Black Rabbit Hall: The enchanting mystery from the author of The Glass House

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It’s no secret that we think dogs are every bit a part of the family and every waggy tail that comes through our doors makes the day even brighter. The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

For the four Alton children, it's the perfect summer escape where not much ever happens - until one stormy evening their idyllic world is shattered. The basic set up here is that you have the Altons: owners of a rambly pile in Cornwall, the traditionally English father fell in love with a warm-hearted American heiress, because don’t they always. Anyway, they had four kids (two twins, Amber and Toby, then Barney, then Kitty) who had a pretty much idyllic childhood with their stupidly-in-love parents and their country house to spend their summers in. But then Nancy dies in a horse-riding accent and everything unravels from there.This sentence, with its tone, its setting, its haunting foreshadowing, sets the rest of the book up perfectly. As children, Amber and Toby are almost inseparable, but after their mother's death they both change dramatically—Amber reflects that she "no longer feel[s] like a girl inside" (p. 93), and Toby becomes increasingly angry and wild. Why do you think the twins grow apart, instead of together? Do you think they would have stayed close if Momma had lived? Why or why not? Amid the sun-soaked hills of southern Italy lies the Romano family olive grove, where Lara lives with her daughter Rose and her granddaughter Bea. The old house definitely is a trove of memories and untold secrets and stories. You can smell the dust, see the family’s comings and goings, hear the water dripping from the leaky roof, and visualize the people who lived there.

Sunday roast sitting outside watching the River Arun flow past while enjoying the best pork roast dinner I’ve ever eaten in a pub or restaurant ever!

Each character was well developed - I was completely immersed in their emotions and situations. I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with the Alton family, especially the four children - Toby, Amber, Kitty and Barney. Each one of them captured a different piece of my heart throughout the novel. I admired the strength the siblings had with one another - they loved and protected each other fiercely. I adored their mother, Nancy, who seemed to have such a natural, maternal way of loving them. What this family endured threw my heart all over the place - was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Starred Review. Chase's heart-wrenching first novel is equal parts romance, mystery, and historical fiction. For readers who are interested in complex period drama such as Daisy Goodwin's The American Heiress, or who enjoy a touch of the gothic such as in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca or Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale Like the setting of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Chase’s novel is lovely, dark and deep..”— Richmond Times-Dispatch

Through alternating chapters we meet the Alton family and the story is told by the oldest daughter Amber in the past and Lorna in the present, whose curiosity turns to obsession and finds herself desperate to uncover the hidden secrets and the connection she feels to the house. The two stories are drawn together creating a romantic, gothic mystery that left me alternating from tugging at my heartstrings to frustration.Eve Chase's deliciously intriguing descriptions will pull you in alongside her heroine Lorna in the red car that moves like a drop of blood down the drive to the house of secrets and dusty enchantments, as the outside world fades away.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review! Winner of Saint Maur en Poche prize for bestforeign fiction, 2019 (published in France as UnManoir en Cornouailles) As the daughter of a librarian Jen's love of books started from a very early age. Her reading obsession continued throughout her teenage years when she studied both English Language and English Literature at college.Compellingly readable and riddled with twists and turns worthy of Daphne du Maurier, Chase’s tale will delight fans of romantic mysteries. A twisting gothic of family secrets, forbidden lust, and an extraordinary family.”–Miranda Beverly-Whittemore,author of Bittersweet