The premise of the book was good but the execution is awful.
It was supposed to be a gothic thriller but there was a distinct lack of atmosphere.
The ending was absolutely abysmal

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I very rarely get along with books that have an offbeat feel. I still continue to pick them up because I learn something about what I like to read and the different types of available works. Now, in this case, I was pleasantly surprised by my reaction to this book. It is not a happy one, with a very oppressive environment throughout, and you can sense the mental loop that has trapped our protagonist inside a building, and it is well done.
Freya has always had a very complicated relationship with her father and sister. The latter has been dead for a few years, and the former is now paranoid about Freya's every move. In this mix, we throw in the most inappropriate fascination for a house and its inhabitants. This is then a good horrid mix. The writing flowed smoothly, and I would have liked this even more despite the sad overtones. The only drawback was that the story got lost a little midway. The first part and the last frenzied part makes sense, but given the information we are provided as readers, I felt it dragged in the middle!
If the book was shorter, I definitely would recommend it to readers of this thriller genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC to read and review.

This novel had the potential to be a creepy gothic thriller, but it felt underdeveloped and often just didn't make sense.

Freya makes some really dumb decisions and her behaviour reflects something you'd find in schlock horror movies of the 1980s (get out of there! don't open that door!) not something I'd expect a modern woman of 23 to do.

And what's with the "whispering house"? There are some allusions to whispering and voices in the first part of the novel, but these have entirely disappeared by about the third of the way through.

I was able to keep going until the end, but found this novel promised a lot it failed to deliver. It needs a good going over by a senior editor to make sure all the ideas and plot points are fully followed-through, and to turn it into something truly thrilling. It feels like it's trying to follow in the footsteps of "The Woman in White" but just can't keep up. Simply an OK read, I'm afraid.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

The Whispering House is an atmospheric mystery set in a sprawling English mansion called Byrne Hall. Freya Lyell attends a cousin's wedding in the stunning grounds of Byrne Hall. Five years earlier Freya's sister, Stella, threw herself off the cliffs surrounding Byrne Hall. Freya is drawn to the Gothic mansion and the strange family that live there but something dark is lurking within Byrne Hall. Thanks to NetGalley for my digital copy.

With its intriguing premise, I felt strongly compelled to give The Whispering House a whirl.

In Byrne Hall for a cousin's wedding, Freya Lyell discovers a portrait of her sister, Stella who took her own life five years ago. Owned by artist Cory and Diana Byrne, his sinister mother, Byrne Hall is just a few miles from the scene of the tragedy. Still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Stella, Freya is drawn to the bewitching ancestral, though dilapidated mansion hoping that some of her questions about Stella's apparent secret life will be answered. Instead, she finds herself becoming obsessed with Cory...

Narrated mostly from Freya’s viewpoint, flashbacks from Stella were dotted here and there. The story included Gothic touches and Elizabeth Brooks' writing displayed a talent for creating an uncomfortable atmosphere through the senses, elements and locale. The storyline explored some very dark themes, including suicide, mental illness, abuse and coercive behaviour but this was achieved compassionately and with solicitousness. In spite of its rather plodding pace, the story was compelling and intriguing and I was invested in the characters as events unfolded.

Disturbing in parts and beguiling in others, I felt a real sense of foreboding whilst reading The Whispering House. A good suspenseful novel that exudes tension. Highly Recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Quite a dark read was this. I finished this in the late hours of the night and got creeped out. A new author for me, I was quite taken in by the atmosphere of the book which had a gothic feel to it.

5 years post her sister's death, Freya on a casual visit found a likeness to her sister on a portrait which made her want to know how the house had that particular painting. Inserting herself into the household with the strength of her will and partly helped by fate, she started investigating.

The story was eerie in its setting as the whispering house added its own vibe to the story followed by the strangeness of the characters' behavior. The writing was quite emotive in imbibing fear into the air. I could see how Freya got freaked out by this, I was too. But her determination to get to the truth made her follow up all the clues till an explosive finish.

Quite an interesting, slightly predictable read. I loved the immersive feel the book had.

I love a Gothic take so when I read the description of this novel I felt it was definitely going to be a book for me. Byrne Hall is easily recognised by its white pillars at the porch and it’s lush green garden, but this is simply an elegant facade with chaos and decay dwelling underneath. As houses are usually metaphors for the self from a psychodynamic viewpoint, I figured there were dark secrets lurking underneath the surface of this family. Freya and her father are attending a wedding at the hall, in face Freya is a bridesmaid, but it is a strange experience since it’s so close to where her sister Stella committed suicide a few years before. Freya has always wanted more answers about her sister’s death and sees it as an opportunity to be near where she spent her final hours. Even though the bride warns her to stay in the gardens and not enter the house, Freya does go inside and sees a portrait of her sister
that she never knew existed. However, there is also a family still living at the house; Corey and his mother Diana locked in a co-dependent relationship. Diana was once a darling of the art world, and even now that she is very physically frail, she seems to have an iron will underneath. She dotes on her son Corey, but he is the only family member left to look after her so I wondered how deep that surface love truly went. Corey seems mysterious, attached to his mother but not really warm in any way. It’s as if they’re locked together by a secret or a family tragedy we know nothing about. Despite the family situation and the proximity to her sister’s death, Freya seems to become very attracted to Corey.

The relationship between the two seemed one-sided to me. It’s almost as if Freya’s under a spell or enchantment, She is very open with Corey, but gets nothing in return. He is manipulative and keeps things from her. He professes to adore her, but it doesn’t feel real to me. There’s something psychological about her willingness to rush into this and I couldn’t decide if it was a need to find out what happened to Stella driving her on. I also wondered if she’d felt in the shadow of her sister and found Corey’s apparent attraction to her intoxicating simply because she was very rarely the centre of attention. I knew she was making a terrible mistake. To add to the sense of disturbance she feels the house has a life of its own, she describes silences where the house feels awake and watchful. I started to wonder if the balance of her mind was affected by her sister’s death. We also get to read sections from the time Stella was at the house, but the more I read, the more I start to think that history is repeating itself. Would Freya be the next victim of the house?

I thought the sense of place in this novel was absolutely brilliant - so creepy and atmospheric. The grounds are strangely eerie and seem to cut the inhabitants off from the rest of the world. The surrounding cliffs and coastline seem to make the house even more isolated. These picturesque settings beautiful but chilling at the same time. The house itself is hugely neglected, with massive rooms that would have been perfect for entertaining once, but now just remind the reader how empty it is. The multiple attic rooms are creepy but also remind us that this house once had a hey-day where these rooms might have housed servants.

Freya comes across as a weak character, but I think it’s more than that. She’s a typical borderline personality, it’s as if she has nothing to define who she is. The house seems to have more life and personality. This could be from a domineering elder sister always overpowering the younger, quieter sister and not allowing her own likes and dislikes to develop naturally. Her father comes across as equally dominant so it’s no wonder Freya truly doesn’t know who she is and has no boundaries. This why she’s so easily overpowered by Corey, she’s been trained from a young age to be controlled, The characters that come across the strongest are Stella and Diana, Stella really shines in her sections of the novel, and is somewhat dramatic. Diana is equally strong and it would have been fascinating to see them deal with each other. I would also have enjoyed to hear more about Diana’s early life and the art world she inhabited - though perhaps that’s a different book. Even though we can see why Freya is as she is, it is still frustrating to see her sleepwalking into the same fate as her sister. I thought I had seen where the story would end, but it did end differently and was the better for that. A suspenseful and atmospheric novel that was just my sort of gothic mystery.

I tried a few times to read this one but it just didn't connect with me sadly. I am going to try and give this another go at a later date though! I just didn't enjoy it and find it a little boring for now

It’s very true that looks can be deceiving and Freya Lyell finds that Byrne Hall is maybe not all that it looks to be.

Freya’s older sister Stella died five years ago committing suicide by jumping off a cliff near to Byrne Hall. Freya and her Dad have struggled to come to terms with her death and during a wedding in the grounds of Byrne Hall Freya stumbles drunkenly inside and comes across a picture of Stella, but was it a trick of the eye? Maybe the alcohol and location were playing tricks? Freya decides to come back and stay in the the local village and find out what she can about Byrne Hall and it’s owners. Did they know her sister?

The Whispering House is a gothic thriller that really sets an atmosphere. The house is described wonderfully and really gives you the chills. I had goosebumps while reading but was totally intrigued with the place. It was almost like an extra character in the story.

From early on I had an idea of what was going to be happening, or what direction the story was going take and I enjoyed finding out if I was right (I was). There were a couple of times I did think I maybe had it wrong though and it was interesting to see how the story developed.

The characters are well formed and the mother – son relationship between Cory and Diana was interesting. They’re both quite messed up characters and Diana’s illness just added to the eeriness I feel. I found Freya to be a bit easily led, I wanted to give her a kick up the backside quite a few times.

The Whispering House is definitely a very atmospheric story that has a real creepiness about it. It’s a story full of family secrets and darkness and although it’s not a fast paced story it slowly builds to a climatic ending.

This had me sucked in from the start. I really enjoyed how the stories of Freya and Stella unfolded for the characters, even though I was screaming at them to act in a certain way because I had the benefit of reader foresight. Well written and put together. Recommended.

I know the word ‘atmospheric‘ is bandied about often in book reviews. This time however the word could not be more appropriate. Picture a once grand ancestral home on a cliff overlooking the sea. Dilapidated and inhabited by only a terminally ill woman and her son – a son who is eccentric, peculiar, and controlling.

The narrative was told for the most part from Freya’s point of view, with occasional flashbacks to Stella’s viewpoint. Stella did not come across as a very likable person, though she was gregarious and lively, she could also be cruel.

It was an unsettling experience to read of Freya’s life at Byrne Hall. Although a modern day story, it had many gothic elements which put me in mind of the works of the Brontë sisters. The novel was disturbing and compelling in equal measure and is sure to be appreciated by many readers.

4.5 stars rounded up

Freya Lyell discovers Byrne Hall whilst she is attending a wedding reception in its stately grounds and despite the house being out of bounds to wedding guests, Freya immediately senses some sort of connection with the hall and its inhabitants. There's a definite sense of foreboding about this novel, as right from the start you get the impression that all is not well at Byrne Hall and as Freya gets drawn further into the lives of those who live there, so the tension starts to mount. Freya is such a vulnerable character, lost and frightened since the untimely death, five years ago, of her older sister and the connection she feels with Byrne Hall only serves to heighten this vulnerability.

The Whispering House is a creepy character driven novel which reveals its secrets ever so slowly, so slowly in fact that there are times when nothing much seems to happen, and yet the sense of foreboding never really goes away, it's as though the narrative is holding its breath. There's a distinctly gothic feel to the novel, it's dark and brooding, and even, as one character observes, the house has an evil face, and there is no doubt that those who live there guard their secrets close. The story maintains its secretive atmosphere throughout and there are some genuinely chilling moments, which made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

Gothic, gloomy, secretive and dangerous, The Whispering House, is a slow burner of a story which builds to a dramatic conclusion.

Ooh I do love a gothic thriller! The Whispering House is the second novel by Elizabeth Brooks, her debut, Call of the Curlew was my favourite book of 2018 so I couldn’t wait to read this.

The book is set in a grand house on the coast, Byrne Hall, which was once an opulent place filled with beautiful artefacts and was a mecca for artists and the glitterati. Now it has fallen into disrepair, the art has been sold and many of the rooms are under dust sheets. Wedding receptions are held in the grounds to raise some money for the owners, but the bride, groom and guests are under strict instructions not to enter the property.

It is located a short distance from the cliffs where Freya’s sister, Stella, plunged to her death five years earlier and it is whilst acting as a bridesmaid at her cousin’s wedding that Freya first encounters Byrne Hall. Finding herself overwhelmed during the reception she seeks sanctuary in the cool interior of the house, and it is here that she finds a portrait of her sister hanging on the wall.

Her life since Stella’s death has been a difficult one and she and their father have been struggling with the overwhlming grief and Stella’s absence from their lives. Byrne Hall seems to be somewhere Freya can finally find some peace, and so she returns to Byrne Hall and to its secrets.

The owners of the house, Diana Byrne and her son Cory are reclusive but there is a spark between Freya and Cory and soon she finds herself ensconced within the walls of Byrne Hall. I could see this grand house standing proudly on the cliff tops, surrounded by lush gardens with the waves crashing to the shore beneath. It reminded me of a hotel that I used to stay at with my family on the Cornish coast and the descriptions are so vivid that I was back there under the searing sky with the squawks of seagulls echoing in my ears.

Byrne Hall is a foreboding place and is made all the more eerie by the behaviour of Diana and Cory. Diana is very ill and extremely frail. She relies heavily on Cory for help, requiring his assistance with all aspects of her life, but despite her dimunative and wasted stature she is not a woman you would cross. The characterisation of Diana and Cory and their strangely intense relationship is such that I was both repelled and entranced by them.

It is their secrets and that of the house which drive the novel. Freya’s attempts to find out what happened to her sister take second place to her burgeoning relationship with Cory which is intense, but there is something not quite right. It makes for creepy and unsettling reading and is all the better for the slow burn narrative.

Flashbacks to Stella’s life help build the pace and provide a welcome breather from the intensity of Byrne Hall. She is a complicated girl who is revealed to us in increments. I would’ve liked more of her, to have delved deeper into her personality to help me understand Freya a little more. But I do like reading a book with a character who is dead or missing; it’s like trying to find the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

I really enjoyed this gothic tale and despite reading it during a heatwave had chills. It’s one of those books where there is a sense of doom and darkness that makes you kind of want to read through your fingers sometimes. It’s a great, suspenseful read with oodles of atmosphere and tension. Read it.

There’s no doubt that in Byrne Hall the author has created another mysterious location for her novel. Viewed for the first time from its gardens, as Freya does, or glimpsed from afar, it seems picture perfect. “There it was; there was Byrne Hall. Impossible to mistake the graceful white house with its pillared porch, and the tiered garden tumbling down through the trees like a wide, green river.” However, delve deeper and its elegant frontage is revealed as merely a facade; the rest of the house is in various stages of disuse and decay, “as godforsaken as Sleeping Beauty’s castle”. This is something of a metaphor for the characters who inhabit it – Diana Byrne and her son, Cory.

Once doyenne of the art world, Diana is now ailing and physically frail, reliant on Cory, the son she dotes on, to look after her. However, through the occasional insights into her thoughts, the reader senses she possesses an inner steel and a strong will. In a curious and rather unsettling way, the house seems to inhabit her as much as she inhabits it. “She – Diana – had become the whispering voice of the house. No, more than that, she had become it’s mind and soul.”

Even Freya begins to think of Byrne Hall as in some sense having a life of its own. “We didn’t get silences like this back home. It was a silence with character and colour; it was the wakeful mind of Byrne Hall, brimful of history and intent.” This air of unreality, along with her desire to find out more about the circumstances of her sister’s death, goes some way to explaining why Freya finds herself drawn into a relationship with Cory. I confess I struggled to see the attraction Cory held for Freya. Convinced he possesses as yet unrecognised artistic talent, his behaviour is increasingly manipulative and controlling. However, having always felt as if she was in her sister’s shadow, Freya finds Cory’s adoration difficult to resist. In addition, Byrne Hall seems to offer her the prospect of a new and more fulfilling life.

As Freya uncovers more connections between Byrne Hall and her sister’s death, picking up fragments here and there, she observes “It was like holding a couple of jigsaw pieces in my palm, knowing there was a whole picture to be made, if only I could find the rest.” You may think you know exactly where the story is going but, like me, you could be wrong. Never underestimate the lengths to which people will go to preserve the things they treasure.

With its atmospheric setting and gothic elements (yes, there is even an attic), The Whispering House combines suspenseful mystery with an absorbing story of delusion and obsession.

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella’s suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella – a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought.

Driven to find out more about her sister’s secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya’s relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out.
I did not enjoy this book, it was very slow to progress and I found the main character uninteresting and very naive, some of her actions did not make much sense to me.

I thought this book was going to be right up my street - show me a book that has an isolated country house - preferably in decline - and some mystery and that is a book I know I will want to read. Sadly, this one didn't really live up to expectations for me. The house was there, and the mystery was there, but they never worked out for me. There's not anything especially wrong with the book, it just didn't work for me. I did think that it vastly improved when Freya starts to take some initiative, and I did enjoy the last few chapters.

The Whispering House, by Elizabeth Brooks, starts with a wedding reception in the grounds of grand Byrne Hall. Despite instructions not to do so, bridesmaid Freya Lyell goes into the Hall, where she sees a portrait of her older sister, Stella - who died nearby, apparently by suicide, five years previously. As far as Freya knows, Stella had no connection to the Hall, so she makes it her business to go back there and find out more.

While there, she starts an all-consuming relationship with Cory Byrne, the brooding young artist who lives in the Hall with his mother, lady of the manor turned ailing widow Diana. At first it all seems very wonderful and exciting, but it’s not long before Cory’s genial mask starts to slip, and Freya never completely loses sight of her mission to find out about her sister’s final days.

There’s a lot to admire in The Whispering House. Brooks describes the Hall and the nearby beach, sea, and cliffs in brilliant detail, so you can really picture what they look like and how beautiful the scenery is. The house is also satisfyingly creepy, with its huge neglected downstairs spaces, multiple attic rooms, and portraits of disapproving-looking Byrne ancestors.

The mother-son relationship between Diana and Cory was really interesting to read about because it’s become so messed up since the death of Cory’s father when he was 13. Without giving too much away, Diana is so desperate to please her son and see him happy that she’ll do anything for him - and Cory takes advantage of this and exerts control over her.

Something else that I liked was the presence of art in this novel: Diana used to be an art collector, Freya’s dad is a notoriously honest art critic for a London paper, Stella briefly went to art school, and Cory spends the novel painting dozens of pictures of Freya in different poses (creepy much?). The climax of the novel is the opening of an exhibition at the Hall of Cory’s paintings of Freya.

Unfortunately, for much of the novel, Freya comes across as a massive wet lettuce. Even though she agrees with her aunt’s description of her as ‘young for her age’, I found it hard to believe she was 23. Throughout the opening scenes at the wedding, I was imagining her to be perhaps 16, maybe even younger.

Having grown up in the shadow of her fierce sister and dropped out of university after Stella’s death, Freya doesn’t really have a strong personality or ‘thing’ she can call her own, just a penchant for outdoor swimming and a vague desire to write. By contrast, Stella and Diana are strong characters I’d have liked to have read more about. The glimpses we get of Stella’s story make her sound like a fun, dramatic character, and it would have been fascinating to get a greater insight into Diana’s days as an art collector and upper-class socialite.

When Freya accepted the invite to stay at Byrne Hall the first time she met its inhabitants, then ended up jacking in her job and staying for months because she was in love with Cory, the house, and the idea that she could become a writer there, I was absolutely screaming at her not to be so stupid - and that was before Cory started showing his true colours! While the descriptions of Cory’s increasing lies and moods, and Freya’s careful handling of, and excuses for him ring true for an emotionally abusive relationship, it was still frustrating when she failed to see the danger signs or leave when she had the opportunity, mystery or no mystery.

The Whispering House has some elements that I really liked, but is let down by a weak main character who makes bad decisions.

Many Thanks to Net Galley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author for a chance to read and review this book.

#TheWhisperingHouse #NetGalley

Disturbing and creepy, The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks is a crafty gothic thriller.
When Freya first spies upon Byrne Hall while attending a cousin’s wedding, it captures her imagination like nothing else. The gardens, the sea below the cliffs and all the trees surrounding the house makes it a very enchanted place which she longs to explore although, it is the same cliffs where her sister Stella’s body was found. 5 yrs into Stella’s suicide, Freya and her art critic father are yet to come to terms with the loss and are still grieving, unable to talk openly about the whirlwind that was Stella.

Few drinks and wobbly feet carry her trespassing into the house wherein she sees a mosaic painting of Stella. Despite it not being a good likeness, Freya takes it upon herself to a journey to Byrne Hall, trying to understand her sister’s final moments.

A chance meeting with Cory in the town, and a rude encounter with his mother Diana in Byrne Hall and pathetic weather, gives her a chance to remain inside the house. Inch by inch, things begin to change as Freya believes in her love and the artistic capabilities of Cory and Byrne Hall begins to dominate her every thought.

The Whispering House, I would say has no mystery, coz there is only one direction where the story can lead to and it is in all fairness guessable. But the author succeeds in creating a story that raises the goosebumps with Diana’s sickness and her rudeness, the ghostly house, the eerie and echoing rooms that are all empty, and then a nail-biting end to a fever pitch suspense of how everything gets resolved. This is where Elizabeth Brooks has created a compelling narrative in making us understand a dark tale of obsession and vulnerabilities perfectly building a gothic feel to the whole endeavor.

I really wanted a little more depth to the character of Stella as it felt half formed even though there are parts in her POV. The lack of fireworks in the first part of the story does tend to slow down the pace but it is quite an absorbing read.
Recommended to fans of gothic fiction!