The Shadows of Hill Manor

The Shadows of Hill manor is the first book from Anne Wyn Clark that I have read, and I will be honest I read because of the haunting look of the cover, and I didn’t read the blurb. So, when I read this. It was completely different to what I was expecting.
The story starts in 2007 when two boys that are playing in the woods come across an underground bunker where they find the remains of Kimberley Painter who disappeared in 1990. When the police visit the father of the dead girl. He knew the day would have come but why did it take so long.
The rest of the book is the time the girl disappeared in 1990 and the things that led to her death and her discovery and the Policewoman investigating her disappearance. The 90’s were a difficult time for women in the Police force with the racial tension and sexist remarks that they had to endure.
Like I said in the first paragraph that this was not what I was expecting. But although it was a slow burn. I still enjoyed this, nevertheless. The mixture of police procedure and slight supernatural element to it too. It is a great read 4 stars from me.

The book starts back in 2007, where two boys are out exploring in the woods that surround the Manor on their bikes when one of them has a tumble and they discover a door. The door leads to an underground bunker which of course two curious young boys go down to investigate further. They did not however, expect to find a badly decomposed body of a child down there.

PC Warner then has the unenviable task of going to notify the child's father, Malcolm, that after almost 20 years they suspect they might have found his daughter Kimberley's remains. Malcolm has a deep distrust of the police going back years for how the original investigator into the disappearance of his child handled the case. As they are walking away from the house, PC Warner peers back and could swear he sees someone in the house at an upstairs window, but he's assured by Malcolm that he was in the house alone.

The story then jumps even further back, to 1990, where we follow Alessa, a young police woman newly transferred to the police station dealing with Kimberley's disappearance. At this point Alessa and her superior are on their way to speak with Kimberley's parents, Malcolm and Mary, to take their statement into the disappearance of their daughter.

I really enjoyed chronologically how these opening paragraphs were written. It was like a compare and contrast as to what the situation was like for the family just after the disappearance, to how things have changed for the family over the years since. It's really saddening to see how much of an impact Kimberley's disappearance had on her parents and how their lives disintegrated following this event.

I enjoyed how this story was told in reverse. As a reader, we know right from the beginning that there has been a murder and who was murdered. The story then goes back and covers Alessa investigating the original disappearance, so the crucial question throughout for the reader is - who killed Kimberley and why?

Unlike a lot of other books where there are usually multiple different possibilities for the who, the what, and the why, in this book there is almost nothing to go on. There are no clues given away as to who is might have been. Despite this, I still felt compelled to read on as I was intrigued to see how the author was going to pull the threads of the story together to conclude matters.

Although the majority of the book is told in the aftermath of Kimberley's disappearance, it was the few chapters that are thrown in throughout, told from Kimberley's perspective that really kept me engaged with the story. These chapters had that tense build up because we as the reader already knew that there was not going to be a happy ending coming for Kimberley.

I liked the slight supernatural element to the story and I personally would have liked to have seen this developed and explored more throughout the book. I did enjoy the character development of Alessa as she really is the character focused on the most and a lot of information is given about her background and family.

Despite guessing who was behind Kimberley's disappearance as soon as the character was introduced, I still enjoyed this book and read to the end. Despite knowing 'who done it', when all was revealed at the end it was still a slightly difficult and uncomfortable chapter to read.

I would recommend this book for those that enjoy a police procedural, crime thriller, with a slight supernatural edge to it.

Ooh I loved this book. It's suitably tense and creepy. Its told in dual timelines, although the majority of the book is set during 1990. It's gripping, gritty and has a supernatural element to it. I couldn't put it down, reading into the early hours as i had to know what happened. I did guess who did it, but, still an incredible book.

The Shadows of Hill Manor is an intriguing mystery that mixes element of the police procedural genre into the tale.
Our storyline has two timelines: we spend the majority of the storyline in 1990 when young Kimberley Painter vanishes and following the investigation of that time and then return to 201o, when a body is found and the investigation is wound up.
This is a dark and tense storyline, where the attitudes of the time (misogyny etc) play a role and add to the overall tension of the storyline.
I did guess 'whodunnnit' but the pacing and the characters, made the journey to the final pages an interesting one, with some good twists at the end.

This is my first novel from this author and I really enjoyed the mix of part thriller, part creepy, part police procedural. The plot unfolded with ease and I was soon completely invested. It’s sets over a number of timescales and this really adds to the drama. A great read. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

This is my first time reading this author.

The book concerns a historical crime surrounding the disappearance of a child. The author creates a creepy atmosphere with skill but I found elements of the book a little generic and the writing style was quite basic for me. Good character depiction and dialogue and the plot was gripping, too.

A good read, with a largely good storyline and well written characters. The ending was a bit of a letdown, which was disappointing

My first read from Anne Wyn Clark and I will definitely be reading more.

An atmospheric and eerie read about a case of a girl that goes missing. It was a quick read, with great writing that kept me hooked in. Excited to see what else the author has to offer!

I’ve got to say i didn’t fall in love with this book but it was an ok read. I was more interested in the story between the police woman and man than the actual story . I did kind of guess the ending but there was a slight surprise too . I would recommend this book as I think it may have more appeal to other people. 4 stars from me

I have a couple of this authors books on my TBR and after reading this they need pushing to the top


What a haunting read. Loved it

5 stars

I am a HUGE fan of this author. Having read all of her other books I had high expectations for this one and it did not disappoint! Clark is exceptional at creating an eerie and sinister atmosphere and her story telling style is up there with my favourites, I cannot recommend this title or any of Clark’s titles enough! Five star from me! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC Im honoured to have been able to read this ahead of release.

What happened to Kimberly back in 1990? While this starts with the discovery of her bones in 2007 much of the novel takes place in 1990, when the young girl disappeared. And it's as much about the search for answers as it is about PC Alessa Cano, who as a woman deals with misogyny in the police force, And its about the impact of Kimberly's disappearance on her family, mostly her father Malcolm. This doesn't scream out the identity of the villain and it's nicely twisty. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I've read and enjoyed all of Anne Wyn Clark's books. This one was least favorite of the four.
It was an intriguing mystery with dual timelines and multiple POVs, which made for a rich storytelling experience. My only qualm being that it was very much a police procedural, and that's not my preferred genre.

That being said, it's still an excellent story with plenty of atmosphere, mystery, and multilayered characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book. I personally felt it was a perfect blend of crime thriller and supernatural genres. I liked the character evolution of Alessa. The author showcased the struggles faced by women's in police force in 90's. Overall it was a good thriller.

The creepy, intense setting defines this suspense fiction. A young girl disappears in 1990. She is never found until two young boys uncover her body in the shadow of a derelict manor house years later. The story then returns to the 1990s and the events surrounding her death. It evokes the culture of misogyny, and as the victim is a child, it is disturbing to read in parts. I like the suspense building and the intensity the author creates.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I read this book to the end but found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. There wasn't enough action and suspense to keep me hooked.