Secrets of Rose Briar Hall is a gothicy mystery about Millie Turner, daughter of a rich New Yorker who has married the handsome Charles Turner. The make a beautiful couple and with Millie's money they have built a beautiful home. After a dinner party, Millie wakes to find that a guest has died and she is suspected of being the killer. Her husband turns from solicitous to dangerous as Millie tries to uncover the truth about the night.

With plenty of twist and turns, the author leads us on a tortuous path the answer and leaves us with an explosive ending. I really enjoyed this story, it's a quick read and I found it hard to put down. From a historical fiction standpoint it dives into the lack of rights women posessed in that era and the cultural attitude towards divorce. All in all a good read.

The Secrets of Rose Briar Hall holds an enticing historical mystery bringing us back to the gilded age of New York. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I really enjoyed this book. As told from the point of view of Millie, our main character, we struggle along with her to figure out what is actually going on. Is she a murderer? Or is it her husband? Is he trying to kill her now or is it his loyal maid?

To me, the most interesting parts of the story involved the absolute lack of rights that women had at the time. Millie has everything going against her. Her husband wants to put her in a sanitarium, and Millie believes that if she goes she will be murdered. Her parents shut her off when she files for divorce from her husband. It's extremely rare and difficult for a lady to divorce her husband in those days. If the judge sees fit to not grant the divorce, then she must remain married. Her struggles to gain independence from the man she thinks is a killer coincide with her struggle to learn the truth of what really happened at Rose Briar Hall. The combination of storylines are what made this mystery a page-turner for me.

I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it for book clubs. There are plenty of interesting discussion points. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book starts out great but about halfway in it leans more to romance, a love triangle, or a contrite fantasy, instead of a Gothic mystery. While reading a book, I sometimes think back and remember what has been covered, in this one, truly little. All of what had happened could be summarized in a few sentences.

I am not a romance reader and try to steer away, unfortunately I quickly lost interest when the main character is so sure of her looks that any man will swoon. I kept on reading hoping it would get better.

The best I can do is three stars. As the other reviews show, I am in the minority, but I expected more in-depth character development and more storyline. The story concept was there, it just needed to leave out the frivolous.

I thank Kensington Books along with NetGalley for providing this Galley edition for no requirement other than my offer to provide an unbiased review. This one comes in with three stars.

This atmospheric gothic tale, set in 1908, explores a time of patriarchal dominance, when a mere suggestion of unreasonable behaviour was enough for a woman to be sent to an asylum, if her husband had reason to want rid of her. James sets her scene with Charles and Millie, a devoted, handsome, wealthy couple, who are hosting the most lavish society party of the season. But when Millie wakes up the next morning, she has no memory, and when she discovers it is three-weeks later and she has been drugged, she is still told nothing. The house is freezing, her maid treats her with contempt, the staff have almost all been laid off, dust sheets cover the furniture and her husband absents himself without explanation.
Millie’s discovery of the reasons behind everyone’s odd behaviour astounds and frightens her, but there’s plenty more revelations to come. Desperate for help, she turns to a journalist knowing he may sensationalise her story, but it’s a risk she must take. James’ novel is filled with luscious descriptions, tantalising characters and plenty of confusion and menace, as Millie finds her only means of support cut off by her smooth-talking husband. Using many plot twists, James does a superb job of exploring misogynistic supremacy, whereby an abuser performs subtle psychological trickery on their victim, keeping them in a constant state of doubt. A high-tension cat-and-mouse plot from start to finish. Highly recommended.

This historical thriller had me on the edge of my seat! I found myself thinking about it when I took reading breaks and couldn't wait to come back to it. What an engrossing, suspenseful read this was! There were times when I was almost uncomfortable with the [completely accurate] way a husband had total control over his wife for so much of our history.

The story opens with Millie preparing to host the first party at the Long Island home that was a wedding gift from her parents. After meticulously building and decorating, she is finally taking her place as a society hostess. The story jumps to Millie waking up and fining out that three weeks have passed since the party, her home is cold and empty, and a guest died that night. Millie's husband, Charles, has a maid and doctor who have kept Millie sedated. He's considering sending her to an asylum. Millie is desperate to find out what happened and free herself from her oppressive home. Her allies in this are the gate keeper, one of the only servants she brought to her married home and his son, who works in Manhattan as a reporter.

The pace is lightening fast and the story is so exciting. I was reluctant to put this down! There are times when the reader is as unsure as Millie about who is trustworthy. What a fantastic, exciting ride!

An atmospheric, cozy thriller set in the gilded age of New York.

This has plenty of twists and turns and had me gripped throughout. It’s written in first person PoV, which is not my first choice for this genre or time period, but oddly it made sense to be in Millie’s head. She is an unreliable narrator at first while she is being drugged, manipulated and gaslit, but as we go on we get to witness her growth and struggle first hand. I can’t really fully dissect this book as I don’t wish to reveal any spoilers but I found the concept fascinating. It was gothic, creepy and filled with angst and frustration. The villain in this is truly the lack of agency that women had at the time. It was frustrating to read about a woman whose life was in peril, and the lack of care, the laws of the day and the misogyny that kept her there.
There are some light moments throughout that balance out all the heavy, a sweet side romance with a childhood friend. And some of the elements were over the top, but done for tension and dramatic effect, so I went with it. The ending was interesting and maybe an odd choice, but I can’t discuss it here so hit me up if you’ve read it and want a conversation about it.

Married to Charles, living on a vast estate, Millie wakes one morning feeling ill. The last thing she remembers is getting ready for the party they threw yesterday, but that was weeks ago and she has no memory of the time in between. And Charles won’t let anyone tell her what’s happened. Think Gothic and Gaslight, and you’ve got the makings of a great novel.

Secrets of Rose Briar Hall
by Kelsey James is a stunning crossover between gothic gaslight mystery and psychological thriller.

Told from the pov of the protagonist Emily, the story is dialogue centered but this gives an authentic perspective to the storyline in respect of the srnsibilities of the time

The writing is on point, the ambience and scene-setting is perfect for the era and the plot is beautifully woven

A good, solid read. Fab

Thank you to Kensington Books, (A John Scognamiglio Book) and the author Kelsey James. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Great story about the gilded age and main character Millie living in a nice mansion with her husband, then in the day she remembers nothing the next day obviously you find out a lot of secrets and twists in this book and what her husband did I was hoping for a different twist but she ended up not remembering because of her husband.
Staff all gone and she’s in this house by herself. I didn’t like the ending I thought it was a really long book it did keep me on my toes to find out what was going on in the story but it was very long after we found out what was going on.

I would still give this book like 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this book to read.

3.5 rounded up to 4

It’s the Golden Age and Millie Turner, new-money heiress, married Charles Turner, a money man from a well established New York Family. She’s holding her first event in their newly built Long Island mansion, hoping to impress everyone and reflect well on her husband. But on waking the next day she remembers nothing. Only it isn’t the next day, she’s been asleep for weeks. The house is cold and dark and most of the staff have left. Suddenly she no longer feels safe in her home.

I loved the first few chapters of the book, it was so atmospheric, I felt Millie’s confusion and mounting fear. I was drawn in straight away. As gradually we found out the truth and then the story lost its way somewhat. It stalled in the chapters where Millie escapes and lost the gothic charm. But it pulls it back in the final few chapters.

Wow!

Excellent story during the gilded age. The author weaved a believable story in this historical mystery that kept me captivated until the very end leaving me wanting more.

Amazing job. Please write more.

SECRETS OF ROSE BRIAR HALL
BY: KELSEY JAMES

The draw that convinced me that I must read this Gothic Gilded Age historical fiction was the description in the synopsis. Who could resist a story that pays homage to the classic movie "Gaslight," starring Ingrid Bergman? When you 'gaslight' someone it's a cruel form of manipulation towards the victim to distort reality and make the victim doubt their own sanity. As in the movie this excellent story mirrors it with a husband trying to send his wife off to an asylum so that he can gain her wealth and remarry his mistress. I don't remember why the husband in the movie "Gaslight," tried to scare his wife to death by his deliberate actions of creating a distortion of reality. I only remember feeling the same insidious horror that the actress Ingrid Bergman felt as her husband scared her by denying what he did that frightened her.

In this incredibly similar novel Millie, an heiress awakens three weeks later with no memory of a party where a guest named, Gertrude had choked and died by drinking tea laced with poison. Charles, Millie's husband tries to convince Millie that she gave Gertrude the tea. Millie is told by Charles that he has been so worried about her and the doctor thinks that Millie's memory loss isn't unusual after a shock. A doctor that Charles has working for him, who has been dosing Millie without her knowledge with Chloral which are known as knockout drops. Charles tells Millie that she had been hysterical and a case of nerves, with perhaps a sleep disorder. Millie still thinks Charles has her best interests, but she is thinking to herself that she's never heard of a nervous fit causing someone to lose consciousness for such a long length of time.

This story takes place around 1908, and Briar Hall where this newly wedded couple live is an opulent mansion secluded on the water of Long Island Sound. It was a gift to Millie from her father with the deed in her name only. It's gleaming white marble with the finest furniture, artwork has all been decorated by Millie. I had to remind myself that during that era as evidenced in the narrative that men were in charge of women back then, with women serving their husbands wishes. Charles has a brute of a maid that forces Millie to keep taking the sleeping drops and he has convinced all of Millie's friends that it was her that killed Gertrude. Their home has electricity, a generator, gas and coal yet when Millie awakens the home is freezing cold. As her memory slowly comes back she remembers witnessing Charles and Gertrude arguing without them noticing Millie and she overhears something that I'm purposefully omitting for it would be spoil content that the reader needs to learn on their own. It is an important piece of the puzzle to Millie now and its further implications will be revealed later in the novel which has a deeper layer that is impossible to guess.

This is a beautifully written Gothic thriller with evocative descriptions that vividly captures the Gilded age of New York society. It drew me in on the very first paragraph and held me captive until the very end. All you need to know is that Charles who in the beginning has everybody fooled except for his wife Millie who is bright and what she slowly pieces together is something that Charles will kill to keep it from surfacing. Millie's father was suspicious of Charles and has refused to lend him money. Millie's life becomes in danger and she has one childhood friend named David who is a reporter that believes her as she tries to escape with her life. Charles has let all of the staff go except those who came to work for them from who are his former employees. They along with the doctor he has employed are doing their best to keep Millie a prisoner.

She manages to escape back to the safety of her parents home in New York City. She has to be careful how she explains Charles motive to have her silenced by not sounding paranoid by which Charles and his doctor have falsely diagnosed her as delusional. Her father thinks she appears normal but insists that Millie get a second opinion from another doctor. She has told her father some of what she has secretly discovered about Charles and she's shocked that her father won't help her get a divorce. Will Millie be able to escape Charles plans for her that she temporarily is free from? Will he shut her away in an asylum? Will he succeed with killing her and making it appear like a suicide? Did he marry her for her money that she stands to inherit in a trust on her birthday? There's even a guard dog that viciously attacks named Cerberus who anybody familiar with Greek mythology will recall that was the name of Hades dog that guarded the underworld ripping anybody to shreds that tried to escape. Will David aid Millie by helping her stay hidden until she can obtain a divorce since she has a few pieces of expensive jewelry she can sell and a limited amount of cash?

Publication Date: June 25th, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Kelsey James and Kensington Books for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#SecretsofRoseBriarHall #KelseyJames #KensingtonBooks #NetGalley

I tried to savor this book but I couldn’t help but read it all in one sitting. I expected a classic gothic, which it was in many wonderful ways, but I was pleasantly surprised by the empowering political/social storyline at the heart of it. I thought I knew where the book was going from page one but it was full of twists and turns that kept me unable to put it down until the satisfying ending.

Ummm….this book is a masterpiece. Truly. I stayed up half the night because I could not stop reading. The gothic setting and the gorgeous scene visuals transports the reader into the pages. I truly felt for Millie and what she was going through. Her amnesia is written in such a way that it’s claustrophobic; you just want her to break free. The twists were unpredictable, and there was a real goosebumps creepiness feel throughout. I can’t rave enough about this book and will be recommending on publication day, as well as ordering for our book club. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

Secrets of Rose Briar Hall by Kelsey James is a great historical fiction mystery that I really enjoyed.

I always enjoy a good gothic historical mystery with twists, turns, suspense, and psychological thrillers tossed in. Embedding these features into a turn of the 20th century New York just gave it the perfect vibe that I was looking for.

Millie Turner is a great main character, and being placed into her frame of mind really gives you the effect of the veil half drawn…it makes for an excellent read.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Books, A John Scognamiglio Book for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/25/24.

Kelsey James has given us a more than worthy follow-up to WOMAN IN THE CASTELLO! When I started reading SECRETS OF ROSE BRIAR HALL, I told myself I'd stop when the stressful part was over. Reader, it never got less stressful, in all the best, most delicious ways. I loved this dark and sexy Gothic masterpiece!