“[She] paces the corridors, but now and then, she is standing outside and gazing up at the windows; her heart as narrowed as the pupil of a snake.”

Annie marries a widower, Edward, and moves to his mansion on the Yorkshire moors. She meets his sister, Iris – a young taxidermist, & a self-proclaimed medium, who warns Annie to look out for black feathers, as they mark the spots where a spirit has visited. But is Iris a deluded victim of her solitude, or are there supernatural forces at play?

Thus starts this beautiful Gothic mystery, where the weather is deliciously dramatic & oppressive, where the house is a menacing character in its own right, & where the hanging dioramas with taxidermy animals make uncanny noises as they sway in the wind.

Yet, the characters are where the book shines. Well-rounded and each with their own flaws, they feel real and solid, even though Edward remains in the background & physically absent most of the time. It is Annie and Iris we focus on, and their forced sisterhood, which takes weird and unexpected turns. Also, all the characters have been through traumatic events in their lives, some of which we get to know pretty quickly, and some of which remain a mystery for a while. These traumas inform many of their decisions; Annie’s lot prior to the marriage is particularly gut-wrenching & how her past affects her initial attitude towards her infant son broke my heart (& I don’t use these words lightly).

The writing is atmospheric & evocative, & the descriptions of art play a significant role – Iris’ taxidermy & Edward’s seemingly plain, but quietly ominous paintings.

The book is also a nod to Rebecca & Jane Eyre, with the familiar trope of the lord-of-the-mansion & a mystery of the ex-wife, however, it is fresh and original in how it treats the subject. I swallowed it in 1 sitting & delighted in everything, especially in how the relationship between Annie and Iris was explored.

Annie arrives at her new home in the Yorkshire moors to live with her new husband, Edward, and his sister. At first Annie is sceptical of her sister-in-law's warnings of nearby spirits, until she comes across strange sights in the house. As Annie's experiences worsen she becomes desperate to find out what is going on and what really happened to Edward's first wife.

The Black Feathers is the perfect book for autumn and especially Halloween.

I loved this incredibly clever plot because it had brilliant twists and surprises that I didn't expect. The atmosphere was so haunting throughout. The house was the perfect setting because it was huge and full of empty rooms, I found that it added so much tension.

I really enjoyed the mix of characters in the book. I immediately warmed to Annie and was really rooting for her to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the creepy sightings that she encountered.

If you enjoy books by Laura Purcell then you will definitely love this too.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

What a wonderfully atmospheric gothic ghost story! From the very first pages, the sense of foreboding and the haunting atmosphere oozes, sending shivers down your spine. Set in a remote large estate on the Yorkshire Moors, mystery, death and sinister tales abound as Annie finds herself being sucked further and further into her sister-in-law’s ghostly world of seances and the tragic deaths past inhabitants. This is the perfect book for curling up in front of the fire with as the nights draw in, an absolute page turner! I shall be highly recommending this to my friends.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Random House, Michael Joseph for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

Annie marries wealthy Edward who offers her the opportunity for a new start away from her abusive father and her closely guarded secrets. Annie moves to Edward’s grand old manor house Guardbridge nestled in the Yorkshire moors. Very quickly Annie realises all is not as it should be at Guardbridge and Edward too is hiding a big secret. No-one will discuss the tragedy of Edward’s first wife and child who have died, Annie has to share Guardbridge with Iris, Edward’s sister, who is a taxidermist and hold seances to communicate with the dead, and there are a number of strange hauntings warning Annie of danger. Written messages and black feathers appear everywhere. Annie increasingly realises her life might also be in danger.

This is a perfect atmospheric haunting read for October with an old creepy manor house, ghosts and unexplained deaths. At home reading this I felt genuinely spooked by what was going on. The writing is so detailed I could imagine being in Guardsbridge surrounded by the sinister icy moors. There are plenty of twists, turns and questions to keep the reader engaged in this chilling tale until the end. What secrets is Guardsbridge hiding?

I really enjoyed this author's previous book, The Whistling, when I read it a couple of years ago so I was very excited to get my mitts on this, her latest book. And it was everything I wanted and so much more.
We start with Annie who has just arrived, with new husband Edward, at his family estate - Guardbridge. She is relieved to have finally left her past behind her, or so she thinks, and has settled down. In situ already at the house is Edward's sister Iris and her companion. She is an odd fish to say the least - a medium and a taxidermist - and she insists that Annie attend one of her "evenings"!
Annie wants to get to know her and also, with Edward away so much, needs company herself so she tries hard to get on with Iris despite her idiosyncrasies.
Annie is not Edward's first wife, she died, along with their child. An illness she has been told. But there is something about the story that Annie simply can't accept... Iris has told her to watch out for black feathers as they mark the visitations of spirits. She dismisses that as a bit bonkers initially but, as time goes on she feels that it is more and more important to learn the truth of what happened to Edward's first wife as she does not feel safe anymore...
Oooo this book is juicy. Brilliantly plotted and that plot expertly executed with just enough of the spooky stuff to make me want to keep the light on! I simply whizzed through it as, along with Annie, I really needed to know what in the heck was going on. The setting was perfect, an old slightly worn house on the moors. Brilliant! Isolation and fear do go hand in hand!
And then, the truth, and who to trust... that all got me wondering and guessing and, yep, totally wrong. But I did kick myself when it all came to light. Well done indeed.
Characterisation is excellent. They are all well described and all play their parts very well indeed. Especially Annie who I took to right from the start, with her own past which she is trying to get over, if that is possible.
All in all, a cracking story that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that I am definitely going to revisit, probably on Audible when it is released. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book is the perfect October read if you're after something spooky and dark and atmospheric. What could be possibly better setting than a dark, giant house in the middle of the Yorkshire moors? The author really gripped me from the very beginning. I was on the edge of my seat and I had to read to see where this was going.

I loved how all the characters had their own secrets that made them suspicious. Edward was a giant question mark for me all along. I loved Iris even with her weirdness and Annie is very relatable with her trauma and her curiosity about her husband's first wife.

This story wasn't only the perfect atmosphere but it also built to a crescendo and I loved every moment of it.

A brilliant example of a gothic novel! It ticks all the boxes for me: a creepy Manor House, seances, ghostly noises in the night and suspicious deaths.

When Annie arrives at Guardbridge, she believes she is finally leaving the past behind. Beginning her new life as mistress of the estate and as wife to Edward Stonehouse, she feels optimistic that she had made the right choice in marrying someone so recently widowed. That is, until she meets his strange sister who claims to be a medium and things start going bump in the night…

This was a total joy to read and I couldn’t put it down. I loved how atmospheric the writing was, the plot was well-paced and the characters were flawed but likeable. This is a perfect October read!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a very well written book, full of intrigue and uncertainty. The scene setting is strong and the well formed characters drive the narrative on. I found it really interesting and the ending was worth the wait.
I'm grateful to the publisher for sharing this book with me and I wish the author every success with this clever and mysterious ghost story.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading haunting gothic historical novels especially when they’re as good as this one. This story has it all. It is a really hauntingly brilliant story that I just couldn’t put down. The writing creates the perfect edgy atmosphere using the location of the remote moors and big gothic house to great effect. The characters are also superbly written none of them are perfect and all hiding something making you suspicious of everyone. There is also a sensitivity to all the characters and the story that comes through the writing sitting alongside the dark ghostly atmosphere. A brilliantly crafted story perfect for dark autumn evenings.

A hauntingly beautiful, classic ghost story with a deliciously gothic, haunted house setting.

After a chance encounter, Annie is swept up into a marriage of privilege and wealth. Living with her gentle husband at the Guardbridge mansion is idllyic but Annie holds secrets she fears would undo her fortune if they are unravelled. She struggles to settle in a house overshadowed by a previous wife and her secrets are threatened by a resident sister in law involved in séances, who claims a talent in clairvoyance.

This was a chilling ghost story full of suspense. Seances, stuffed animals that seem to move of their own accord, black feathers said to have been left by souls taken too soon and untrustworthy characters. My sympathies continued to change throughout the book as the slow burning twists evolved. The atmosphere was fraught with malevolence and the startling imagery made for an unsettling yet captivating read.

This one is for fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca who like an extra slice of gothic horror. I loved The Whistling by the same author and The Black Feathers is another gothic masterpiece.

What a fabulous read this was. A dark gothic tale set in the 1880’s in the home of the Stonehouse family, Guardbridge on the Yorkshire Moors. I was immersed into this book from start to finish and had I not had to go out this would have been a one sitting book. The story is told from the POV of Annie (Edward Stonehouse’s new wife) and Iris, Edwards sister who practices taxidermy and believes that she is psychic. Annie is hiding a secret that she is scared will mean the end her marriage and in her alone times discusses her thoughts and feelings with a person she cannot name!

Briefly, Edward is keen that Annie befriend Iris and joins in with her seances, which she does. But soon Annie is feeling scared of her husband, unsure of Iris and seeing and hearing things that can’t be there. Little notes, writing on the window and black feather which Iris tells her are left by a restless soul. Is there a dreadful truth behind the deaths of Edwards first wife and child that Annie needs to uncover?

I’m sure I won’t be the only person who felt this evoked memories of reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The same tension and malevolence peppering the pages of the book and the new bride feeling overshadowed by the first wife. But that’s where the similarities ended. This is a well paced ghostly tale that gripped my imagination and elicited a few shivers. I love the style of writing and it felt reminiscent of classic authors from the 1800’s. In fact I loved everything about this book, a fantastic creepy, gothic family drama.

A fabulous goth ghost story! Set in Yorkshire on the Moors, this follows a new wife, her husband and his spinster sister, all living together in a big old house. Throw in a bit of witchcraft and this is a fantastic book that kept me hooked. A great winter read.

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and moves to Guardbridge on the edge of the wild Yorkshire moors she discovers the house is full of secrets and haunted by the past. Annie carries her own secrets, which her new sister in law Iris soon discovers through her communication with the spirit world. Edward's first wife died in mysterious circumstances and there are shadows of the past everywhere in the house. Iris never leaves Guardbridge and has a fascination with taxidermy, and along with her monthly séances she is a strange character, but together with her former Nanny Mrs North they are the only company Annie has whilst Edward is frequently away. But the spirits of the house are not at rest and it seems they want to drive Annie away from the house.

This is the perfect Spooky Season read, with a great twist towards the end that I didn't see coming. Highly recommend this - publishing 12th October

When Annie married Artist Edward Stonehouse and moved to his estate on the Yorkshire Moors she was hoping for a new start to her life. She is clearly trying to escape her past and her unhappy life in her childhood home and although she knows that her marriage is not based on love she is sure that her husband will treat her kindly. When she arrives at Guardbridge she is introduced to her new sister in law Iris who claims to be a psychic and at once invites Annie to join in the regular séances. Not wanting to cause issues she agrees and that is when strange things start to happen and Annie becomes convinced she is being haunted, by who and what their intent is are mysteries she is determined to solve.
There are certainly a lot of secrets at Guardbridge with the main one being what really happened to Edwards first wife and child. No one is allowed to discuss them but their story clearly has a big impact on the current residents and also the way in which Edward treats Annie. She has her own motives for entering the marriage but she is determined to make the best of her new life as strange as it may be. She is willing to accept Iris and her beliefs even if she is not sure about the validity of them.
Both Iris and Annie are intriguing characters that clearly develop a quick affection for each other. Through their narration of the story, you slowly start to unravel the mysteries held within this isolated house that itself almost becomes another character. As you learn more about them both it is clear that they have both suffered in their childhood and this may be one of the things that draws them to each other. The Yorkshire Moor setting lends itself perfectly to this gothic ghost story and with every creak and groan in the house adding to the sense that there is something else going on you can almost believe it too.
As the story works its way to an ending that I really wasn’t expecting thanks to the many twists and turns the true meaning behind the title is also revealed and its both sad and haunting. Rebecca Netley has a style that is reminiscent of some of the classic stories that we love her descriptions will put you right in the heart of Guardbridge and all that reside there

If you read Rebecca Netley's debut, The Whistling, then you know how skilled she is at creating atmosphere. This book is no exception. You need to be under a warm blanket, preferably with a light on. I am getting gooseflesh just thinking about some scenes. Her turns of phrase are bone-chilling.
There is an element of Du Maurier's, Rebecca - a new wife, Annie takes the reins of a house where her predecessor died along with her young son. A somewhat creepy sister-in-law and add into that mix, Annie's own secrets adn you have a recipe for nail biting and hiding under the blanket. Another excellent tale just right for the approaching long, cold, wintery nights ahead.

Oooooh this book is so good. Definitely one for reading around Halloween, a Du Maurier’s Rebecca type story.

Annie marries Edward Stonehouse partly to get away from her own family. Much as she loves her brothers and sisters, they’re not a well off family and her father is very authoritarian and isn’t shy of using physical punishment when he deems his children or even his wife to have done wrong.

Once Annie arrives at Guardbridge, she begins to wonder if she has done the right thing. Edward is rather distant and refuses to talk about his first wife or even his child who both died. She befriends Iris, Edward’s sister, but once she’s attended one of Iris’s seances she becomes somewhat concerned about Iris’s mental health.

The writing is incredibly atmospheric with descriptions of Seances, Guardbridge itself with its many empty rooms and the stuffed birds that seem to almost come to life at night, dropping black feathers here and there………left by visiting spirits according to Iris.

Annie has a secret she doesn’t want Edward to know about. Equally does Edward have secrets of his own? Much tension, much spine tingling moments. This book will keep you in suspense, wondering what is round the next corner.

It all culminates in a suspenseful conclusion with many revelations. I loved it. I read The Whistling, Rebecca’s first book which I enjoyed, but I enjoyed this one even more. It kept me on the edge of my seat, completely engrossed. A spookily brilliant five star read for me.

**Review to be posted to my blog around publication date.**

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Black Feathers
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Rebecca Netley
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Historical Horror/Mystery
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 12th October 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 10th September 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★★

‘A black feather is left by a particular kind of spirit. One who has suffered an early death.’ Her gaze shifts to the corridor and she takes a quick, sharp breath and draws herself in and I feel her urgency to be gone. ‘A black feather is left by a child.’

The Black Feathers is a phenomenal and tantalizing gothic historical fiction that brings to life the genres of mystery and horror. This book shows Annie beginning her life at her new home: Guardsbridge, with her new husband, Edward, and their son, John. Though she knew that Edward was bereaved after his previous wife, Evie, and their son, Jacob, died of scarlet fever, she is shocked to discover that Edward’s sister, Iris, is a taxidermist and medium, and as black feathers are left for her to find, she wonders what other secrets Edward’s been keeping.

What first struck me whilst settling down to read The Black Feathers was how reminiscent of certain classics this book is, particularly those classics with a gothic vibe. The very first line, “Even before I arrive, I dream of Guardbridge.” I am transported back to Rebecca, and this feeling grows as Annie becomes increasingly obsessed with Edward’s first wife and son. The character of Evie herself was extremely comparable to that of Rebecca. Additionally, Netley incorporates the setting of the Yorkshire moors into her story, and utilizes a large amount of atmospheric pathetic fallacy, which is the most potent and memorable element in Wuthering Heights. And just as Wuthering Heights is personified to feel fierce and sturdy, Guardsbridge is personified to feel haunted and malevolent.

This house full of ghosts also has some thematic exploration of postnatal depression, agoraphobia, dysfunctional family, and above all, wickedness. The wickedness of man, the wickedness of sisters, and the wickedness of ghosts.

I’ve enjoyed Rebecca Netley’s writing since reading The Whistling, but whilst I thought The Whistling suffered from slower pacing than necessary, the pacing in The Black Feathers is sublime. The story is quick and easy to read, keeping me firmly within its grip from the first chapter, and yet the plot arc is not rushed, there is ample amount of time to feel chilled to the bone with your heart in your mouth. This is the perfect read for spooky season and one that I intensely enjoyed reading until 1am, unable to put it down as just like Annie, I am captured by the eerie and other-worldly atmosphere at Guardsbridge.

—Kayleigh🤍

The Black Feathers is a Victorian gothic thriller, set in a stately home so ominous it seems like a character itself. Annie our protagonist, marries a young rich widower and returns home with him after an extended bridal tour and giving birth to their son. She is aware he was married with a child before and that his family tragically died, but she doesn’t realise until she arrives at his home just how much of a presence the dead…and their secrets…can have…

And what’s more, Annie has a secret that she doesn’t wish her new husband to know. Can she keep it hidden from her new psychic spooky sister in law?

I read this in one sitting, it is a relatively short novel at 320 pages long but it really packs a punch. It is atmospheric and the setting sometimes feels claustrophobic. The pacing is really good and tension is built up well…and some of it is just truly heartbreaking.

Recommended, a solid 4 stars and one I’d suggest for the winter months.

A delicious blend of Wuthering Heights, Rebecca (without the housekeeper) and Jane Eyre – what’s not to like? And it is beautifully written (though I did see ‘begin’ altogether too often) and entirely in keeping with the times portrayed. Atmospheric, mysterious, emotive, haunting secrets and intriguing characters fill the pages, luring the reader onward.
A few years ago, a friend told me that to find a white feather where you would not expect to see one, meant an angel had visited. What devilry might a black feather presage? A great read – perfect for a winter’s night – or power outages when you have to light candles! I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Wow! I didn't want this to end! A perfect read for curly up in the cozy autumn night

When Annie marries Edward, a talented artist and widower it brings with it the security of the beautiful Guardbridge estate on the sprawling Yorkshire Moors and the chance of a family. For Annie, it is a fresh start. A chance to escape her own secrets and leave them in the past, but she soon realises that all families have their secrets to hide and sometimes, they need to resurface...

A beautifully written Gothic mystery that I did not want to end. This has echoes of Rebecca. It is a prefect ghost story with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. This did not shy away from the supernatural, which I loved. Filled with atmosphere and intrigue and a cast of characters that I adored I couldn't put it down!

I can't wait to read more from Rebecca Netley.