Thank you #NetGalley for the eARC of #TheMidnightEstate by Kelly Rimmer

Kelly Rimmer has done it again—she’s layered her signature emotional depth into a haunting, gothic mystery that’s equal parts family drama, literary puzzle, and reckoning with history.

The Midnight Estate follows Fiona Winslow, whose life is in tatters as she returns to Wurimbirra, her crumbling childhood estate in rural Australia. The house is rumored to be haunted, her relationship with her mother is strained, and she’s grieving the loss of her uncle. But when Fiona stumbles across an old book—titled The Midnight Estate—she’s pulled into a story that feels eerily personal. What starts as mild curiosity becomes obsession as the novel begins to echo the themes, traumas, and secrets of her own life.

The dual narrative—Fiona’s present-day unraveling alongside the fictional manuscript—works beautifully. Both timelines are equally compelling, and Rimmer does a great job of making the transitions seamless.

This book is more than just a mystery. It’s a meditation on how the stories we tell—and the ones we bury—shape our identities. It tackles everything from domestic violence and generational trauma to First Nations history, with an unflinching honesty that’s both heartbreaking and necessary.

I absolutely loved this book!!!! I read it in 1 day could not put it down. The characters were perfect and so real to me. From the very first page I knew right away that this was going to be a Great story and I was not disappointed. I love all of Kelly Rimmer's books. The Midnight Estate keeps you guessing what will happen next..I love flipping back and forth from timelines I think that is what kept me absolutely glued to this book. The history of old homes and all the stories that the walls can tell is fascinating to me . I am so glad I was able to read this before it is shared with the whole world! Thank you!

After discovering that her husband is having an affair with her best friend and their business co-owner, Fiona is not only dumped from her marriage but also forced to sell her third of their architecture firm! Devastated, she moves into her late uncle’s estate, hoping to restore it—much to her mother's anger. While there, Fiona uncovers a manuscript set in the 1960s, which sparks a meandering dual-timeline story that unravels deep-rooted family mysteries!

The book starts off slow, with much of the action unfolding in the last 25%. While I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue, I found the plot pretty predictable overall. The story-within-a-story aspect was a highlight for me, and I found myself preferring the chapters set in the past over Fiona's current-day timeline. Overall, it's cozy and atmospheric.

This story follows a niece, Fiona, buying her uncle’s beloved house and just going through the memories and trying to keep it the way it was and how her uncle loved it. But there is a catch. Not everyone in the family is happy about that. Struggling to keep it from crumbling, secrets and history start to resurface and it’s up to Fiona to try and make things right. Just like the author, mentioned in her reader letter, I too have been fascinated with homes ever since I was young. Always wondering the history of who lived there to the layout and where materials came from. This story also touches on deeper subjects as well that were deeply profound.

Loved this! A story within a story is always fun. Not quite a metafiction, but some elements. Just enough spooky scenes to keep me turning pages but nothing too crazy. I especially enjoyed the narrators reflection on love and how it can be shown.

I LOVED this. I love everything Kelly Rimmer writes, so I was super excited to get it. It's different than her other books, but I found myself unable to put it down. I loved the contrasting storylines and while I had pretty much figured out where it was going, it was so well done that I was really happy to be correct in my predictions. I couldn't help but root for the main character through the entire book.

Loved the creepy gothic vibes of this one! Rimmer has a great knowledge of the time period as well. This is a super suspenseful story, if a bit predictable at times. It kept me turning the pages. The ending manages to be surprising and yet satisfying. This is a finely-crafted narrative. Readers looking for a gothic tale will find much to admire in THE MIDNIGHT ESTATE.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Fiona Winslow has reached a rough place in her life. Just past her fiftieth birthday, she has lived through the implosion of her twenty-five-year marriage, with her husband hooking up with her best friend/mutual business partner. Together, the errant lovers have pushed her out of their joint company and imposed restrictions on when she can get back into the architectural restoration business. To keep herself occupied while she recovers from the triple blow of losing husband, best friend, and career, Fiona has bought her family’s abandoned estate, Wirimbirra, from her cousin, Jon, and intends to restore it to the grandeur she remembers from her childhood.

The estate is in sad shape when she enters it, and the locals mutter about ghosts and specters, but Fiona remembers it as a loving home, not least because of her Uncle Tad, a world-famous novelist and the father of Jon. Fiona begins her cleanup with energy, but a series of strange incidents soon have her wondering whether the locals know more than she does about the mysteries of Wirimibirra. And when she discovers a box filled with copies of “The Midnight Estate,” a novel by an author she’s never heard of, she dives in—only to discover that someone seems to have known more about the history of her own family that she ever knew was there to know..

Fiona is a sympathetic character, and the setting—contemporary rural Australia intermixed with vintage Gothic—is refreshingly different. The book slips smoothly between Fiona’s present and the fictionalized events of the past, touching on themes such as coercive control (a form of partner abuse) and the treatment of aboriginal Australians by the white population. But it is, above all, a good read.

You can find out more from my blog interview with the author (link below) in late July, a few days after the book appears.

The Midnight Estate
by Kelly Rimmer
Pub Date: July 22, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
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. Not my favorite by this author but I would recommend it for historical fiction fans.

From the first page to last I was engrossed in the stories of Midnight Estate. Fiona is coming back to the mansion , Wurimbirra, she has always loved, the house of her famous Uncle Tad, celebrated author. It’s been 10 years since his death and her cousin Jon has not set foot in it in all that time. Fiona has been warned off by her mother and by Jon of the ghosts and horrible things haunting this house but she has felt only love there growing up. Cleaning, she discovers a carton of an unread new book, The Midnight Estate, and is compelled to start reading it. The story tells of a woman abused by her husband, rescued by a stranger, and given a new life in Australia.
Both stories are riveting, and the transition between the two timelines seamless. Rimmer tells a story beautifully, and her characters are well detailed and interesting. Gothic, ghostly, and mysterious, this is a book I highly recommend.

"The Midnight Estate" is a gripping, creepy, involving story that captured me from first to last page. The estate of the title exists in two realms, a rural area of Australia and as a novel written by a writer no one has ever heard of. Fiona Winslow loses her husband, best friend, and her business in one fell swoop. She's in her fifties, has two daughters in college, and decides to go back to the place she was happiest--Wurimbirra, a large historical property where she and her mother lived for many years with her uncle. Uncle Tad died ten years ago and the house has been empty since his wake. The locals are sure it is haunted, as is Fiona's mother and cousin. She buys the place from her cousin and plans to call on her expertise as an architect to restore it. Wurimbirra has been empty since the guests left Tad's funeral, but she finds a box on the porch, delivered ten years before, filled with copies of a novel by an unknown author. She begins to read.

Kelly Rimmer skillfully weaves these experiences into a story that retains suspense through to the end. You'll be surprised--the whole thing seems so unlikely! But Rimmer's understanding of how things were different in the 1950s pays off in the fine plotting and satisfying end. Rimmer is a new find for me, and I look forward to more of her books.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A different sort of book for Rimmer but it was a good addition to her catalog it was very readable and easy to follow . I loved the characters and setting.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me

In the wake of a breakup she never saw coming, Fiona Winslow retreats to her beloved childhood home, looking to restore herself by restoring it. But though she can’t quite explain it, she quickly realizes that Wurimbirra isn’t the same house she remembers.

As Fiona tries to understand the strange things happening around her, she unwittingly stumbles upon an even bigger mystery—one that changes everything.

I love reading about old houses and their secrets, and The Midnight Estate definitely delivers a compelling story about how people shape places and vice versa. While some reviewers have noted that the big reveal was too easy to see coming, I didn’t think it took away from the characters, their stories, or even the originality of how the author engineered the twist.

What stood out to me most in the novel were Rimmer’s messages about kindness and connection, about being willing to care for others even when your own world is falling down around you, just because it’s the right thing to do. I also appreciated how she reminds us that burying the past doesn’t erase it; we have to confront it to move forward.

As Fiona wisely observes at the end of the story, “there is power in uncovering and honoring and sharing the truth about the past. In exposing history, even history that is difficult and ugly, we can learn to walk a better path in the future.”

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a pleasure to read. The protagonist is an architect named Fiona who returns to her childhood/uncle's home after a bitter divorce with plans to restore it to its former glory. Her uncle was a popular author who enjoys a good tale, and his death is what allows her to move back into the house. The locals believe the estate to be haunted. It is, but not by who they think haunts it.

The story is a dual narrative book within a book moving between the present day and the her uncle's time in the house. She discovers a box of books delivered from her uncle's publisher while cleaning out the house after his death. She is drawn to read it nightly before she goes to bed. She comes to realize that there are parallels that may be revealing deeply held family secrets she knew nothing about.

I enjoyed this book, and will seek out more from this author. Some folks found the twist to be predictable, I did not.

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a fantastic story that is told about what happened in the past through a book. This was a unique and fun way to reveal the past. Although I originally read this book because of the haunted house, I quickly became invested in the lives of all the characters. I highly recommend this book!

Mrs Kelly Rimmer has become one of my favorite historical fiction author. It is in my opinion hard to write historical without actually feeling bored or feeling like reading history book if that makes sense. The way she always weaves the characters with the story and the time of history is really impressive. I have enjoyed her books and I always look forward to her books!

A story within a story. A woman returns to Australia to clean out her late uncle's( who was a famous author) home. Undaunted by people telling her that the house is haunted and that she should just sell (including her mother), she continues her pursuit of making the house habitable again. In her cleaning, she finds ten copies of a book by an unknown author that she begins to read. Finding similarities in the story, the reader begins a fascinating read as to what really happened to this family. I couldn't put this down! I will be recommending this to people to read.

This book was difficult for me to get into. I have enjoyed Kelly Rimmer’s work in the past but this one fell a little flat for me. The first 3/4 of the book felt like background information and then things finally picked up at the end. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters over the course of the book.

I enjoyed Kelly's previous books, her writing is good and she has heartfelt stories. 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. 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. This book 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.

Another great read from Kelly Rimmer! This had a lot more suspense than her other books but the story was still full of emotion, history, and hope! Just when you think you’ve solved the mystery, there is a twist thrown in. I loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early read.