Black Rabbit Hall
The enchanting mystery from the author of The Glass House
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4.3 • 151 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
A secret history. A long-ago summer. A house with an untold story . . .
THE SPELLBINDING MYSTERY FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING RICHARD & JUDY PICK, THE GLASS HOUSE
'Completely swept me away. Glorious, beautifully written . . . I absolutely loved it' LISA JEWELL
'Utterly gorgeous, atmospheric and spellbinding' 5***** READER REVIEW
'Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again' STYLIST
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The hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall.
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.
Decades later, Lorna is drawn to a crumbling Cornish manor house she hazily remembers from childhood - feels a bond she does not understand.
But a disturbing message left by one of the Alton children tells her that Black Rabbit Hall's history is as dark and tangled as its woods.
And much like her own past, it must be brought into the light . . .
A spellbinding story of two women, separated by decades, but inextricably linked by their connection to the beautiful and mysterious Black Rabbit Hall.
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'Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again' Stylist
'Beautifully written and evocative . . . A delight' 5***** Reader Review
'Atmospheric, with echoes of du Maurier, this haunting novel enchanted me' Woman & Home
'Beautifully, poetically written and reminiscent of everything from I Capture The Castle to Hansel And Gretel' Daily Mail
'Enchanting and moving . . . I loved this beautifully poetic book' 5***** Reader Review
'There's something about tales of mysterious old buildings that have the ability to set hairs on end . . . Perfect' Red
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Black Rabbit Hall pulls you like a sleepwalker into a beautiful, hazy story about a grand Cornish home full of character and thunderclap memories. We loved the dual narratives—then and now—and found ourselves breathless with anticipation to discover the fates of ‘60s teenager Amber, her tempestuous mother and vivacious siblings, as well as engaged London couple Lorna and Jon, who are hunting for the perfect wedding venue, circa 2000. Eve Chase’s debut novel is like a prolonged and beautiful daydream, celebrating the enduring power of place in our lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This leisurely paced modern British gothic is the debut novel from journalist Chase. Thirty-two-year-old schoolteacher Lorna and her fianc , Jon, a carpenter who works for his family construction business, are Londoners in Cornwall to inspect possible venues for their marriage celebration. One place fetching Lorna's eye is the estate Pencraw Hall, better known as Black Rabbit Hall, which has seen better days. Upon their arrival, Lorna feels a close kinship to the sprawling manor house, but Jon has serious reservations and wants to leave. Lorna chats with the current owner, Caroline Alton, an aristocrat who is nearly broke. The book has a second narrative that takes place three decades earlier, further engaging the reader. Hugo Alton lives with his wife, Nancy, and their four young children at the same estate. After Nancy dies in an equine accident, the bereft Hugo introduces his family to his old American friend Caroline Shawcross, a widow, and her son, Lucian. When Hugo and Caroline marry, Hugo's eldest daughter, Amber, falls in love with the older Lucian, and their taboo relationship causes a dark scandal that the Altons go to painful and cruel lengths to shield from the public eye. Lorna accepts Caroline's invitation to stay at the manor house and then gets busy putting together the pieces to discover her ties to the Altons and Black Rabbit Hall. Her expos of the family secrets paves the way to the upbeat resolution. Chase deserves high marks for her atmospheric setting and vivid prose, and fans of old-fashioned gothic stories will find this a winner.
Customer Reviews
So good until the ending
Such a good read but it’s like the ending was written by a different author. And not a good one.
Same MO, but still enjoyable
Very similar plot line in all of Eve Chase’s books, dark secrets, adoption, people finding their spiritual place. You know what to expect, but it’s still pretty enjoyable. Eve Chase is good at describing location and emotion.
Amazing
Loved this book, clever turns and twists, worth reading