I enjoyed this mystery, set around Tall Trees- a dark and foreboding house, in the 1830s. It was very easy to read and I finished it in two sittings!

Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a short term position within Tall Trees house to help cure the ailing health of the owner, Gervaise Cherville. In return she will receive a life changing payment. Gervaise has another task that he wants Hester to help him with however. This one involves delving into the secrets of his past to start to make amends for his involvement in the slave trade.

This was quite a slow burn, character driven story. I found it an atmospheric read and it had interesting insights into British slavery as well as some great characters. I would have liked a little more suspense and intrigue but overall this was an enjoyable story that I would recommend for fans of historical fiction.

I received an ARC og this book via netgalley and am grateful for the opportunity to read it. Hester is an herbalist treating people on the lower edges of society when she is employed for a short term case to Gervaise Cherville a man at the very opposite end of London's class structure. Her new home for the next month is forbidding both in its exterior and the people on the inside. There emerges a picture that suggests there is more to her selection for this role than meets the eye. The storyline develops to align with the history of slavery and its abolishment.

The MC Hester Reeves is someone who draws the reader into the narrative. Her character i strong and feisty. She is inquisitive perhaps better educated than many of her peers. The job whilst not one she relishes has enough in the way of inducements to enable her life to improve that she feels drawn into taking it on.

There are many threads that the author has knitted together to create this book. None of them feel forced and each fastens itself into the whole easily. There are surprises along the way and the reader can see the development within the characters as time moves on and yet the action takes place over a relatively short period of time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and part of me feels a bit mean not giving it that final star rating. It is probably 4.5 in reality

From the blurb I was expecting House of Shades to be a darkly gothic mystery however I didn't feel that it delivered on this promise. I did find it to be an enjoyable read but while it held some intrigue and a few twists, it lacked the atmospheric feels for me.

The story follows Hester, a doctoress who has been charged with the care of Gervaise Cherville. During her four week assignment, Hester must leave her husband and move into Tall Trees. Cherville is wealthy and the pay for her work will provide Hester with the means to give her family the life she's always dreamt of. But Hester soon learns that Cherville's wealth was built on slavery and he's seeking atonement.

This is a good, slow burn historical novel and I was invested in the characters of Hester and Cherville. I did find some of the subplots unnecessary and took away from the main theme of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK, & Cornerstone for providing an ARC to read and review.

This story enlightens the reader to the treatment of slaves before the Abolition Act was passed.
It is about injustice and cruelty, but also love and loyalty.
The narrator is a black woman who, whilst seeeking the truth about the history of three slaves, discovers unexpected truths about her own history.
The narrative easily draws the reader into a plot which unravels slowly. The imagery of London in the 1800's is evocative and the characters are well described, which helps bring this story to life.
A simple read, but one with moving insight to a past which we should all know about.

I'm not sure there were many gothic elements to this book as described, hence this story was not quite what I expected.

However, the writing was smooth and beautiful and Lianne Dillsworth created a powerful story of love, heartbreak, power and greed in an extraordinarily subtle way.

This tale follows Hester, a black Docteress and her quest to assist wealthy former plantation and slave owner Gervaise Cherville track down two women he had enslaved and to make recompense.

This read was a slow burner for me but was thought provoking nonetheless. I loved the characters and the author’s vivid imagery of that historical era and society as well as the descriptions of life at the house of Tall Trees.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

This is a book with potential where the author strives to create an atmospheric, gothic novel exploring slavery and atonement. There are twists and turns and much to pull you in. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel ultimately this novel pulled off what it was trying to do. It lacked nuance and intricacy in it's storytelling and just became a little dull.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

A really fascinating plot and I enjoyed the drama of it as well as the characterisation. Although it wasn't what I expected it to be based on the packaging, I would recommend it to other historical fiction readers.

A thought provoking and strangely easy read. Cherville Jnr couldn't be any more despicable if he held a cloak over the lower half of his face. Cherville Snr isn't a great deal better really. I wondered throughout the book about whether Gervaise may be unmasked as the father of certain characters but ....that would be telling! I thought Jos' change of heart was quite unlikely. And as for Bright, I wanted to slap him a little bit.

I thought this was a wonderful book, in fact, I was enjoying it so much on the bus on the way home from the theatre that I missed my stop! This is a compelling story set in London in 1833, some years after the passing of The Slave Trade Act in 1807 and the subsequent Slavery Abolition Act 1833. It follows Doctress Hester Reeves who has been offered a four week job tending to Gervaise Cherville a wealthy man whose fortune was built on the backs of slavery. Cherville is dying and wants Hester to help him assuage his guilt. A well written and fascinating story which is focussed on British black history.

Briefly, Cherville wants Hester to find two women, slaves he had brought over from his plantation, who had run away from his home many years ago and to whom he wishes to make financial reparation. But housekeeper Margaret and Cherville’s heir Roland are both determined to stop her. Meanwhile, Hester’s home life is difficult. Her sister Willa has fallen for Roland’s charms and life is awkward as her husband is reaching the end of his tether with the unruly Willa.

Hester is a strong character who is determined to carry out her mothers dying wish to look after Willa, but I did think she needed to see things more from her husbands side and not repeatedly sideline him in favour of her sister. I thought all the characters were well written and well fleshed. A good historical novel with slight gothic vibes, a thought provoking plot and topical theme about reparation this was a very entertaining read.

4.5⭐️

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

the only reason Doctress Hester Reeves had gone to work for Gervaise Cherville was to earn enough money so that she could move her family away from Gervaise brother who was showing to much interest in her sister

that was her only reason but whilst there she was asked to help find 2 negros who had run away years ago and if she helped she would be given more money

but it was the atonement she heard that made her help and maybe with the money he was saying he would give them to help maybe he would get forgiveness in his part of owning slaves...

i found this story compelling to read as i wanted to know what happened at the end.... i wasnt disappointed as it is set in the times when times were tough for slaves and the poor and really it was the wealthy that decide peoples fate and the author is right if it brings to the attention about slavery and how even in our country how much we do with it at least it opens peoples eyes to it and the affect it has had on people lives through the generations

Lianne Dillsworth’s debut “Theatre Of Marvels” (2022) was a four star treat of strong story-telling set in Victorian London and showed such potential that news of her second novel had me selecting it as one of the novels I was most looking forward to in 2024.
Timewise, this novel is set a little earlier in 1833 and has once again Black British History in focus. Here it centres on the argument about reparations being made by slave-owners to those enslaved following the slow-to-be-implemented Abolition Of The Slave Trade in 1807. The author has used this for another strong tale of family, responsibility and justice.
Hester Reeve is a doctoress employed by an ailing wealthy man. Hester agrees to what is believed to be a short term of employment, taking her away from caring for the prostitutes of the King’s Cross area because the money is good and her sister has become involved with his reprobate son who is her employer in a factory. It isn’t long in the forbidding atmosphere of Tall Trees before Hester discovers Gervaise Cherville’s true intentions and the role she is expected to play.
There are good twists, an explicit villain in Rowland Cherville and a more complex one in his father. The plot, as in her last book, moves along well and I think this ends up being an even stronger novel. I felt last time out I wanted some variety in viewpoints but here I’m very happy with Hester’s first-person narration. Publishers like to add the Gothic tag to Lianne Dillsworth’s work but I don’t really get that strongly, unless the meaning has shifted recently. (I also didn’t get it particularly from two other 2024 publications I’ve read “The Beholders” by Hester Musson and “The Library Thief” by Kuchenga Shenje where there is also just a hint of the Gothic but there is strong story-telling here and a healthy touch of melodrama (perhaps not as marketable as Gothic) which is fine. I certainly enjoy historical novels set in London around this time period and Lianne Dillsworth has shown now, on two occasions, that she excels in such writing.
“The House Of Shades” is published by Hutchinson Heinmeann on May 16th 2024. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

A gripping read - dark and forbidding as the house itself. Tall Trees is the setting for tragedy and hideous deeds and Hester is determined to understand what’s happened. To try and understand the tales of slavery and sadness that fill the rooms. The writing is evocative and unsettling as more of the details of the slaves lives uncovered.
The characterisation within the whole
book is so cleverly detailed - not many characters fill the pages but each has such an important role to play. Even the house itself is part of the cast - the colours, the decor and the smells, all described so intimately so as to being gone house to life and be part of the history.
I really enjoyed seeing Hester ( with Jos and Jenny’s support) bravely uncover the secrets hidden by the Chervilles.

Before 1859 medicine was unregulated, and much was carried out by herbalists, one such being Hester, who describes herself here as a Doctoress, a rarely used term in England. Hester was born in England but is of Afro-Caribbean heritage and the term was used there. She has just been hired to care for Gervaise Cherville, a rich London gentleman who is terminally ill, at the phenomenal wage of £10 for four weeks (that’s about a year’s wage for a working man) The Cherville fortune has been made largely from Mahogany, grown and harvested in Honduras by slaves. However it is now 1833 and the UK is just about to pass a law banning the ownership or employment of slaves in all British overseas territories (note it has never been legal to own slaves in Britain). Slave owners will be compensated and Gervaise wishes to pass on some of this to his own slaves, starting with two that he had previously freed and brought to London, but who had run away. In addition to her medical duties, he hopes Hester will be able to help him find them. Her position in the household is compromised by Margaret, the housekeeper, who has dedicated herself to caring for her Master; her duel roles are challenged by Rowland, the son and heir who has no wish to see his inheritance given to slaves; her homelife is troubled by the antics of her younger sister, Willa, whom she has promised her dying mother she will protect. Willa is causing trouble partly because she has to share the cramped cottage where Hester and her husband, Jos, live, but also because she has become the focus of the lascivious Rowland’s attentions. Somehow Hester must resolve all of these issues and earn her £10.
I’m not sure how to classify this book, it clearly isn’t the gothic/haunted house story that seems to be indicated by the early blurb and the cover. It is a mystery story, perhaps, but not a crime story; there is a certain amount of tension but it is not a thriller. There is historical background but it isn’t really historicity. There are some echoes in present day thinking but it doesn’t carry a political agenda. There are a few twists but nothing very surprising. So I’ve defined it by saying what it isn’t. It isn’t a bad book, it’s well written, the characters are fairly clear and believable, the plot is neat, it’s an easy read. I think it would have been stronger if there were more depth to the background, if it had more sense of place.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

This is a really enjoyable read. It’s perfect for fans of historical fiction. It is a thought provoking read based on a period of history that is still very raw for many and continues to provoke difficult conversations. This is a very well written story with likeable characters that will help play an important role in ‘gently’ educating people and helping people understand the effects of the slave trade.

This book unfortunately didn't delivered what was advertised.
From the title, cover and synopsis I was expecting a Gothic tale with a mystery twist. The ,ystery element of this tale is a small part of the story and while the writing and charter work was pretty good the plot an pacing of this book was not great, This book was extremely flat and I would go as far as to say..boring,

1833 London.
Twenty-four year old Hester Reeves is a Doctoress. She has been given a four week job position looking after the master of the house Gervaise Cherville, at Tall Trees.
Hester doesn’t like the feeling she gets in the house, but it’s only for four weeks. That money will give her family a new start.

I enjoyed reading this book. A slower paced book that held my interest.
The background of the story is of slaves and slavery, though none of the characters in the book are presently slaves.
A small amount of characters in the storyline and most of them unlikeable.
Reading the authors acknowledgement at the back was enlightening too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

This was not what I was expecting, as from the blurb and the premise I thought it would be a dark g0thig mystery.
It turned out it was more a historical fiction about retribution and making amends for mistakes of the past, but the mystery was not very compelling (if it even was there). The plot felt very slow and overly long, I probably would have enjoyed the book more if it was more to the point, as the main message got diluted in between unnecessary subplots that only took the attention away.

Set in London in 1833, "House of Shades" tells the story of Hester, a young doctor who helps the poor and vulnerable. She is offered a commission to help a man of wealth - the money earned would enable her and her husband to get away from where they live and, specifically, to get Hester's sister Willa away from bad influences. However, on arrival at the imposing home of Gervaise Cherville, Hester realises her new employer earned his money through slavery. And when he asks for her help with a task far beyond her medical expertise, Hester finds herself on a mission which could be more important but dangerous than any she's ever done before.

This is a really fascinating gothic tale which I found to be absolutely gripping. And the message it has about slavery and reparations is particularly relevant at the moment.

On a more trivial note, I could well imagine this translating really well to the screen but I would highly recommend that people read the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Dillsworth's strength certainly lies in her vivid depiction of the setting, from the imposing walls of the manor. However, despite the promising premise, the gothic elements hinted at by the cover and synopsis are not as prominent as expected. While the story delivers on historical intrigue and a dash of romance, it lacks the haunting atmosphere that defines the genre. Instead, readers are presented with a compelling yet somewhat subdued tale of a young woman's quest for identity and justice in the backdrop of Victorian London. Overall, "House of Shades" offers a captivating glimpse into a bygone era, but falls short of fully embracing its gothic potential.

A slow burner that, sadly, wasn't for me. Hester, a black doctoress is persuaded to attend Gervais Cherville in his dying days. As a slave owner, he wants to make reparation to his slaves particularly two who lived in London but escaped. Hester is asked to help find them. The story is very slow as, by a third of the way through, the scene is still being set. It's all a bit predictable. From the notes at the end of the book, the author believes in modern day reparations for slavery. I think she wrote this to make the point rather than concentrate on making a good, readable book. Although not for me, I'm sure many will enjoy the book.