#Book Review #The House at Helygen by Victoria Hawthorne #Historical Mystery #Publisher Quercus #The House at Helygen #Suspense Fiction

 

 MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

I was absolutely absorbed by the blurb and its book cover. The author took me through an emotional roller coaster ride. I enjoyed reading this historical mystery novel, filled with dark family secrets and unusual things happening around at different timelines 1880's, 1840 and 2019. Henry Fox and his pregnant wife Josie, with their unborn daughter moves to her husband's ancestral home - The Helygen House in Cornwall, England. Built in the 19th century, The House at Helygen took Josie's breath away, astound by the stunning architecture, beautiful grounds and countless rooms it had. Having passed to Henry Fox as inheritance by tradition, Helygen house would be their daughter's. The house needed lot of work, especially the west wing was destroyed once by a fire long time ago. Josie was happy, at peace in the hut of "Little Hely" as she called it. She was excited to revamp the Helygen House as planned with her best friend Flick. Alice, Josie's mother - in - law was always unsupportive and disagreeing with her plans for the house. Only male heirs could inherit Helygen house. Henry along with Josie makes a will changing the order of succession, to ensure thier child, no matter the gender would inherit Helygen. 

Around these circumstances, the novel takes a turn when Henry Fox dies suddenly mysteriously lying there in the kitchen, half of his face missing a gun shot wound. Henry is gone, leaving their daughter Willow and Josie with all their future dreams together shattered in grief. The police informs Josie that they are treating Henry's death as self inflicted and not as a suspicious crime.

Josie was very sure Henry has been hiding something he didn't want her to know and he saw no other way out. Josie approaches the detectives tearfully not believing that Henry would kill himself. Is Alice hiding not telling her something? Is Josie's Judgement about Henry's unexpected death right? Next she finds her best friend Flick dead too at the lake. As her anxiety and fear continues, builders who came to renovate the Hut and police find bones that are hundred years old that were buried beneath several feet of concrete at the House Helygen. 

Going back in time, Henry's family history goes to the 1800's, when Cassius and Eliza lived in the Helygen House, also the dark secrets contained within the walls making the House a graveyard for children. How will be the House at Helygen's family legacy be protected? I kept guessing till the end.

Thanks and I received a copy of The House at Helygen from NetGalley and Quercus publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Book Description

A HOUSE CAN HOLD A THOUSAND SECRETS . . .

2019

When Henry Fox is found dead in his ancestral home in Cornwall, the police rule it a suicide, but his pregnant wife, Josie, believes it was murder. Desperate to make sense of Henry's death she embarks on a quest to learn the truth, all under the watchful eyes of Henry's overbearing mother. Josie soon finds herself wrestling against the dark history of Helygen House and ghosts from the past that refuse to stay buried.

1881

New bride Eliza arrives at Helygen House with high hopes for her marriage. Yet when she meets her new mother-in-law, an icy and forbidding woman, her dreams of a new life are dashed. And when Eliza starts to hear voices in the walls of the house, she begins to fear for her sanity and her life.

Can Josie piece together the past to make sense of her present, or will the secrets of Helygen House and its inhabitants forever remain a mystery?

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quercus (14 April 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2622 KB
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages