I found Williams story fascinating and wish the ongoing affair between Gil and Helen had been minimized to go further in depth to tell William's tale. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Mariner Books
Pub Date: 11-12-24

Thank you @netgalley and @marinerbooks for this eARC.

"William was used to secrets and silences and sideways glances— it was how they coped and kept him safe . . ."

Helen is an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital.  William is a recluse who has been isolated in a house with his three elderly aunts since childhood.

When an argument between William and his last surviving aunt brings the police to their door, both are brought to Westbury Park for evaluation.

The story unfolds from present day 1964 to reveal more and more of William's history - what happened in the 1930s to make his aunts take this drastic step to pull him out of school and society?

Helen begins to put the pieces together with the help of acquaintances from William's distant past.  Will this knowledge be enough for Helen to help William change his future?

An enjoyable book that is hard to describe without giving too much away!

Details of the time period and of the deprivation William endured kept me fully engrossed in this story of loss, trauma, sacrifice, resilience, connection, love, and hope.

William is a character I won't soon forget. 

This was my first novel by Clare Chambers.  I look forward to reading her blacklist and future work.

#shycreatures #clarechambers #marinerbooks #netgalley

Clare Chambers’ Shy Creatures is a beautifully crafted literary mystery that grips you from the first page and lingers in your thoughts long after the final one. Set in 1960s England, the novel follows Helen, an art therapist whose carefully ordered life is thrown into disarray by the arrival of a mysterious new patient. Based on true events, this book expertly blends historical intrigue with deep psychological insight.

Helen is a richly drawn protagonist, her professional composure masking a vulnerability that resonates deeply with the reader. The arrival of her enigmatic patient, whose past is slowly unraveled, not only disrupts Helen’s routine but forces her to confront her own hidden vulnerabilities. Through their evolving relationship, Chambers explores themes of trust, healing, and the complexities of human connection.

The 1960s setting is brought to life with vivid detail, from the societal constraints to the cultural shifts of the era, which serve as a subtle backdrop to the personal dramas unfolding. The supporting cast of characters, from Helen’s colleagues to her patients, are equally compelling, each one adding depth and charm to the story.

What sets Shy Creatures apart is Chambers’ skillful storytelling. Her prose is elegant and evocative, weaving suspense with moments of quiet beauty. The mystery at the novel’s heart is perfectly paced, with revelations that keep the reader hooked while offering a poignant exploration of vulnerability and resilience.

Ultimately, Shy Creatures is a story about finding strength in unexpected places (and people) and the courage it takes to face the past. It’s a gripping, thought-provoking read with characters that feel achingly real and a narrative as intricate as it is satisfying. For fans of literary mysteries with heart, this novel is not to be missed.

"Shy Creatures" by Clare Chambers delicately explores identity and belonging and is shrouded deep in mystery and long-held secrets. The story is wrapped in a poignant and engaging narrative and follows the dual storylines of Helen, who teaches art therapy in a psychiatric hospital, and William, a mysterious man who has been shut away from society for several decades.

I think many moments throughout this book may resonate with others through a series of personal and social challenges Chambers shares, even as the story is set in 1964. It was interesting to see the early topics of mental health and treatment options from those days as they were nearing the 1970s.

Helen's character was a bit of a struggle for me. She was someone who was clearly intelligent in her field and wanted to see herself as a respected member of the psychiatric community. However, she was sleeping with her boss, Dr. Gil, who was a married man with children. He had little respect for her. I think I just have an ick for both men and women in that scenario. But it put her family relationships and friendships at risk as well.

I believe that when William came into Helen's life and was under her care and learned more about his background, she realized that as William's aunts kept him hidden away, Dr. Gil was keeping her "hidden away." Both technically out of "love," but damaging all the same and not truly love. William became her breaking-free moment, I think.

The strength of the novel lies in Chambers' remarkable ability to evoke emotion through simple yet profound observations of William—his loneliness, desire, kindness, love, and fear—making moments of introspection feel relatable and impactful. He was a truly incredible character. And the ending was worth the ick I felt from Dr. Gil.

Overall, "Shy Creatures" is a thoughtful and immersive read that left me wondering what it means to be truly seen.

Thank you, #NetGalley, #ClareChambers, and #MarinerBooks, for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Helen is an art therapist at a mental hospital in 1960’s England. She is having an affair with a married doctor and living a rather unconventional life for the time.

The discovery and admittance of a reclusive man to her hospital begins the mystery of who he is and what has happened in his life to get him to this point.

This is a character study on human behaviors, especially related to the time period. I loved this and couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend to literary fiction readers who don’t mind a dark premise.

I feel like this took me a bit to get through for some reason. I didn’t expect this to be a mystery but I thought this was a beautiful story with beautiful characters within. I really enjoy her writing and will be reading more from this author.
4.5 stars.
This is probably my favorite cover of the year, it’s simply gorgeous.
Thanks NetGalley & Mariner Books!

I loved Shy Creatures. It was such a quaint book. The premise was unique and the delivery was well done. There was depth and emotion to the characters and an interesting plot.

Shy Creatures follows an art therapist, Helen, and a man who has been shut in a house for decades, William. Chapters alternate between present day for Helen and past for William. As the story progresses, you begin to unravel the mystery behind William and how he got to his present day state. I really enjoyed these flawed characters and this novel unfolded.

I received an ARC from Mariner Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Clare Chambers’ Small Pleasures, although there were a few things I didn’t love. I liked this book even better. Once again, Chambers sets her story around a female protagonist who is a little older, a working woman, and struggling with family and relationship issues. This book is set in the mid-1960’s though it also goes back in time about 20 years. Helen is an art therapy instructor at a residential hospital for the mentally ill. The hospital isn’t a barbaric institution; rather, it treats patients with a blend of conservative and less traditional approaches, involving both medications and therapies.

The hospital is contacted about an unusual case: neighbors reported an elderly woman having an altercation in her home with a younger man, her nephew William. The neighbors had no idea he was living there, and it turned out William had been a recluse in the house for over a decade. When found he was nearly naked and had a three foot long beard. In her afterword, Chambers explains that this part of the story is based on actual events.

Because William loves art, Helen begins working with him and quickly sees progress, so she begins investigating the threads of his life so she can figure out how to help him. One of the themes throughout this book is the slippery boundaries between medical professionals and their patients. The characters in this book mean well but their involvement also has potential for harm.

Helen has been having an affair with Gil, a doctor on the staff, who turns out to be married to a distant cousin of hers. She’s also getting to know her teenage niece, who is suffering from some mental health issues of her own. I liked the way this book addressed mental health without assuming everyone in the 60’s was uninformed or a charlatan. At the same time it’s clear there’s a muddy line between mental illness and typical human development or reaction to trauma. While I imagine this hospital may have been unusual in the 60s, Chambers has clearly done research on psychological developments of the time.

Chambers explores William’s story in reverse time, which is an interesting technique. As a narrator, he provides small clues to his situation while the reader learns a little more with each chapter. His story is a fascinating one and I didn’t want to put his chapters down. Helen is a bit more frustrating but sympathetic. Her infatuation with a charismatic doctor is understandable, as is her growing unease with the situation.

I like the way Chambers writes, and the way she focuses on struggling, complex characters. I enjoyed this book even more than Small Pleasures; it has some dark aspects but also themes of hope and recovery. I also loved the attention to nature and animals, as suggested by the title and cover. All in all, this book was just what I needed right now. If there were some situations that felt a little too easily resolved, I can live with that.

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Mariner Books. This book is published on November 12, 2024.

In 1960s England, Helen is an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital having an affair with one of the doctors. When he's called to deal with a situation, he takes Helen along and they find an elderly aunt suffering from dementia and her adult nephew who hasn't left the house in over 10 years. This was really good, with the story going between Helen's life in the present day, as she tries to help William (the nephew) in her art therapy sessions, and flipping occasionally back to William's past but working backwards to find out where his problems all began. I enjoyed it a lot. 4 stars.

This book has me wondering if I am manifesting content about English boys in boarding schools and all the stereotypes that come with it, so maybe that is why I am offering this 3-1/2 star review. This book has a sort of gothic feel—a middle aged man found living in a derelict mansion with an elderly aunt. He has not been seen publicly in decades and indeed many don't know how he came to exist with his five-foot-long beard and child's voice. There were a few interesting characters, particular a kind and intelligent mother of one of the character's childhood friends. It was FINE, but not a must-read.

This is a pretty gentle novel about Helen, a single young woman in the 1960s who works at a mental hospital as an art therapist. She's having an affair with an older married man. The other main character is an artistically gifted man who doesn't speak who comes to stay at the mental hospital. He has lived a very strange, sheltered life. Helen tries to find out about his past and help him, and in the process, she learns some things about herself.

One of the things I liked about this book is that it's pretty optimistic, and it ends up in a really positive place.

The novels that stick with me and make me think usually end up being some of my favorites, and Shy Creatures is no exception. The plot is certainly engaging, but the ensemble of the cast of characters is masterful. Every character was so well developed that I was able to identify with their situations, behavior, and their reactions to events. The characters were so relatable that I was compelled to evaluate what my own behavior and reactions would have been had I been in their shoes. How does fate and the behavior of others intersect to influence the course of our lives? How do others harm us while believing they are protecting us? How do we limit our own experiences as a result of fear? The protagonist has a limited and somewhat sad life, nevertheless the novel is able to convey that whatever life we choose, it can still have value and purpose. And if we are very lucky, sometimes we get a lift from an unexpected source. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading an intriguing plot filled with fascinating characters written in lovely prose. My sincere thanks to the author and Mariner Books for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This was a highly emotional read! I think the week’s events certainly turned up the dial on this one for me, but in the end, it provided a catharsis that I think a lot of people are looking for right now. I haven’t read a ton of historical fiction set in the 30s-60s, but I will say that this does a really phenomenal job of showing the more problematic views toward women in this era without shoving critiques of them down the reader’s throat. This world is a complicated one, and it’s harder to move through it as a woman, a queer person, or anyone who feels imprisoned by the system or by individuals. But there are moments of joy to be found, and this book was a lovely reminder of that. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

I was immediately sucked into this story, and I couldn't put it down. Chambers prose is lovely in it's simplicity, and I really enjoyed her deftly drawn characters. I enjoyed how the story is really framed backwards, so readers find out slowly, piece by piece, how William came to be shut away from the world. Overall, this was a wonderful read, so well written and so captivating. I will definitely be looking for more from Clare Chambers. I'm also looking forward to sharing it with readers at my library! Every now and then a book comes along to fill the void of the nonstop request "I just want something good." This is definitely going to be my go-to "good book".

The beginning of this book is absolutely fabulous but it loses momentum and is a struggle to finish.

It’s the 1960s England and Helen is an art therapist at a psychiatric ward and having a years-long affair with a married doctor who is also her coworker. When both start working with a new patient, a man shielded from society for decades, Helen not only learns about the patient’s hidden past, she uncovers some truths about her own life and choices as well.

oh this book. It now holds a special place in my heart. Clare’s prose magnifies the story in a way that keeps you adhered to the pages. I love William’s innocence and the way his purity in his actions. He and I have the same limits when it comes to our social battery and I find that comforting. I’m so glad that he’s gotten a happy ending, even if the real William (Harry Tucker) didn’t. Also, everyone deserves a Mrs. Kenley in their lives. I think we should all aspire to be Marion Kenley to be honest.

I have received an ARC copy from NetGalley and Mariner Books in exchange for an honest review.

One of the most beautiful, emotionally engaging, completely absorbing books I've read all year. Clare Chambers is excellent at immersing the reader in a specific place and time with this story, as she roots us in 1960's Croydon back before it was swallowed up by London and still had significant pockets of rurality. But through the flashback chapters that give us more insight into one character's life, we get a fascinating picture of life in rural England from the early 1930's to 1964, with tastes of what WWII was like for rural English communities and the ways that the deprivation and trauma of war seeped into the collective consciousness. We also get some fascinating historical information about what the practice of psychiatry was like in midcentury England.

But aside from all the historical information and the excellent creation of space and time, these characters are just... so alive. They leap off the page. They live through dramas and traumas and make decisions that make the reader despair or rejoice, and through it all they just feel so real.

I can't wait for others to fall headlong into this book. What a gem. What a treat.

This was a wonderfully done novel and appreciated how good the characters worked with the story being told. I thought the time-period worked well together to bring a story to life. I thought Clare Chambers wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.