This dark gothic family tale of secrets is a sequel to 'The Poison Tree', set 20 years later. But the events of the past start to unravel in the present. A roundly satisfying read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc

Erin Kelly does it again, I really enjoyed this one the pacing was great!

This exciting thriller was the sequel I never knew I needed! “The House of Mirrors” reconnects us with the characters we met in “The Poison Tree”, with Alice now grown and with Rex and Karen supporting her in her venture of opening a vintage dress shop.

The family are doing well, with Rex and Karen having put the events of twenty years earlier behind them. However, Karen grows increasingly uneasy with the behaviour of Alice’s boyfriend, and additional pressure builds when she learns that someone is trying to get in contact with Alice…

This is an intriguing, clever, and well-paced thriller, which again kept me guessing as the plot twisted and turned to a very satisfying conclusion. To say more could be to give spoilers, so I will just say that I would highly recommend this to any fans of the prior work.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Alice Clarke is an impetuous, volatile young woman. She begins receiving mysterious visits, calls and notes from a stranger she calls The Woman. Could this be her missing-presumed-dead aunt or someone else who can unlock the mystery of her family?

Apparently this is a sequel although I didn’t figure out that it was until I read the author’s acknowledgement section at the end. Even then it took me while to figure out that it’s a follow-up to the author’s debut novel The Poison Tree, following up on the characters who survive that. The good news is that if, like me, you haven’t read that one it won’t impact on your ability to read this one.

What I don’t know is whether having read The Poison Tree will spoil this one.

For me this is a five star read despite the fact that the main character Alice is pretty unlikeable. She’s selfish, has no self-control and is difficult to root for. Her mother Karen, who part of the story is told through the eyes of, is suspicious of anyone in her daughter’s life and far too controlling/interfering to be likeable either. So it’s the reveal of the mystery of Alice’s life and the truth about what happened in the summer of 1997 that made me so invested in this. And having read the blurb for The Poison Tree I’ve got a feeling anyone who’s read that book will already know the answers.

But, when looked at as a standalone I can definitely recommend it.

It took me a minute to get into this one but once I did I was definitely hooked! Lots of mysteries to uncover and some good twists and turns, I really loved the little twist at the very end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a follow on book from another called The Poison Tree and I’m not going to spend time telling what happens in the book. I am going to tell you that it is well written and if you were around in the late 90s you know that this book has the feel of that era. Was quite atmospheric in places and loved the vintage element. Loved it.

One of them has killed before. One of them will kill again
In the sweltering summer of 1997, straight-laced, straight-A student Karen met Biba - a bohemian and impossibly glamorous aspiring actress. A few months later, two people were dead and another had been sent to prison. Having stood by Rex as he served his sentence, Karen is now married to him with a daughter, Alice, who runs a vintage clothing company in London. They're a normal family, as long as they don't talk about the past, never mention the name Biba, and ignore Alice's flashes of dark, dangerous fury. Karen has kept what really happened that summer of '97 hidden deep inside her. Alice is keeping secrets of her own. But when anonymous notes begin to arrive at Alice's shop, it seems the past is about to catch up with them all ...
This was a good story and I enjoyed reading it overall but I did find it dragged in places I had high hopes after loving The skeleton key but this didn't quite live up to that for me. I think maybe because I haven't read The poison tree maybe lost of my enjoyment here. With this one I will be picking up The Poison Tree to give that a go. This is definitely a slow burn but still an ok read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Erin Kelly for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Erin Kelly's writing is always absorbing and authentic with a touch of gothic flair, and this latest release does not disappoint. I didn't realise when I picked it up that it's a sequel to her hit 2010 debut, The Poison Tree, which I have read, but - I have to confess - I don't really remember. But, I can safely say, that doesn't detract from enjoying this novel. There's a lot of backstory woven into The House of Mirrors along the way, so it works whether you've read its predecessor or not - plus it will help trigger some memories of the original if your memory is as poor as mine.

At the heart of this story is a close-knit family; Rex, Karen and their daughter, Alice. Alice has just launched a quirky vintage clothes shop in London, and her parents are fully supportive of their only daughter's dreams. But, the happy family isn't as perfect as they first seem. Nestled among the vintage clothes, there's a whole lot of skeletons lurking in the closet.

Karen and Alice take turns in the narration of this story, and the contrast between mother and daughter works well - both giving the reader different perspectives, and revealing how much this family are truly keeping from each-other. Alice is happily in love, about to commit to her new partner Gabe, while protective Karen doesn't trust her daughter's new man and definitely doesn't want the two of them delving too much into their shared family history.

This author just has a way of writing which I love, although personally this wasn't one of my favourites from her. It's still got all her trademarks, her loyal fans will love the connections to the previous novel, and it's an excellent mix of domestic drama and psychological thriller.

Alice is the new owner of one of those trendy clothes shops – the ones that are as far removed from vintage as vintage is from second-hand. She's almost bemused that her boyfriend has seen the insides of police cells, as he's one of those eco-nutjobs who can glue themselves to roads with much more ease than we can ever hope to stick something useful to something else useful. But then crime has been in her background for some time, and her parents and this narrative alike are concerned with what she knows and what she doesn't know about the deaths connected to her dad. Yes, things have been said, but yes, a whole host of things have been hidden.

This is a bit of a slow burner of a crime read, and the details of the couture certainly have precedence too much early on. But slowly we can gather some of the consequences of the truth getting out, slowly we see mysterious strangers who might or not know something our leads don't, and quite quickly we see the whole case has turned Alice's mother, Karen, into a different kind of person. Much like people suspect men overly-protect the women here, so Karen is intent on keeping tabs on anything iffy about Alice's partner.

And there's the biggest issue with this book – well, equally-sized with the fact you could shrink it by any percentage you care to mention and it would still survive. Any character of any size – and boy some of the men are inconsequential – are less than likeable, burdened by some dodgy part of their psyche or ethos they've named and capitalised. I'm sure our empathy is supposed to be with Alice, but she's so fabric-focused, so material-minded, that you'd be hard-pushed to find a bloke like me having much engagement with her. Add the very soapiness of it all to things, and you seem to have a thriller for women only. Which is alright if that's what you want, but I've found this author deserving of top notch marks before, and this is where you begin to regret such things. I mean it's not as illogical as pushing away half your audience, but...

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t actually realised this was a sequel to the poison tree but luckily I’d already read it and cottoned on when the character of Biba was mentioned.

This was a fantastic book, it’s hard to say much without giving too much away but it follows the daughter of the two protagonists from book one and it is a thrilling, unputdownable story from beginning to end, albeit with some implausible bits. But what a chilling ending!!

"The House of Mirrors" by Erin Kelly is quite an experience. This is a complex, family drama that slowly unravels the secrets and lies that have been hidden for years. The story is expertly woven, with multiple threads that eventually come together to reveal a shocking truth.
The Clarke family has been living in the shadows of a dark event from their past, and the tension is palpable. Rex, the father, was convicted of double murder when he was young, and his sister Biba has never been seen or heard from again. The family's secrets are slowly revealed through the alternating perspectives of Karen and Alice, their daughter.
Alice's story is particularly compelling, as she navigates her relationship issues and tries to uncover the truth about her family's past. Her vintage clothing shop, Dead Girls Dresses, symbolises her identity and sense of self, as well as a portal to her family's secrets.
The writing is superb, with vivid descriptions of characters, settings, and clothing that transported me to the world of the story. The author's use of mirrors and reflections adds depth and symbolism to the narrative.
The characters are richly drawn, with flaws and motivations that make them feel real. I particularly liked Karen's concerns about Gabe's controlling behaviour towards Alice, and her struggles to keep her family's secrets hidden.
As the story unfolds, the tension builds, and the stakes become higher. I was on the edge of my seat as the truth began to reveal itself, and the final pages were a shock. The lengths that people will go to protect their loved ones are truly astonishing.
Overall, I highly recommend "The House of Mirrors" to anyone who enjoys complex family dramas with a touch of mystery. Erin Kelly's writing is masterful, and this book will keep you guessing until the end.

Erin Kelly’s latest novel is a return to characters who started life in The Poison Tree. Rex and Karen are a bohemian couple, who like a quiet life and love their daughter Alice who has flown the nest to live in London with her boyfriend Gabe. Karen is still living with the secret of what she did years ago, constantly worrying that Rex or Alice will discover the truth. Rex came from the wealthy Capel family, but the couple are far from comfortable. Rex is estranged from his wealthy father Roger Capel who has new and much younger wife and family. There’s a reason the couple keep a low profile, as a young man Rex was convicted of double murder. What happened on ‘The Night Of’ has overshadowed them all. Rex and his sister Biba were alone at the family home, when Biba’s boyfriend turned up and an argument ensued. The disturbance alerted the neighbours and one came round to see if everything was okay. Within minutes both Biba’s boyfriend and the neighbour are dead. There are so many questions about what happened that night. What was the argument about? Where did the gun come from? Were Rex and his sister the only ones there that night? Rex took the blame for the murders and served his time, with Karen staying faithfully by his side throughout. Did Rex really commit the crime? However, the mystery that has haunted the family for years is what happened to Biba? After that night she has never been seen again.

Rex and Karen’s daughter Alice is starting a vintage dress shop called Dead Girls Dresses. Strange things have happened since the opening though. Alice has had dropped phone calls at the shop and an oddly dressed woman with her face covered visited the shop. Could it be her Aunt Biba? Then Alice’s grandfather Roger Capel dies and leaves his granddaughter all of the womens clothes from the family home and it’s a treasure trove! Trawling through these pieces and trying them on brings Alice even closer to Biba. I thoroughly enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland details in the book, from the mirrors and chequered floors of the ‘the night of..’ to an Alice themed event at the dress shop. There is a sense, as the story goes on, that we are falling further and further down a rabbit hole. I’m a sucker for fashion and vintage so Alice’s shop was a glorious pick ‘n’ mix of beautiful pieces. This was a shop I would visit and the aesthetic sounded like my study - taxidermy, a white rabbit, antique inkwells, Venetian masks and a candlestick that’s in the shape of a monkey wearing a dress are just some of my weird objects! I thought the general shabbiness of Alice’s apartment was very believable. It’s in a large house where the ground floor is uninhabitable, so they have to squeeze upstairs having no money for repairs. I thought that the author captured Alice’s naivety very well and I could easily believe she would end up in a relationship with Gabe who’s a militant climate change activist. I felt like his activism and relationship with best friend Stef came first in his life, despite professing to be madly in love with Alice. I knew I didn’t like him the minute they chose to have a civil partnership. This is probably a personal prejudice, but why not just have a civil marriage ceremony? It struck me that for Gabe that it was more about making a point and being different for the sake of it. I felt Alice would happily have chosen to get married without his influence. I know that once you start siding with parents in novels and films you’ve reached ‘old’, but I had the same misgivings as Karen. I thought Gabe was gaslighting Alice and making her doubt herself, I just didn’t know why. I kept wishing that Alice would have the strength to recognise and resist him.

Erin Kelly is an author I’ve read since her very first novel and she has a way of writing something utterly compelling and full of tension, but full of unusual details. There’s the quirky references to Lewis Carroll’s Alice and funny details like trying to unmask the dog constantly using the opposite shop’s doorstep as a toilet. There were also those ideas about twinning, doppelgängers and mirrors that added an uncanny element to the story. Using Alice and Karen to narrate the story in alternate chapters means we can see the relationship between mother and daughter. Karen’s fears for Alice with regards to Gabe and his coercive control really amplified the tension. We see Alice’s frustration with her mum, but also her concern for her father who she believes was innocent of murder. She knows that Rex is loyal to those he loves and she starts to suspect he may have been covering for someone else. I also sensed that there was so much more to the double murder then either Rex or Karen were admitting to, especially to Alice. Possibly something to do with aunt Biba? As Biba started to overshadow Alice’s thinking and the strange calls continued I was on tenterhooks waiting for the truth to be revealed. It’s a massive shock when someone from the past does turn up, but it’s not anyone the family expected. For Karen and Rex this newcomer is an eerie reminder of his sister. They also upset the dynamic of Alice’s relationship and Gabe feels very put out when his attempts to control their role in the group fails and it looks like Alice might become influenced by someone else. I would have thought that Gabe being pushed out would be exactly what Karen wanted but strangely she seems concerned too. I kept remembering that someone in this family is a murderer and they could strike again. I also wondered what those involved might be driven to, in order to keep their secrets. As the final pages came I was still shocked by what actually happened! It’s amazing the lengths people might go to for someone they love.

Erin Kelly does know how to write a really good story and this one is up there with her best!

The House of Mirrors is set in Surrey and London where Alice opens a vintage dress shop, ably supported by her parents Rex and Karen, and her new boyfriend. Secrets are squirreled away under the surface going way back to the summer of 1997 when Karen first met Rex's sister Biba and the disasters that caused.

There is little I can say about the plot, except that in true Erin Kelly fashion she is many steps ahead of her readers, with sub-plots, intrigue and sheer brilliance bouncing off every page making for an exquisite tale. The characters are bright and shiny, yet absolutely realistic in all ways.

This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far.

I didn't realise this is the second book in the series, however it didn't matter as the story was well written and works as a stand alone novel. Lots of secrets, hidden stories and mysteries.

I requested this title on NetGalley and was particularly excited to read it, as I read The Poison Tree a few years ago and loved it. This is a sort of sequel to The Poison Tree, which sees the return of Karen, Rex and Alice.

Once again, I was drawn into the atmosphere of this book, which was dark and intoxicating. Some authors bring their stories to life in a way that awakens a kind of yearning inside of me, and it's as though part of me feels nostalgic for a life with those characters. Erin Kelly does this. I feel that something about the atmosphere in her writing resembles Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, who is another favourite author of mine.

For me, The Poison Tree is as re-readable as a classic, and I think this will also earn its place on my favourites shelf. Reading this felt a little like being reunited with some old friends after a long time apart. I thought about how it would feel to be walking in the shoes of these characters. I felt as though they were running away from themselves, and I was running with them. I'm not sure if this is a book that most would read in one sitting, but I couldn't settle until I'd finished it. I remember that The Poison Tree had me hooked in the same way, so if you loved The Poison Tree, I think you will also love this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

The book largely follows Alice (as well as others), who has just opened a new vintage clothes shop, supported by her parents Rex and Karen and partner Gabe. Rex’s sister is missing presumed dead whilst he is trying to live his life as a convicted murderer.
As Alice starts receiving anonymous notes and phone calls, the past begins to draw her back in as she starts to question what actually happened in 1997.

What follows, I don’t think many people will predict. The twists and revelations from closely guarded secrets are epic, the plot is intriguing, cleverly constructed and well executed.

I read this not realising it was in fact a sequel, despite that it does also work well as a standalone and you can easily read this without any prior knowledge of the characters.

4 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Mirrors is up to Erin Kelly's usual high standards. Secrets, lies, a setting you can get absorbed into, and complicated relationships.
I loved the way the plot revolved around a vintage clothes shop and the characters of Alice and Gabe were done so well.
Although I sort-of guessed the twists it was still a satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

How excited was I to realise that this was a sequel to The Poison Tree that I read about 11 years ago. We return to the world of Karen and Rex, and their now grown daughter, Alice who is opening a second hand dress shop. Rex’s prison sentence and the disappearance of Biba all those years ago, still overshadows their lives, and as the book progresses, the mystery deepens. There are some great twists and discoveries that I wasn’t expecting, and I read it in almost one sitting. You could certainly read it as a standalone as my memory after 11 years isn’t the clearest. A fabulous psychological thriller that I would thoroughly recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

I love Erin Kelly! I fell in love with her the moment I read 'The Poison Tree' - and I have followed her career since then. When I realised that this book was a 'sequel' (loosely) to the Poison Tree I jumped at the chance to read an early review copy.
I loved the premise, and was super excited to see where the characters were now. However, I think I hyped it up a little too much as I was left a little deflated and felt a bit let down by this book.
There were questions that still felt unanswered, even though they WERE answered - I wish more things were addressed, and more things were developed. The pacing was incredibly slow - not something I would usually say for an Erin Kelly book, but this one was definitely a slow burn!
i enjoyed the reading experience, but just was left wanting more.

Still wishing this book was what I had imagined it would be.... rather than what it actually was!

Erin Kelly has a masterful way of truly making you feel like her characters are real people. It really makes you root for them. The House of Mirrors is no different. I really related to Karen and how she looks out for her family, especially her daughter. But when people end up dead, everyone is a suspect. What I loved about this book was how the author managed to hone in on the anxiety of always thinking the worst and making biased assumptions that lead to bad decision making. Fantastic.