocking secrets of Wyldcliffe Heights are revealed, and the characters are revealed as
actual people.
Goodman, author of two Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning novels, including
The Night Visitors, will please readers who like a gothic mystery with a creepy setting,
and unreliable narrators. However, I found the ending, with the multiple characters and multiple names, too confusing. That's just me.

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Award-winning author Carol Goodman is an enjoyable, easy to read modern gothic mystery with believable characters and all the twists and turns a reader could want.

My favorite parts of the book are the history and descriptions of the two main settings in the book, the estate of Wyldcliffe Heights and The Josephine Hotel.

Pub Date 30 Jul 2024 | Archive Date 24 Sep 2024
William Morrow, William Morrow Paperbacks

Triple Wow! I adore both gothic mysteries and psychological thrillers as much as I'm a big fan of the Brontë Sisters' classic masterpieces "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre." Imagine a book that blends all of these elements with the vibes of "American Horror Story: Asylum," featuring a claustrophobic journey through a haunted house that was once a sanctuary for troubled women, where numerous tragedies, including the murder of a psychiatrist, a madwoman's suicide, and a devastating fire that left the heiress blind, have occurred over the years.

I was immediately drawn into this mystery and had to restrain myself from finishing it too quickly, savoring every chapter and the intricate connections between the characters: a few heroines who have faced mental turmoil and tragedy yet remain resilient enough to survive. The intelligently designed, twisty main mystery kept me on my toes until the end, prompting me to form wild guesses. Although I foresaw some aspects of it, I was truly impressed by how the author masterfully connected the dots. The epilogue, in particular, was like a slap in the face—it was intense and brilliantly executed. I felt as though I had been hit with an ice-cold shower. I have now added Carol Goodman to my list of auto-approved authors and have decided to read anything she releases without even reading the blurbs.

Here's the plotline of the book: Agnes Corey discovers firsthand that losing oneself in a book can be dangerous, especially when she finds herself in the role of the amanuensis of the famous author Veronica St. Clair. Veronica, who wrote the bestselling gothic thriller "The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights," may have saved Agnes in various ways throughout her painful childhood, during which she was raised by a mentally unstable mother, bounced between foster homes, and attended a strict school run by nuns.

After learning that Agnes, a junior editor at a small independent publishing company, is on the verge of losing her job, she realizes that the only way to save the company is to convince the only famous author they work with to write a sequel to her famous book. Crossing a line, Agnes pens a letter to Veronica requesting the sequel as a devoted reader, and miraculously, Veronica not only agrees to write it but also invites Agnes to work with her at her dilapidated estate, which was once a psychiatric hospital for troubled women surrounded by a cemetery of wayward mothers and daughters.

As Agnes takes her first steps into the mansion and meets the eccentric and mysterious Veronica and her rattled caretaker Leticia, she begins to delve into the dark past of the place, which is linked to an unsolved murder and the legends of the infamous boogeywoman Red Bess, who allegedly killed Veronica's grandfather in a brutal manner before hanging herself. However, as Veronica starts to work on a prequel and shares her side of the story, Agnes realizes that everything recounted in "Wylidcliffe Heights" is real, and she is on the verge of uncovering the missing pieces of the story. But as they approach the finish line, external threats intensify—someone wants to stop them from revealing the secrets. But who? Could it be someone Agnes knows? Who can she truly trust, especially when she cannot trust Veronica?

Overall, I give this highly earned five stars and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys gothic thrillers and twisty psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow/William Morrow Paperbacks for providing me with a digital review copy of this unputdownable book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I've read all of the author's books so was excited to receive her latest tale. The story started off a bit slow but picked up in the middle to finish strong.

Though set in the modern day, the Gothic atmosphere gave this a distinctly timeless feel. It gave me nostalgic Mary Stewart vibes. I definitely didn't see the twist coming.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I havd read all of Carol Goodman's books. For a gothic novel this one was better than average, although at times it is very farfetched. I did recommend it to a friend who enjoys gothic novels. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This wasn’t my favorite of Carol Goodman’s books, but I did enjoy the publishing aspect and the history of the Josephine hotel.
As the novel went on, I found myself getting very confused by the multiple storylines, characters and twists. However, in the end, I was happy with the outcome.
I think anyone who enjoys gothic spooky house mysteries with a good dose of history, influences from the Brontë sisters and Daphne du Maurier and unreliable narrators will enjoy this book.

I've been a fan of Carol Goodman for years and I was excited to read her new book. It was good -but having read her books before, I definitely guessed the twists before they were revealed. That's also because other authors like Riley Sager are doing similar plots. It wasnt creepy like I thought it would be, and that was fine and I still enjoyed the story and ride. But I felt like I might have read this story before .

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights is a slow burn of a gothic thriller, ever-so-slightly reminiscent of Jane Eyre. And it's obvious that the author was inspired by the Charlotte Brontë classic, as there are multiple mentions of the “madwoman in the attic” and even a character named Ja(y)ne. That's not to say that this is a retelling, however – it's a very different story overall, but the references and similarities are definitely there.

The things I enjoyed about this book: first and foremost, it's very, very gothic. I mean, it basically has gothic oozing from it's pores (or would if books had pores, anyway). There's the remote manor house with a dark history, the mysterious and reclusive invalid, eerie happenings, and a heroine with a tumultuous past in the form of our main character, Agnes. And not only that, but there's a gothic novel within this gothic novel, which is rather, um … novel (sorry, I couldn't resist).

The plot itself is also pretty decent – it's not anything especially innovative, but I loved how the different timelines come together to solve the all of the mysteries of Wyldcliffe Heights. There are a few major twists and turns and I absolutely did not see any of them coming. Certain aspects of the plot aren't overly realistic, but, eh, it's a gothic thriller so it's probably to be expected.

Also, Agnes, Jayne, and Veronica are all compelling characters and Goodman did an excellent job bringing them to life. They're all complex and multi-faceted individuals, and I enjoyed reading about how Wyldcliffe Heights affected the course of each of their lives.

Oh, and there's no real romance to be found in this book. Thank you, Carol Goodman – as someone who isn't a huge fan of the lovey-dovey stuff, I salute you.

The thing I didn't enjoy as much about this book: Oh my gosh is it a slow burn. I don't normally mind slow reads, but this one kind of took it to an extreme. I mean, there's a lot of backstory and some book excerpts and a few eerie scenes that are all important to the plot, but this is certainly not an action-packed novel … at least not until the climax, where everything happens at warp-speed and crazy events and big reveals are being thrown at you left and right. Despite the slow start to the book, however, Goodman manages to keep you reading, so I guess I can't really complain too much.

Overall rating: 3.7 stars, rounded up. If you like modern Gothics with a literary twist, maybe consider giving this one a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

Agnes Corey — junior editor at Gatehouse Publishing — has managed to convince the reclusive author of a wildly popular book (The Secret of Wyldcliff Hall — think Jane Eyre style) to write a sequel. What’s more, as the author was blinded in a terrible fire shortly after the first book — Agnes is to move in to the crumbling estate (once a psychiatric hospital for wayward women) and serve as the author’s amanuensis. It’s clear that the original book, and the one that will follow, are more autobiographical than not, but whose autobiography exactly?

I was pulled in from page one and am in awe of just how many truly convoluted plot twists I read by the end, although I shouldn’t be too surprised as Goodman is a master storyteller and strange and twisted plots are her forte. (I’m pretty sure I have read all 25 of her books so I should know!) Stories within stories, fluid identities, and three distinct timelines that are recalled through memories, anecdotes, letters, and scraps of papers found in odd places. It would not hurt to take notes while reading! One consistent theme: women committed to various types of institutions and the very nasty men who kept them there. But this is by no means a depressing tale of oppression — our characters are strong, learn how to become effectively wary, and forge solid friendships that survive against some pretty terrible odds.

In summary: Creepy! Gothic! Twisted! One-sitting reading! Great for fans of Kate Morton and Diane Setterfield.