I loved The Poison Tree when I read it many years ago on release and was so excited by a sequel. I didn’t re read The Poison Tree and although I’d highly recommend it The House of Mirrors can definitely be read as a stand-alone.
Back in 1997 Karen was friends with the wealthy and bohemian Biba and after a tragedy, Biba’s brother Rex ended up in prison and Biba disappeared, presumed dead.
In the present day Karen is married to Rex who is now out of prison and they have a daughter Alice who has just opened a vintage dress shop in London. Alice is intrigued by what happened in the past and when she receives anonymous letters and phone calls the past begins to catch up with the whole family.
Wow, this is Erin Kelly at her absolute best and her most gripping novel since the Poison Tree. When I read the Poison Tree I felt there were echoes of the late Ruth Rendell/ Barbara Vine, my all time favourite writer and I felt that again with The House of Mirrors. It’s told from the points of view of Karen, Alice and Biba and it’s so cleverly constructed that I found it mesmerising. It’s a multi layered plot that completely drew me in and I had no idea where it was leading. The images of Alice’s shop and her vintage clothing really adds to the atmospheric, slightly Gothic feel and helps to build a sense of unease.
This is a stunning novel that I’d highly recommend, one of my favourites of the year so far.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Another gripping thriller from the brilliant Erin Kelly, full of intrigue, shocks and revelations. It is difficult to describe the plot without giving away the twists; suffice it to say that the writing is excellent, the characters fascinating and the denouement very surprising. It was almost impossible to put down this tremendous read.

Erin Kelly’s best book yet!
There are so many layers to this book, each with its own plot twist this in truly unputadownable!
What begins with a double murder, this story follows the lives of Karen, Rex and their daughter Alice years after his release from prison.
Alice has always known what her dad did, killed a man in self defence and the other in a tragic accident and she also knows that it needs to stay a secret in their new lives if they want to live normal, happy, quite lives.
But with everything in life, there are always questions.
After ‘The Night of’ her father’s sister Biba goes missing, presumed and later closed as a suicide but Alice has begun to wonder. Did her dad take the blame to protect his sister?
As much as she promised not too she begins her own investigation into the past, but when she starts getting random notes and mysterious phone calls has she opened up a can of worms, a can that’s lid can never be fully closed?
This book is extremely twisty, with layers upon layers, where is seems as though everyone is carrying their own secrets?
What really happened on ‘The Night Of’?
Who’s keeping secrets and does Alice really want to know the truth.
I can see this book easily becoming a bestseller. If you have read some of her previous books you will know you are in for a great read but if you are new to her work then this is a brilliant book to get you started!

I loved The Poison Tree, so I was so excited to read a sequel with the same characters. I read The Poison Tree over ten years ago, but luckily, it didn't matter that I couldn't remember it in much detail as this can be read as a stand-alone.
The story starts after Rex has been released from prison for murdering two people in 1997. He is living with Karen and his daughter, Alice. Alice has just started a vintage clothes shop, but she starts receiving mysterious notes. Alice starts to delve into her past. What really happened on the fateful night in the summer of 1997? Is Biba still alive and why is Karen so intent on preventing her daughter from finding out about the past?
Erin Kelly always writes such brilliant characters who come to life through the alternating chapters. The story is narrated by Karen, Alice, and Biba and jumps between past and present. I loved the building tension as family secrets come to light, and the suspense builds around them.
Erin Kelly's books are so hard to predict and are such great psychological thrillers. If you enjoy slow burn, character driven stories with plenty of unpredictable twists I would highly recommend this book. I loved it!

All about old clothes and the secrets they hide.
It’s the sequel to the author’s debut novel ‘The Poison Tree’ but can be read as a stand alone novel.
It’s time to see what the future holds for Rex, Karen & Alice.
In the summer of 1997, straight A student, Karen met bohemian aspiring actress, Biba.
A few months later two people are dead and another has been sent to prison.
Fast forward to 2017, Rex has served his sentence in prison and is now married to Karen and they have a daughter Alice, who runs a vintage clothing shop in London.
But when anonymous notes begin to arrive at Alice’s shop, it seems the past is about to catch up with them.
It draws you in right from the beginning, with twist after twist, it’s so intoxicating.
Alternating points of view from Karen, Alice & Biba covers every angle , from the history to the present situation.
A clever and dark eerie story of family and the secrets they keep, with a gothic vibe.
Thanks @erinjelly @hodderbooks & @netgalley for the intoxicating read

The House of Mirrors is the sequel to The Poison Tree and picks up over 2 decades later. I actually read these two books back to back as I somehow had missed reading the first one, I am gutted I didn’t read it sooner, although reading it now meant I didn’t have to wait for the follow up. I love Erin’s book, they are always well plotted and the characterisation is amazing. The House of Mirrors follows Alice’s story who was born towards the end of the first book but the other characters from The Poison Tree do also feature which I loved. There is a theme around vintage fashion carried through both books with Alice and Biba which I also really enjoyed and was a nod to their genetic links.
23 year old Alice, has started to look into her family history to discover the full story from The Night Of. The night her dad Rex, murdered two men meaning he then spent the first 9 years of her life in prison. As she digs further she starts to suspect that her Dad was actually covering for someone. She starts to get mysterious notes and phone calls which she believes are related to her family history and the events 23 years ago.

The story is told through Alice’s POV as well as her mum Karen’s (who also narrated the majority of the poison tree) and both of these narratives weave together perfectly. There is also the voice of Biba recounting events from the past.

Love the story, love the characters, I could definitely read more with them but hopefully not in decades!

Love an Erin Kelly book so jumped at the chance to read this one!

Alice loves owning her vintage clothes shop and we meet her as her parent Karen and Rex are dropping her off. But when she starts to receive dropped phone calls, strange notes under the door and even a very odd woman visiting the shop, she starts to ask some dangerous questions that have her mum Karen hoping she doesn't uncove too much of the past she has tried very hard to keep hidden.

Apart from getting the twitchy-eye when I realised this was a sequel (for no other reason than I am one of those annoying people who likes to read things in order! I think this works well as a standalone) I really enjoyed this family mystery. Lots of twists and turns, right to the very end, and some realistic characters made for a great read!

This is my first book by Erin Kelly, which is quite a good book.

The story is so gripping from the very start. It’s great to lose yourself in, the writing it’s very good, as it pulls you in.

Overall, it’s an intriguing story, about passion and obsession and while some people may want to find the truth, others want to run from their past.

Arc generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I love Erin Kelly’s writing and The House of Mirrors is among the best. You don’t at all have to have read The Poison Tree but if you have, you’ll both recognise the characters and find the odd Easter egg here and there.

Set amid a blazing hot summer in 2017, Alice, the daughter of Karen and Rex Clarke, is in her early twenties and is opening a vintage dress shop in Islington. Everything is Instagram ready and Alice has a stylist’s eye for what makes a great picture. Retail is a risky endeavour, so she has to make sure that everything is just right and of the period while brimming with contemporary relevance.

Rex and Karen have helped her – rather more than they let each other know- and they have high hopes for the shop’s success. Karen worries about Alice’s current partner, Gabe, whom she regards as a bit too controlling. But Karen is a bit too obsessive about everything concerning her family. She has had to protect them from the events of their past before and she is hyper vigilant to any threats, even now. She worries that Alice’s activities on social media will draw attention to the whole family. She may not be wrong….

The House of Mirrors is told mostly from the perspectives of Karen and Alice. While Alice is opening her shop, a stranger comes in and Alice feels a strange sense of recognition, though she can’t quite put her finger on it.

Probably because of her family history, Alice is a huge fan of true crime podcasts. She is curious about her family history and when she begins to receive anonymous notes, she has to follow her instincts to find out more.

Erin Kelly’s writing is immersive and her characters compelling. This is a story about family secrets. It is pacy and surprising, and everyone in this story is guarding their secrets – even environmental campaigner Gabe.

When those secrets start to come out, they are both shocking and horrifying. Lives that have been built on lies are laid open to exposure and some will never be the same again.

Verdict: Erin Kelly’s writing is lush. Rich, immersive and all consuming, this is a book I inhaled. Toxic family secrets, a genuinely intriguing plot and nerve-shredding suspense meant I could not stop reading. This is fine writing wrapped around a brilliant plot and I loved it.

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

its a slow burner of a book and one with mystery and a bit of a psychological thriller that will keep you reading till the end

3.5 stars
The story follows the lives of Karen, Rex and their daughter Alice years after his release from prison for murder.
Alice has always known what her Dad did and knows that it needs to stay a secret in their new lives. However, she's intrigued by the night in question and starts doing some digging.
Alice is particularly interested in her father’s sister Biba, who has been missing ever since it happened and is presumed dead.
Alice wants to know if her dad took the blame to protect his sister but when she starts getting random notes and mysterious phone calls, she starts to become more wary.
This is a bit of a slow burner, but overall, a good read.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Wow! Wasn't this one all interconnected and convoluted and intriguing all the way through?
We start in the present when Alice, daughter of Karen and Rex, is just about to open her vintage clothing shop. On the face of things, they are a nice normal suburban family, but there is a dark past that is never spoken of. Back in 1997, when Karen was a student, she shared a house with a bunch of people, including Rex and Biba. A few months after moving in, it all fell apart with the deaths of two people, Biba disappearing, and Rex going to jail for his part in what happened. Told you it was convoluted... But "The Night Of" which it is now known as, is never to be spoken of.
But like all good secrets, this one is about to come out, leaving all our characters shell shocked and exposed, and maybe a little horrified at the truth. As with all secrets, as they get exposed, things all get worse for everyone involved. A lifetime of secrets and lies, some major obfuscation, until everything is all laid bare and the characters have to regroup to work out how to go from there...
As you can imagine, this book is a bit of a slow burn initially. It has to be as there is quite a lot going on and it's all a bit intricate. The layers of the foundation have to be built up in order for the author to subsequently smash them all down. Which she does, and does with great skill!
Apparently, as I have just discovered from other reviews, the characters and what went before have already been introduced in The Poison Tree. I have not read this book and I honestly don't think you need to for this to make complete sense. In fact, it might have been better not to have read it as it might have dampened some of the shocks to be found herein. That said, I now want to, and luck would have it, have just got my hands on the Audiobook.
The characters were all well drawn, some being larger than life! They were hard to get to grips with initially as I got a bit confused with all the secrets and lies and started to get ahead of myself with my guessing. Once I let all that go and just continued to read the book, it all got a whole lot easier for me. I do admit to changing "allegiance" several times along the way though! I also did guess a couple bits early but really wasn't ready for all that was eventually exposed... shocking! But also wholly satisfying. Apart from a few things which I am hoping will be sated when I play catch up with The Poison Tree.
All in all, a cracking book that I thoroughly recommend for fans of the genre. This author is now firmly cemented on my watch list and I can't wait to see what she serves up for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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

I love Erin Kelly’s books and this was no exception. Great, believable characters and lots of twists and turns.

I did not realize that this was a follow-up to The Poison Tree when I started reading this book. Even though I have read The Poison Tree I think you can easily read it as a standalone book. I found it enjoyable and easy to follow without remembering anything about it.
I wouldn't say it's a thriller though, more of a family mystery. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Luckily, reviews alerted me that this was a sequel to, ‘The Poison Tree,’ so I could go back and read that first. Alice, just a baby in the first book, is now in her twenties, running a vintage clothing store and has a new boyfriend, Gabe. I do not want to give spoilers, but Alice’s parents, Karen and Rex, have a number of secrets that Alice is unaware of. However, she has certainly reached the age where she is questioning events. Rex’s beloved sister, Biba, is missing, assumed dead. Rex spent many years in prison for a crime which occurred in the first novel and Karen does all she can to keep her little family together.

However, Alice’s growing age and independence means that she is asking dangerous questions, which will see Karen’s ability to control the narrative lessen. More intriguingly, Alice’s obsession with a true crime podcast could see even a third novel featuring these characters. This is difficult to review without giving anything away, so I will just say that I enjoyed it greatly. It is not, for me, as good as, ‘The Skeleton Key,’ but thought it worked well. I would suggest you read, ‘The Poison Tree,’ first though, if you are intending to try this. It does work better in my opinion, if you know the backstory.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

In 1997 strait laced Karen met bohemian Biba. A few months later, two people were dead and another sent to prison. Years later, Karen is now married to Rex (now out of prison) and their daughter Alice begins to receive anonymous notes about her family’s past…

We don’t always find authors that are for us. This is my second of Erin Kelly’s books and here’s the thing: the synopsis & story of her books draw me in but I’m not sure her writing style is for me. While I wanted to see how both stories ended, I just didn’t engage with the narration. I can really see the appeal with her plots and I enjoyed this more than The Skeleton Key but have decided I’m just not sure Kelly is the author for me.

A sequel to the Poison Tree which I did not realise til the end. This is not a thriller more a twisted drama. Multiple dislikeable characters made it a difficult read.

I read this as a standalone and can't wait to go and read the 1st part now!! It was captivating and intriguing. It had me guessing throughout. I loved the multiple povs a d the :unknown: narration just added to the tension. Its so well written and plotted and it all come together perfectly for an amazing ending. It has a good pace throughout and It's just so easy to completely get lost in. Highly recommend

Although this book is a sequel (and I haven't read the first instalment), it is written in such a way that everything comes together and makes sense. Told from multiple perspectives, it gets your cogs turning about the various characters and has many thrilling and suspenseful moments. I haven't read many of Kelly's pervious works, but will definitely rectify that now.

Erin Kelly does it again! An auto-buy/request author for me, and an absolute thriller powerhouse if I may. I couldn’t believe it when I realised I hadn’t read The Poison Tree, but wanted to when I realised this was a bit of a sequel (although it can be read as a standalone although much more enjoyable if you’ve recently read The Poison Tree in my view!). Well what a treat for me getting to read that, followed by The House of Mirrors.

This one picks up when Alice is all grown up, owning a vintage clothes shop in London, supported by her adoring parents, Karen and Rex. Alice starts to receive strange notes, calls, and visits to the shop, and instantly thinks what they all (well nearly all) think when anything kooky is going on - BIBA.

Genuinely, I did not see a lot of the twists coming and oh they kept on coming! I couldn’t put it down, gasped out loud a few times, and the very last part of the book OMG!

An easy five stars from me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.