Book Review: A Cruel Twist of Fate
Author: H.F. Askwith
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format: E-book from @netgalley & @penguinbookssouthafrica
Rating: 3.5⭐

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this review are my own and not those of @penguinbookssouthafrica. Thank you to the publisher for providing this review copy.

🖋 Writing
The writing in A Cruel Twist of Fate is straightforward and easy to follow. However, while the setting suggests a pre-modern time, where horses and carts are the main mode of transport, the historical context isn’t always clear. The pacing is on the slower side, and since I didn’t read the synopsis beforehand, it took me some time to get a sense of the plot and direction of the story.

👩🏽‍🦱👩🏽 Characters
The story is told from the perspective of Elena, who investigates her father's mysterious disappearance. Since most of the plot takes place over a few days, there isn’t much character development, but the backgrounds and motivations of the characters are well-established and compelling.

🖤 Plot
Helena takes a position as a governess with the Cauldwell family, known for their groundbreaking inventions. Soon, it becomes clear that this isn’t just a family drama—it’s a murder mystery set on a remote island. As Helena digs deeper into her father's disappearance, she’s drawn into a tangled web of family betrayals, sinister secrets, and multiple murders.

The narrative is structured so we only know what Elena knows, building suspense as we uncover the mystery together. The story also includes paranormal and gothic elements, which keep you questioning whether what’s happening is supernatural or something darker at play.

One aspect I wished had been explored more is the magical or mystical force behind the Cauldwells' inventions. The family’s ability to wield their creations seems connected to some kind of supernatural power, but the rules or origins of this magic are never fully explained, leaving me wanting more clarity.

While the plot twist wasn’t overly shocking, it added an interesting layer to the story. Overall, A Cruel Twist of Fate is an atmospheric and suspenseful read, with enough intrigue to keep me hooked.

#thriller #mystery

A Cruel Twist of Fate by H. F. Askwith.

3 STARS.

An interesting premise. Anything that has an Agatha Christie note, an Inheritance Games namecheck and the chill factor of the Woman in Black is worth reading. Which is exactly what this book is - a worthwhile read but perhaps not living up to the full promise.

This was a very solid mystery. I really enjoy Gothic inspired settings, and the isolated nature of the island created an interesting premise. The fish out of water, Helena, being a sweet maker created this fantastic contrast with the dark nature of the island. The plot was well paced and enjoyable. I did figure out a big twist very early on, but because there were so many mysterious characters with competing motivations, I was always going to carry on because I was curious to see what new spanners would be thrown into the works. The sprinkling of Romance was well done. I did forget Helena was 18 because she felt like someone in her 20s, but things like that don't tend to bother me in mysteries, i'm more engaged with the plot to care too much about that. I wish i wasn't a few steps ahead of the main character fort so much of the book, but I enjoyed myself!

Thank you Netgalley, H F Askwith and Penguin Random House UK Children's for the eArc of A Cruel Twist of Fate.

This was the first book Ive read of H.F Askwith and I really enjoyed it. The synopsis of Helena, a sweet maker with her Mother, has to go and seek work as a Governess in the Scottish Highlands as their business is struggling and her Mother is threatened with Jail. Helena's Husband and Helena's Father mysteriously disappeared years earlier at the same Manor House Helena is seeking employment so she must pose as someone else to find out what happened to her Father. Helena, gets more than what she bargained for in this mystery thriller.

Firstly, even though this is marketed as a YA, throughout the narrative, Id forgotten that Helena was only 18 yrs old. I felt that as a character, she felt older than her years, which isn't a bad thing at all, I felt her character has a wonderful caring quality about her but a deep sadness regarding her Father. I really bonded with her character and her sense of self. The rest of the characters in the book were well developed and I loved the sassiness of the children she was looking after.

The premise of the book itself was really intriguing and well directed for a YA book. I loved the mystery/thriller side with a bit of a sci/fi, supernatural elements kept it ticking over into a nice easy read for YA and adults alike. The plot was paced well with some little tense parts which kept the interest.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Amazon/Netgalley

I thoroughly enjoyed H.F. Askwith's previous offering , A Dark Inheritance, so thought that I would enjoy this one too. I actually liked this even better, deliciously gothic with the odd touches of gruesome. A deeply immersive book, once I started to read it was difficult to stop. I think that I might have found a new favourite author.

I loved the authors first book, a dark inheritance, so I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. It was boring and i found the plot predictable. The atmosphere was the only thing I liked. Hopefully this book will find readers who will love this.

Creepy, gothic and intriguing! To escape debtors prison, Helena goes to the mysterious Archfall Manor as a governess, and hope to uncover some secrets about her family. The book was good and readable, not massively original and a bit slow at times. Enjoyable enough

Eighteen-year-old Helena worked in a sweetshop with her mother her whole life. When her mother is taken to debtors prison, Helena finds herself alone, forced to take a role as a governess at the mysterious Archfall Manor - a rapidly deteriorating manor house found at the edge of a causeway in the North Sea, and inhabited by the Cauldwell Family. The Cauldwell’s dark past could be a bout of particularly bad luck, but Helena and the people on the mainland suspect something a little more sinister. However, the Cauldwell’s are not the only ones keeping secrets.

I think that the premise of this book is really exciting; my problem is unfortunately in the delivery. I enjoyed the creepy gothic murder mystery atmosphere that Askwith creates, and the book as a whole is pretty well-written. Being YA, it makes the perfect easy read. My issue with this book is unfortunately that the points were introduced really well, but left underdeveloped. The book centres around finding a murder; if you pay attention to who the culprit could have been (by this I mean who would have potentially been present at the time, nothing to do with their capability) then by about half-way you can narrow it down to two suspects, and by two thirds of the way through it was quite obvious to me. The book also hints to discovering the truth about Helena’s father and there is a big ‘reveal’ in the penultimate chapter. However, if you pay attention in the first paragraph of the book it is obvious who her father is. The deaths in the book (pivotal to any murder-mystery) are largely unexplored, the characters are only surface level, and ‘magic’ is often used to explain away plot holes. As it is YA, the theme of romance was not much developed, but I also think that the book would have been better overall if Askwith didn’t try and crowbar in some weird tension between Helena and Jasper (and sometimes Molly). It wasn’t needed, and nothing came of it anyway.

I enjoyed the reading experience of the book as I continually hoped that the author might surprise me and that perhaps my theories about the ending were intentionally misleading. Unfortunately, I had guessed correctly.

I think any issues here are down to me being firmly outside the YA category. The writing was plain and engaging and the main character was interesting. However this was heavy on romance and low in actual mystery for a locked room mystery. The twists were pretty apparent from the start. Also, this falls into the history-lite trap whereby certain social conventions are ignored and others are overplayed. If you don't have any knowledge of these things, then this is probably a lot more enjoyable but it really knocked me out of the story. The class system is/ was not as simple as some people have money and others are in a debtor's prison or starving on the street. There is no reason why a children's book can't do a better job of depicting this - many already do. So on the one hand, entertaining and undemanding, on the other, for me at least, a little annoying.

I have to admit that I was disappointed that it finished on a cliff hanger of sorts, leaving one wondering what is going to happen. This is particularly frustrating when the first book isn’t published yet and one has to wait for the second to continue to story. However, once I get past that disappointment, I did enjoy the book and was reading it far beyond a sensible sleep hour. Also, once the other books start publishing, this will be less of a problem.

Even though Helena is eighteen, I would put it at the lower scale of Young Adult. Not to say that older YAs won’t enjoy it, I just feel that the plot and style is aimed at a slightly lower age or at least a lower reading ability level. I think it has enough clues to guess what is coming to a certain extent without being too predictable. Actually it would work well as a class text for a mixed reading ability group.

The plot is that Helena and her mother are desperately poor. Helena escapes the prospect of debtors jail where her mother is sent to languish by getting herself hired as a governess by the wealthy, elusive and very mysterious Cauldwell family, to whom Helena is inexplicably drawn too and who are seemingly somehow involved in the death of Helena’s father. The eccentricity of the family certainly lives up to their reputation. The house has a strange energy that Helena can feel but not explain and the inventions there are fantastical. Mr Cauldwell senior maintains a tight control over the family, something that does not sit well with his older son who also feels second best compared to his brother whose sudden death some years earlier brought a cloud of sadness over the place. As Helena gets to grips with her extremely rebellious charge and sets about her own clandestine investigations into her own father’s death, key members of the family are turning up dead. The house is at the end of a causeway and with the path to the mainland resolutely closed by a tumultuous storm, suspicions run wild and paranoia reign. What secrets does this household and who is determined to rule at all costs?

Fascinating and with a look at patriarchal mindsets and the notion that women are limited, this novel is full of twists and turns, some fairly predictable, others less so.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

So this was a mystery which had been compared the inheritance games, which I loved so game it a go.
It was similar in places but I did feel that the comparison was overly advertised for this.

The plot was good, the little romance was rushed didn’t feel organic.
The magic system also had a bucket of holes and left me with questions.

I did find this book a little predictable for a mystery but that could be due to it is aimed at a younger audience. I don’t know

It was ok, I would read a sequel just for answers Ron the magic system more than anything.

Solid 3 ⭐️

*Many thanks to H.F. Askwith, Penguin Random House UK, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
An enjoyable YA thriller with some elements of other genres, solidly based on the idea of a remote place that has its secrets together with its inhabitants. That was a quick read and although I did not warm up to any characters in particular, they are well-structured and never bored me. Highly recommended as a weekend read!

A Cruel Twist of Fate is another gripping book by H F Askwith, who seems to have the uncanny ability to pull you in to a story gradually before dragging you full pelt to a breath-taking conclusion. The book has a gothic vibe - the windswept island cut off from the mainland; the whispering wind; the stately hierarchy and warring family and the (almost) orphan cut off from her past desperate to find the missing pieces to her life story.

The central character of Helena is equal parts feisty and timid, with her bravery ebbing and flowing like the storms around the island. A sense of foreboding is scintillatingly sprinkled throughout the prose as you follow Helena on her voyage of discovery, twisting and turning through the corridors of Archfall Manor meeting dead ends and never quite knowing who to trust.

An atmospheric mystery to be savoured or devoured in one sititng.

After really enjoying A Dark Inheritance, I was excited to check this book out, and it did not disappoint. It's an atmospheric read that ticks all the gothic mystery boxes - moody setting, sufficiently creepy family keeping secrets, and being cut off from society in the presence of a murderer. The description of 'And Then There Were None meets The Inheritance Games' is very apt - I could definitely pick up familiar (and favourite) elements from both, but done in the author's own unique way which keeps you gripped. I enjoyed the presence of a supernatural element too, and even though some of the twists were predictable, it was a thoroughly fun read!

This was an enjoyable YA thriller. I loved the premise for the book; a gothic, spooky, murder mystery set on an island cut off from the mainland.
The main family was just creepy enough, the setting was exactly what you need from a spooky gothic novel, but the main issue I had was that all the twists and turns were quite predictable and although I do like to guess and feel right, it all felt a bit too obvious with this one.
That said, I read it very quickly and enjoyed the story. I liked the characters of Birdie and Jasper the most and get the feeling there will be another book in the series, which I'd enjoy to read and see what happens to family after the murder mystery has been solved.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in return for an honest review.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

This is a super quick and fast-paced mystery that gets you hooked from the beginning. It had a fun eerie and mystical atmosphere which that writing helped create. Having the big, secluded mansion as the setting added to the gothic vibes too.

There is a supernatural/magical element in this book which was fun and added a unique part to the plot but it’s never fully explained. We never find out what exactly the magical part is, where it came from, what it’s doing in this house or how it even works which left me with a lot of questions and feeling as though the plot lacked depth.

There was a little romance too which was cute but felt a little rushed and surface-level. It is quite a short book and I feel like if it was a little longer, the relationships between the main character and the side characters (including the romance) could have been explored more and the supernatural element would have been given more depth

Really enjoyed this book! Loved the gothic atmosphere and strong female protagonist. My fourteen-year-old daughter is reading it now too.

This was a very promising Gothic novel with all the boxes ticked - our central character Helena trying to get her mother out of debtors prison, an isolated spooky old house and tonnes of atmosphere but for me it sadly lacked that something extra.

An interesting gothic murder mystery with a strong main character!

I enjoyed the simple writing and the fast pacing. The plot twists were interesting, albeit predictable, but I liked the aspects of this book that made it very atmospheric, especially some of the writing and imagery introduced. Helena's character was intriguing, and her slow realisation of the secrets around her were fun to uncover along with her. I did really love the ending, and the author's writing pulled me into the story with a pace that kept the mystery element one of the strongest points of this book!

Overall, enjoyable and quick. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for my arc of this book.

The writing style of this is different to A Dark Inheritance. The overall tone of voice of Helena absolutely feels Victorian - some of the sentences have an almost archaic aspect to them. This took a few chapters for me to get used to, but I admit I did like it as it made the book feel more like it was set in it's respective time period.

From the opening fee chapters, the main character has flaws (borrowing money from her and her mam's shop pot so she can have lessons to improve herself) and lying to get the governess position which didn't really seem to have any repercussions. The romance between two characters did feel out of place compared to the rest of the story.

The pacing of the book felt slightly off. It took to around 40% of the book for the murders to start happening and then it felt rushed to try to fit more murders and the resolution in the remaining 60% of the book. Despite this, this is definitely a book you could read in one sitting

I was able to guess the plot twists but that doesn't take away from the fact that I did enjoy the book.

The gothic aspects of a large manor house and secrets are done well, with a lot of time spent on the house. There was a very loose, soft magic aspect to the plot of the books which I would have loved to see explored more.

The ending of the book was quite an open ending and I am looking forward to see what H.F Askwith writes next and I hope whatever Askwith writes next has as pretty of a cover as this and A Dark Inheritance as they are some of my favourite covers.