I love Kelly Rimmer's work, all of her books are so rich in detail and suck you right in. I had pretty high hopes for this based on all her other stories that I've read and fell in love with. And while this was a good story, the pacing was a little off and it was sadly very predictable. I saw the twist coming from a mile away, and I think the two combined storylines just didn't quite work for me this time. I did enjoy this story, but I wanted more, I think. More history, more detail, more house, maybe even more romance. Either way, this was a good story, just not quite the high standards I've come to expect from this author. Still, I think this is one fan should read because they will enjoy it, predictability and all.

‘The Midnight Estate’ by Kelly Rimmer is a heartwarming tale of a woman who inherits a run-down house from her late uncle. She sets out on a journey to restore it, uncovering hidden memories and untold stories along the way. It’s an emotional story that will keep you hooked from beginning to end. I love novels by Kelly Rimmer and this one does not disappoint. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read The Midnight Estate by Kelly Rimmer. A new book by Kelly Rimmer, a beautiful abandoned mansion, what's not to love?!

Have read all of Kelly Rimmer's books and they never disappoint. Enjoyed the stories and the characters and pacing was a tad slow. Great for a Saturday afternoon at home with a terrible cold for passing the time.

Fiona is set on restoring her uncle's estate. It may be haunted according to the locals but she loved it growing up. Her mother is furious and Fiona doesn't understand why. As she moves in, odd things happen. Glasses are broken, the heat switch is turned off and there are weird noises.

Her uncle never threw anything away and she has a lot of work to do. She runs across a book and starts reading it when she can't sleep. It draws her right in and she's hooked about the story...

A little slow to start, but I enjoyed this. I'm glad I stuck with it m

“The Midnight Estate” by Kelly Rimmer is a captivating mystery set in a grand house. It seamlessly connects readers to characters across timelines, engaging and rooting for the main characters. Unlike other Kelly Rimmer books, this one felt like I had solved it before the end.

I wanted to read this book mainly out of my deep and undying love for Kelly Rimmer’s novel, The Things We Cannot Say. The blurb didn’t grab my attention but I was lured in with the hope of another gut punching novel by the queen of historical fiction!

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book but the pacing really threw me off at first. The first half felt hot and cold with the storytelling and left me skeptical. However, after the 50% mark I really began to root and care for the characters and their interwoven stories!

Silas and Marie’s chapters felt so powerful and I was a bit confused why we were so focused on them rather than our present day main characters - it all ended up making complete sense and the story was so much better for that.

I loved the way the characters were all written uniquely and with respect to delicate topics. I also really appreciated that there was a dash of a love story in here but it didn’t take center stage, leaving the reader with a much more focused and powerful message!

A really intriguing read I’d recommend to lovers of historical fiction + stories of overcoming abuse. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the free ARC!

I loved being transported to the big estate Wurimbirra in Australia! The book The Midnight Estate is actually a book within a book and I loved the underlying mystery to the grand house and reading that storyline too! I felt connected to the characters in each of the timelines too! Fiona, in present day as she starts a new life at her Uncle's old dusty estate. From the minute she stepped foot in the house, I felt transported there and loved reading about it! The other timeline with Silas was also superbly done and I loved it! This book has great characters, a possibly haunted estate, lots of mystery and also love between family members! I have loved other books by this author and I was instantly enthralled with this book too! Add this to your must read booklist in July 2025! Thank you to HTP Books and Netgalley for an early copy of this book!

The Midnight Estate was not what I expected - it was actually so much better. I started the book, then when the story within a story began, I gave a loud sigh. Not really my cup of tea. But wait! Those chapters turned out to be great too! I couldn't decide which I liked better, the present day with Fiona, or the story shes reading written by a mysterious author. Yes, it's easy to see where the The Midnight Estate is going early on. But that just made me want to turn the pages faster as it all came together. This is an unusual book but a very good one. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The Midnight Estate follows Fiona as she moves into her family's estate after having her life turned upside down. Fiona sets about cleaning out the house and finds a box of novels titled The Midnught Estate. As Fiona tears through the book, she notices how the story parallels the themes in her life. The story flips between the novel and present day. The transitions are seamless and build on each other. It is impossible not to root for the main characters both in the novel and present day.

The Midnight Estate has the right amount of mystery that keeps you wanting to read more to see what happens. I was hoping it wasn't going to end where it did because I just wanted more to the story. I didn't want it to end!

This is a 4 star book for me.

I found The Midnight Estate to be a bit different than the other Kelly Rimmer books I have read in the past. Nonetheless, it was still a very enjoyable multi-timeline novel with compelling characters and mystery and intrigue to keep me interested. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, although I felt as though I had almost all of it figured out before it was "revealed."

Read if you like:

A story within a story
An eccentric writer
Domestic violence awareness
Spooky estates

Favorite quotes:

“Instead, I discovered a story of racism and mass murder, and a family torn apart by shame.”

“History doesn’t always stay in the past, Fiona.”

“‘You said something last night about the person we are being the culmination of everything we’ve been through—the good, bad and ugly,’ I say.”

“More than half a million Americans disappear each year.”

“I live in Australia, a country with a relatively small population of only 26.6 million people, and it is also a country where a woman is killed by a current or former partner almost every week. Studies suggest as many as 27 percent of Australian women over the age of 15 have experienced violence, emotional abuse, or economic abuse by a cohabitating partner.”

“… but I first heard stories about the strychnine poisoning of First Nation’s groups around Forbes when I was a teenager.”

I’m sorry I do not have a lot to report about The Midnight Estate. I enjoyed it but not as much as The Things We Cannot Say.

Rimmer incorporated some startling statistics to bring awareness to domestic violence. The numbers are shocking but it is important to be aware of these issues so we can take steps to end them.

Just as surprising was the inclusion of the trychnine poisoning of First Nation’s groups. This was another part of history I was unfamiliar with. It was important to include so history does not repeat itself.

I enjoyed this read. I did find myself more interested in the "novel" portion of the book instead of the current timeline.

A beautifully moving story about a woman who moves into her deceased relative’s rotting house, and vows to restore it. Stumbling upon memories and untold stories, Fiona goes on a journey to find out more about her family, and herself. A gripping, heartfelt story that will hold your attention until the very end.

A woman moves back to her supposedly haunted childhood home to the dismay of her mother and uncovers a startling truth regarding her mother and beloved late uncle. I'm not much for gothic-style stories, but I will read any Kelly Rimmer writes, and I was glad I did. A very moving story, well worth reading.

Fiona returns home to her crumbling, ancestral estate, a house rumored to be haunted. While trying to sort out the mess in the house, she comes across a book that seems to mirror much of her own past, and begins to realize her mother has been keeping secrets from her about her past. Atmospheric and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC! I'm a Kelly Rimmer fan, and wasn't sure to expect from this new novel! It is very different from her last several historical fictions, but the perfect cozy read for a long winter weekend. Fiona moves back into her childhood home, which is rumored to be haunted, filled with the misdeeds of the past, and much to her mother's dismay, is considering restoring parts of the old mansion. She stumbles upon a box of unread books, and from there, is drawn into both the story within, and her own confusion about the secrets her home and mother may be holding back from her. Rimmer's storytelling is compulsively readable per usual, and I found myself wanting to read one more chapter often. There is a beautiful, courageous story revealed by the end, and it explores the ideas of what think we may know (or not) about our parents, our pasts, and our identity.