The Grief House focuses on Blue and her troubled upbringing and how, following the death of her mother, she decides to check into The Grief House to help her come to terms with things. Once at The Grief House, all is not as it seems, with hosts acting strange and Blue experiencing visions/seeing ghosts.
I liked this "locked in" thriller but I can't say it's a new favorite. I love a dual time line, as most of the book flipped between the present, and Blues upbringing. The occasional chapter focused on James, and these chapters I really enjoyed, especially when I learnt the link to the present day story line.
I did feel some parts of the book were a little slow; I think overall the book could've been a bit shorter. Also I would've liked some parts to have been developed further, like I wanted to know more about Jago and what happened to him.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

The Story follows blue as she tries desperately to navigate the passing of her mother. She doesn't know really how to feel and so she books a week away at The Grief House, a retreat ran by Mollie and Joshua. Now, instantly I thought there was something really off about Molly. She's just too keen to mother people. Too genteel. I don't think that's what people need from their retreat but anyway.

Blue has had a difficult upbringing. She was raised in poverty and struggled to make sense of her gifts. Gifts that her mother forced upon her, made her hone them before she was ready. It really was a case of a mother living vicariously through the child. It made me very uncomfortable. Her memories include waiting in the job centre queue, trying to pour curdled milk into a bottle for her sibling and witnessing her mother phase out from reality. Life wasn't easy for Blue and when her mother passed away she discovered things that chilled her to the bone.

Now, I really like the play on chapter titles with tarot card names, that was a nice touch. I did struggle with the pacing of this one - it felt very slow for the first 50% and I had considered putting it down. There was enough eerie tension laced throughout to keep me going but I did feel a bit disappointed with the ending...we already kind of knew what had happened to a certain character it was a bit of an anti-climax.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this one. I found myself completely hooked and unsuccessful at trying to predict where this would go.

I was instantly hooked by this one. It’s one of those books that pulls you in instantly and becomes completely unputdownable.

II’ve literally devoured this in just one sitting with no regrets. This is an absolute must read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

This was a really good mystery and kept me on my toes, I felt engaged the whole way through and didn’t find any major plot holes!

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this!! Such great characters and a great storyline.

My full review is to follow in a few days.....

A really intriguing book, that is a mix of thriller and horror - both of which im a huge fan of.
It has a mix of timelines and points of view which I found easy to keep up with, I didnt want to put it down! Highly recommend.
Thanks for the chance to read this :)

Wowser. This book was an intense , pacey and addictive read, I couldn’t put it down. Brilliantly written and truly a nail biting and tense read , I loved it ! I was hooked from start to finish and found it compulsive and an addictive read , I couldn’t wait for the next twist and to find out what on earth was going on!
Love inclement weather locked room thriller mysteries and this ticked every single box! Brillaint

Amazing book!
I was thoroughly engaged throughout this book and I didn't want to put it down! The author captured my attention from the get go! Five stars from me :)

This was a strange one for me as I was expecting more of a thriller than a horror/supernatural but I did end up enjoying the different genres although not my usual type of read.

It kept me guessing right until the end. The writing was interesting and very atmospheric.

An unusual mix of genres – part psychological thriller, part supernatural / ghost and part horror, really worked for this novel. When Blue attends a Grief retreat, her hosts seem so nice and accommodating, anything to support their guests. The other attendees, Sabine, Jago, and Milton each have their own stories and grief to carry. When a storm comes in, and floods start to threaten, the house becomes somewhat cut off and everyone’s secrets start coming to light.

I really liked the time shifts, showing Blue’s childhood, relationship with her mother and how she ended up at the retreat.

Parts of the book were creepy, eerie, and atmospheric, which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. It is a little bit of slow burn, but it picks up pace as the plot escalates.

Overall, a good, compelling read that I would recommend.

Thanks you to NetGalley and the publishers Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

4 stars.

As someone who works with bereaved clients I was drawn to this novel by the synopsis; it’s set at a week long grief retreat which soon becomes cut off due to a storm.
It’s an intriguing mixture of genres, a psychological thriller but also part supernatural and horror. The latter genre isn’t something I would usually choose to read and although this is a well written and intriguing novel I found it too creepy. Please do read other reviews if this is a genre that you’re drawn to as it just wasn’t for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A strange genre of fiction if I say so myself....it was part thriller and part ghost story! I did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend reading it!

The Grief House

‘She searches for ways to stop feeling so lonely you fear your brain will melt and your heart will stop and your skin will never be touched again. She searches for ways to make herself feel better. The online forum has been a lifeline. A lifesaver. She can chat to counsellors when she needs to or other women who struggle with similar issues. Every week she receives a piece of advice to help her on the road to recovery or, as she calls it, the road to normality. The path to living a life.’

Blue makes a decision to deal with her unresolved grief and trauma with a residential course she sees advertised when she’s at a low ebb. At Hope Marsh House participants are offered counselling, art therapy and meditation with married couple Molly and Joshua Park. Blue has been struggling for a long time, culminating in the death of her mother with whom she had an uneasy relationship. However her grief journey begins with the loss of her stepfather Devlin, a rotund man with a fondness for kaftans and a talent with tarot. His own skills are based in clever observation, carefully worded open questions and more than average perception, but in Blue he recognises something he isn’t. A lonely child with strong psychic abilities. Prior to meeting Devlin, Blue’s mother has managed a rather haphazard upbringing at best with choices for Blue that are based in her own problems and inadequacies rather than what’s best for her child. Blue has been home-schooled but any learning was provided by magazines, television and whatever books Blue could lay her hands on. As a result she had no friends and was thought of as weird by the kids nearby. Her mother is equally isolated, not helped by the fact they move constantly. What exactly are they running from? So, Devlin’s attention is welcomed by both mother and daughter. Losing him to a heart attack was devastating and Blue became parent to her heartbroken mother, taking responsibility for her mum’s worsening mental health, the family’s income and single-handedly running Devlin’s mediumship business. Maybe it will take a place like Hope Marsh House to deal with the lonely and exhausting rut Blue finds herself in? It will be kill or cure….

‘And how long have you had your … talents?’ he said. Blue didn’t know what to say. Was hitting a saucepan with a wooden spoon a talent? Was babysitting a toddler in a dry bath whilst her mother cried herself to sleep a talent? She could wash her own clothes in the steel kitchen sink, she could heat soup and tins of beans, she could sing all the words to ‘May the Circle Be Open’. Is this what the strange man meant? She was five years old. She didn’t know.’

The author tells Blue’s story using different timelines: one gives us the present and focuses in on the retreat at Marsh House, while the others are in flashbacks to Blue’s life before her trip and further back in vignettes of her childhood. The flashbacks give us the building blocks of Blue’s personality and the strange abilities she has. She is a little girl simply longing for love and care, we can see this from the way she blossoms if praised by Devlin. Even more than that, the most powerful thing Devlin does is seemingly very simple - when Blue comes off stage, Devlin simply asks ‘are you ok, lass’? These four words mean more to her than anything else because they bypass the person she is on stage and the money her gift can make them and instead asks how she is. He knows and acknowledges what this gift costs her and how arduous a whole show can be, but mainly it’s just a dad checking in on his daughter. It means a lot to Blue, who has probably never been asked if she’s ok before. No one has ever cared enough. It is his care of her that she misses so deeply. I wondered if there were elements of personality disorder. Does Blue know who she is? When Devlin lives with them she’s at her happiest, but I was confused about her relationship with the other two children who live with them - Bodhi and the baby. They seem to be there, but she rarely relates to them. In fact she actively seems to avoid them and almost looks past them if they appear in her eye line.

Other short sections of the book include a story about a loving married couple who haven’t been able to have children, but look after a little girl who lives in a nearby flat with her elder brother. Unfortunately he is a drug addict and the couple, James and Marie, provide that stable family unit for Jessica. They dread something happening to Jessica’s brother because she could then be taken away from them. I knew that this couple related to Marsh House in some way, but I wasn’t sure how. Why does Blue keep hearing the same three girls names, Jessica, Eleanor and Lauren? Who is the strange long haired girl that appears in Sabrina’s room and opens the door when they’re not there. When she appears Blue starts to feel sick and a feeling of dread comes over her, a couple of times she comes close to passing out. The apparitions also have a way of spoiling her food, making it smell like rotten eggs or rubbish bins. They want to be noticed, but what are they trying to tell her?

The retreat itself is disturbed by a storm and the nearby river bursting it’s banks, threatening the house itself. Instead of the therapy they’re supposed to be receiving Blue and the other able bodied participant Sabina, help Mr Park with unblocking debris from the bridge to help the river flow on it’s normal path. The only other resident is Milton, an older man who uses a wheelchair and seems weakened by a lung disease that causes coughing fits. He’s been to the retreat several times, but seems incredibly grumpy with Molly and her husband. He also avoids any of the activities and even rebuffs Molly’s late night cocoa ritual. Is he just one of life’s misanthropes or is there more going on? Obviously, as a therapist, it’s Molly I’m fascinated with. I’ve been through a major bereavement and have run courses like the ones Molly advocates using a combination of meditation and group therapy using creative writing and art. I found her manner with the participants overwhelming at times. Even before the flood interrupted the normal flow of things there was a boundary issue that I couldn’t put my finger on. As time went on I realised the couple had no children, so who is the little girl in the picture that’s hidden in their own private sitting room? Who is the girl that Blue can see, if no children have lived there? Molly seems to mother her guests. It’s difficult to create clear boundaries when working in your own home and especially when participants are also eating with you and staying overnight. However, there’s something about the way Molly nurtures her clients that feels off. There’s a power imbalance at play, almost as if she is the parent and they are children. It’s this element in her personality and the care she gives that Milton seems to resist or even reject outright. Blue is particularly susceptible to her methods, because she has never had a nurturing mother figure. I felt protective towards Blue (my own maternal instinct at play) and my instinct was telling me she needed to keep her wits about her. The author created a sense of impending doom and as the worst of the storm hit it felt like a warning.

I don’t want to reveal any more, because I think the the story unfolds at the right pace and the truths are revealed slowly. The revelations come in both timelines, as Blue unearths the truths about her mother Bridget by looking through archived newspapers in the library. The secrets come out as if they’ve always been there in Blue’s mind, she just needed something to unlock the door. There will be moments at Hope Marsh House where you wonder what’s going on, placing you in exactly the same position as our main characters. The reader discovers the answers when the characters do so we feel their disorientation, confusion and fear. There were one or two moments that were genuinely terrifying! I enjoyed the growing bond between the three guests at Marsh House, something that Blue has never had before and exactly what she needs. I stayed up late to get to the end and I wasn’t disappointed, although it did lead to some disturbing dreams that night. This was a really great read with a perfect balance between psychological thriller and haunting, gothic tale.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s such a mix of genres ghost story, horror, thriller.
It’s one of those books that I struggled to put down as I just needed to know what happens.
Beautifully written, atmospheric and just captivating. Highly recommend this one!

A brilliant, gothic, isolated horror/Thriller that landed the twists so well for me. We follow Blue arriving at a grief retreat to help her to process the death of a loved one.

The retreat is at an isolated farm and when a flood hits that prevents half of the guests from arriving and keeps those who already have there the atmosphere was perfect. With secrets galore, twisted pasts, and a paranormal element this book had everything.

Multiple time periods and points of view kept me reading compulsively to the last page. I am so excited to pick up more from this author.

This was a strange mix of genres, part thriller, part ghost story. I did enjoy my time was an unsure how I feel about it in the end. Due to events in my personal life this hit closer to home than I would have liked, and for that same reason I will not be able to write and post and extended review on this. My apologies, and thanks to the publisher for letting me read the Arc.

I loved how this spanned genres, horror, thriller, and supernatural.

It kept me guessing right until the end. amazing writing and very atmospheric.

It has a mix of timelines and perspectives which I enjoyed, I liked the main character blue who attended the grief retreat near the anniversary of her mother's death. she's not the only one and we meet the other attendees and hosts. unfortunately they all get trapped in during a storm. It felt very Christie and old style of mystery in a modern setting.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more.

You know a book is good when you can't put it down and instead walk around the house reading it whilst making a cup of tea, prepping tea etc. That is the book! I was absolutely engrossed and loved all the twists and turns it threw up. Make sure to turn off your phone and cancel all plans because once you start reading you won't be able to stop.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat! It was so descriptive and the characters so creepy that I was engrossed from the start and didn’t notice how quickly I’d read it until
I was at the end of the book!!
The Grief House is supposed to be a sanctuary for depressed people. All the help they need is right here under one roof. But Blue, a psychic, tarot card reader who sees ghosts, along with Serena, Milton and Jago, soon discover things aren’t quite right with the house and the whole set up of this supposed safe house!
This is an excellent read!!!
Many thanks to Raven Books for the chance to read this arc copy via Netgalley.
#Netgalley, #bloomsburypublishing,#bloomsbutyraven, #rebeccathornebooks.

Everyone is lying but the dead know the truth.

Blue is struggling as the anniversary of losing her mum approaches so she decides to attend a grief retreat. She soon regrets this as they get trapped there due to a storm and one of the guests goes missing. Will Blue’s abilities help her uncover the secrets of house and hosts or just lead her to more danger?

I found this book a real struggle, I wanted to give up a few times but it had intrigued me enough to carry on. I am glad I stuck with it but also I was glad when I’d finished it. The character I enjoyed the most was Milton and his story. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and good luck to the author on the release.

Publication Date - 18/01/2024

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#TheGriefHouse
#RebeccaThorne