Sadly at this point this one was a DNF for me at about the third way mark. I will possibly come back to it and try again, but it just didn't hold my interest enough, could be a case of 'its me, not you' kind of book!

Serena is trying to escape an abusive, manipulative relationship. Scarred by a deliberate act she and her daughter Lana have arrived at Ramsay Hall to turn a new leaf in their lives, get a respite from the previous abuse and then decide what to do.

Serena did not envisage meeting up Hayden who seemed a harmless man incapacitated by a fall along with his two grown up sons, Hugh and Jack.

Serena fits in well with the household quickly with Hayden and Hugh but cant understand Jack's antipathy and coldness towards her and especially towards Lana.

The story as a psychological thriller proceeds on several fronts. Apart from Serena's own story, Hugh has hiw own twisted background to deal with including a homosexual incident of his past blown out of all proportion and which has now scarred him, Jack dealing with the trauma of his ex wife and Hayden hiding secrets from his children, but known to many others.

There were surprising twists till the end, the very end which added interest to the story.

I started reading this at the beginning of the month.  I couldn't get into it, so I put it down and started reading something else.  Not long after release date, I read a review saying how enjoyable it was.  Reading the review, and also reading a comment by the author inspired me to pick the book back up, and suddenly I was hooked. I found myself wanting to read it and getting that 'just one more chapter' feeling.
The first few chapters were a little slow going, but I definitely think I was too quick to give up.
It's a book full 0f secrets and keeps you guessing until the end.
It's definitely a slow burn, but overall I actually enjoyed it and I'm glad I carried on.
My rating is 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’ is the first book written by the author C. E. Rose. Now I am going to let you into a little secret. C. E. Rose is actually the best selling author Caroline England. I have read and loved all of Caroline’s book and I had high hopes for ‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’. I wasn’t to be disappointed either because I really enjoyed reading ‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’ but more about that in a bit.
I must be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this book. I was tired and in pain so I was finding it hard to concentrate for any length of time. However, once I got into the story that was it and I was away so to speak. I was intrigued by the characters and by the storylines and I had to keep reading to see if the story panned out as I thought it might. I can’t say that I specifically took to any of the characters as I got the impression that each character was hiding something. That could just be my suspicious nature. I had to read the book in stages. It was one of those stories that I had to read and then think about what I had read. I hope that makes sense. I found ‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’ to be a tense and gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’ is really well written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into a compelling story. The story is divided up into chapters written from the viewpoints of different characters. This way of telling the tale works really well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. The story is a bit of a slow burn but it gathers momentum like a snowball rolling down the hill before ending in a tense and dramatic conclusion.
In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘The House Of Hidden Secrets’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more by this author in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

The description for this book certainly had me intrigued, alongside the cover that really captures your attention immediately. When I started this book I had rather high expectations for it, and I am pleased to say it delivered on every single one of them.

When Selena accepts a job to become the housekeeper for a wealthy man who is on crutches following an accident, she goes in to the job with her eyes open, expecting this to be your run of the mill job. Her new employer lives alone, with his two adult son’s calling round to visit him when they can, and this makes Selena’s decision to bring her five year old daughter Lana along with her all the easier.

Selena and Lana quickly become friends with Hugh – the younger of the two son’s, however the eldest Jack is rather cold towards them both and has a strange way of acting around Lana – something that worries Selena as she has embarked on a relationship with him, despite his rather cold reception to them both.

Selena, Hugh and Jack all have dark, troubling secrets that they carry with them every day, but as they are forced together to support Mr Hayward, these secrets begin to creep to the surface.

This is one of those gripping, page turners that you feel compelled to read until you get all of the answer the story presents to you. I loved the way all of the central characters has their own troubles to overcome, along with the secrets that burdened them from the start. The author has done such a marvellous job of providing the reader with the perfect levels of mystery and suspense that really keeps the story flowing effortlessly from beginning to end.

The story is far from straightforward, and we find ourselves following many twists and turns as the plot thickens and the story nears its conclusion. With a cast of well fleshed out and wonderfully developed characters, and a plot that offers the reader so much more than that of a typical thriller, this is a book I would urge you all to read!.

What Secrets Lie At Ramsey Hall....?
What secrets lie at Ramsey Hall? When Serena accepts role as housekeeper for the wealthy Hayden Ramsey her new start becomes way more than she could ever have anticipated. Twisting, almost gothic, unsettling suspense with a compelling storyline.

This novel is my first by C.E. Rose. It was a choice on NetGalley mainly because of it's beautiful cover. The story centers around Serena and her young daughter Lana. Serena accepts a job as a housekeeper for Hayden who is recovering from surgery. He has two sons - Jack and Hugh - who do not like the idea of a stranger in their house. In a book like this you can't say too much without giving things away so I'll just say that every person has a secret they want to keep hidden. At the end of every chapter I wanted to read one more to see what happened. This book will be hard to put down!

It’s been ages since I’ve read a good psychological thriller but The House of Hidden Secrets by C E Rose delivers a healthy dose of creepiness and then some.

From the beginning it gave me a sort of Edgar A Poe vibe with how atmospherically creepy it was. If you’ve ever seen the movie Winchester based on the San José, California haunted home then you’re in for a similar treat with this book.

The House of Hidden Secrets had me on the edge of my seat right through the very end. With its at times untrustworthy characters this book leaves you wondering what truly is going on within the walls of this home and the family it houses. You won’t want to miss the end on this one so make sure you check it out!

A twisty, gripping and entertaining story that kept me hooked.
The plot is full of secrets, unexpected twists and turns and I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what would be the next surprise.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

With more of a gothic-tinged atmosphere and a setting and narrative that is both creepy and deeply unsettling throughout, under the pseudonym CE Rose, bestseller Caroline England switches up her style of crime fiction, and it's not only utterly brilliant but riveting, too. With twisty tension and scintillating suspense in abundance and action, drama, secrets, lies and intensity packed into the narrative by the bucketload, I found I couldn't get through its pages quickly enough. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and Hera Books for this eARC in return for an honest review.
Serena and her daughter Lana escape an abusive relationship and starts a new life as a housekeeper at Ramsay Hall. Hayden Ramsay, the patriarch of the family is on the mend and hires Serena to help assist with the day to day of the home and to take care of him as well. We are also introduced to his two adult sons Hugh and Jack.
We follow Serena, Jack, and Hugh throughout this slow but twisty tale. Everyone has secrets that haunt them.
This book was just okay for me. The slow burn wasn't really worth the reveal of some of these secrets.

After escaping an abusive relationship, Serena and her daughter Lana go to live at Ramsay Hall where Serena has gained a housekeeping job. The three Ramsay men are all keeping secrets and hiding aspects of their past. As the story unfolds, there are twists and turns that you would never have expected. A gripping suspense told from multiple perspectives.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hera Books and CE Rose for the advance review copy of The House of Hidden Secrets.

I have to be honest in that whilst you should never judge a book by it's cover, it was the stunning cover image that first drew me into this book - after reading the blurb, the prospect of a psychological thriller packed full of secrets sounded right up my street.

It's worth saying from the outset that I wouldn't personally call this a psychological thriller in the traditional sense. I read a lot of books in this genre, and for me; it's slow burn nature of drip fed mystery, secrets and darker complex pasts was more of a family drama / domestic thriller and as such, may not be the fast paced, gripping read that you might be expecting.

The book tells the story of Serena and her four year old daughter Lana. Fleeing from their past, Serena takes on the job of a housekeeper at Ramsey Hall - caring for elderly father Hayden who has had a fall. His wife has died a few years earlier and he has two grown up sons. Hugh is childlike and seems friendly enough, but Hugh is initially cold and mysterious, and why is he so shocked to learn that Serena has a child?

This book is very much a slow burn, with the back stories drip thread throughout as the story unfolds. There are lots of secrets (with almost all the characters having something to hide!) and these are mostly revealed in the second half of the book. There is plenty of tension, some unexpected twists and reveals and even a sprinkling of romance throughout. I enjoyed it, but with various perspectives and at times hints of supernatural, I wasnt quite sure where this one was going.

3/5 from me.

I was firstly drawn to the stunning cover of this book which promised a dark and twisted tale that verged on being a gothic thriller. The slow burning prose is atmospheric and almost sinister in part that builds to a climatic end in which secrets continue to remain hidden to all but the reader. But what of those secrets? Whose secrets? And what secrets are they? Enter if you dare and all will be revealed...

Serena Green is a woman with secrets, fleeing danger and intent on making a new life for herself and her 4 year old daughter Lana. Accepting a job as temporary housekeeper for elderly patriarch Hayden Ramsay, who is recovering from a fall and hip replacement, Serena and Lana move into the sprawling country mansion miles away from whence she came. The isolation is perfect for her needs as she endeavours to keep her daughter safe. But Ramsay Hall is filled to the brim with secrets of its own leaving Serena pondering whether Hayden and his sons Jack and Hugh are more dangerous that they at first appear.

In a cottage set up like a dolls house on a bigger scale, Serena and Lana make their home. That is, until older son Jack returns from Manchester at the end of the week having made silk and becoming the youngest man to achieve the level of QC. He learns from younger brother Hugh that their father has taken on a housekeeper for the interim and that they are living in the cottage. Jack is speechless. No one has entered that cottage since...well, for two years. It has sat empty and neglected, and the unexpected arrival of a housekeeper they didn't need now taking up residence there...it was almost too much for him. He didn't need to see or speak to them anyway, since he spent most of his time in chambers or in court during the week...and then the rest he could just get himself blotto anyway.

And then he saw Lana. No one said she had a little girl. As soon as he saw her, he couldn't take his eyes off her. If he could just have one touch, one smell of her skin and her innocence...but no. He mustn't. He couldn't go back there.

It was Hugh who took Lana under his wing, reading to her and playing with her. He was like a man-child himself and his excitement in even the little things brought a happiness to Lana's face that Serena hadn't seen in sometime. She knew then that her daughter was safe while she worked. If not Hugh, then it was the silent companionship of Lexie who had not barked once the whole time they had been there. Lana and Lexie spent their days together when Hugh was busy working on a neighbouring farm where he had been mysteriously banished to. For whatever reason, Serena didn't know and it wasn't her business.

And then there was Hayden, the elderly father and patriarch of the estate. He was friendly and companionable that Serena felt at ease in his presence. He would often encourage her to take a drink with him and even read a book together over which they could talk and dissect it. But it seems even Hayden has secrets. Serena discovers a file hidden beneath his mattress when changing the sheets one day, only glancing at it before being summoned elsewhere. But if she spied were true...then it was a game-changer. But was it her business to interfere?

Then when Jack returns to Ramsay Hall at the end of the week, Serena suddenly takes ill and, without much explanation, pleads him for help. Then seemingly overnight the two of them are no longer avoiding each other and Serena isn't afraid of him anymore. In fact, she desires him. There is something alluring about his broodiness which ultimately leads her to his bed. But when Lana discovers a bloodstained pink nightie which was obviously a child's and asks her mother about it, Serena mind goes into overdrive. A child's nightie? Hidden away in his bathroom where no one could find it? What does it mean? And how dare Jack keep this from her?

And when she sees him outside in the garden with Lana in his arms, kissing the top of her head, she flies into a rage screaming "Get away from her! Don't touch her!"

All the while, an undercurrent has been simmering below the surface in Ramsay Hall. Secrets that have remained secret for far too long. But should they revealed? And at what cost? And what of the mysterious happenings? The garage that caught fire. Lexie's sudden injury, limping on occasion. Those hidden papers in Hayden's room.

But when one of them starts digging into Serena's past threatening to reveal her secrets, what choice does she have left? And what secrets will she uncover in the process?

A dark and compelling tale, THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN SECRETS has plenty of mysteries to be solved and secrets to uncover filled with a palpable tension with frail and fickle characters. It is a slow burn but it also has something addictive about it as you delve deeper into its hidden depths.

Told by the alternating perspectives of Serena, Jack and Hugh, the story that unfolds drip-feeds us enough to keep us turning the pages and keep us puzzled at the same time. It seems everyone in the story has secrets...including the house. There was certainly an eerie undertone but it wasn't as creepy as I had anticipated it to be. In fact, the story seemed to meander with the promise of secrets but no real thrills or chills.

THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN SECRETS is a book with a hidden agenda as well but sure to keep readers engaged throughout. The twist at the end was one I thought was a clever touch to remain in keeping with the whole dark and atmospheric eeriness. I actually didn't see it coming but it made perfect sense in a perfectly twisted way. I applaud the author for its inclusion.

A different kind of tale, THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN SECRETS verges on gothic but is perfect for fans of slow burn psychological thrillers.

C.E. Rose is the pseudonym for thriller writer Caroline England and THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN SECRETS is her first under that name.

I would like to thank #CERose, #CarolineEngland, #RachelsRandomResources, #Netgalley and #HeraBooks for an ARC of #TheHouseOfHiddenSecrets in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating story full of sorrow and longing…with a twist you don’t see coming.

The House of Hidden Secrets very eloquently tells a story of a family falling prey to the hands of their own trauma who are unable to analyse the cause, leading slowly to drift amongst themselves till a new housekeeper and her young daughter arrive at the Ramsey Mansion.

There are plenty of mysteries to be solved that compelled me to keep reading. Every page oozes emotion and tension, with characters that are frail, fickle and completely unique that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

This book had me gripped till the final chilling chapter.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hera Books for this advanced readers copy.

I loved the sound of this and the cover drew me to it but sadly it wasn’t for me and DNF at 15%, the writing felt disjointed and the book seemed to be going nowhere, apologies

This was a all right read but.not what I expected. There was too much going on with too.many people. The characters were not particularly likable and the story line jumped around a lot. A decent story but not my cup of tea.
Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this arc for my honest review.

CW: domestic abuse, violence, manipulation/gaslighting

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Serena and her 4-year-old daughter Lana arrive at Ramsey Hall, home of the wealthy Hayden Ramsey, and he hires her on the spot to become the new housekeeper. Hayden Ramsey has two adult sons, Hugh and Jack, who also live at Ramsey Hall. Told from alternating perspectives, we discover that everyone seems to be hiding something... from the life Serena escaped, the past Jack won't admit to, and the secrets Hugh is keeping, can anyone be trusted within these walls?

The first half of this story was interesting, but not twisty or "thrilling." The author was setting the stage with all required information, but it was never dull. As things built up, I found myself hoping that certain characters weren't secretly evil and that others wouldn't get hurt. I still have questions at the end, but the end was satisfying. This is definitely a solid 4.5/5 stars, and a great book for those who enjoy a slow burn.

A slow burn thriller about a lifetime of secrets. A woman looking for a fresh start find employment with an older man at Ramsey Manor. His two adult sons also sometimes live in the house. Everyone has secrets....including the house.

I didn't know if this book was a 'modern' setting or from another era, but it worked in either setting. I do think that because I just read another book about a woman looking for answers in another large house, I was getting confused by storylines. I think this was enjoyable but that it's a story that has been told many time before.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Hera Books for the arc. Unfortunately this book was really difficult for me to get into. I wanted so badly to like it; the premise sounded really exciting and the cover is gorgeous! But I made it through about a third of the way and still couldn't tell what was really going on or what any of the buildup was leading to. In the end, I grew impatient with the lack of movement in the plot. Could be a good read for someone who doesn't like scary thrillers and instead wants a slow-burning mystery, it just wasn't for me sadly.