Two Storm Wood by the same author was one of my favourite novels of the past few years, so I was very keen to read his new tale. It does not disappoint.

It's Flanders in the 1950s and there is a police hunt for a master forger, who for years has escaped detection and arrest. A young woman, disabled with polio, finds herself heir to the forger's equipment and takes up his mantle. Little does she know that there is a detective committed to the point of obsession in unmasking the elusive forger.

The tale is an ingenious page turner, owing much to the period novels of Simenon, one of which is closely referenced in the text. If you like the darker stories of Simenon you will enjoy this. However, the Maigret type detective, for all his cleverness, does not conform to expectation. It's a terrific story with a twisting and clever plot. I particularly enjoyed the ending, which again defies expectation.

If you enjoy classic mystery thrillers with a touch of espionage, The House with Nine Locks by Philip Gray (often attributed to John Dickson Carr under the pseudonym Carter Dickson) might be worth a read. It’s a locked-room mystery filled with secret passages, hidden treasures, and a steadily building sense of intrigue. However, if you prefer modern pacing and deep character development, this Golden Age-style mystery might feel a bit dated.

I adored this book. It is beautifully paced, the story is intricately woven throughout every page and the characters are unforgettable. The entire book is a delight to read, and one that I will remember for a long time to come.

The story is told from the viewpoint of two different characters: Adelais de Wolf is a young girl at the start of the book, living with her parents in Flanders. Her mother is increasingly becoming more and more devout within her religion, and her father is turning to alcohol. The shining light in life is her Uncle and growing friendships with Sebastian and Saskia. At home, there are things that her parents are keeping from her. She knows they are protecting her, but she can't help wondering what they are hiding from her.

When her Uncle dies suddenly, she discovers that he has left her something in his will. It is a house in a remote area. Within the house with nine locks is the opportunity to turn her life around. But there is a great big catch.

The second character viewpoint is from Major de Smet, a relentless detective with the Federal Gendarmerie. He is investigating a string of forged bank notes, and will not stop until he has the culprit behind bars. Whatever it takes.

What joins these two stories together? Does Adelais take the opportunities presented to her in the house bequeathed by her Uncle? What links Adelais to the detective?

Do yourself a huge favour and grab a copy of this book. You won't regret it.

Atmospheric and intriguing I enjoyed the book. I would have enjoyed it more without the seemingly endless start setting the scene. I’m sure this could have been done in a more conventional way.

That said , good characters and enough creepiness to keep me reading.

Fair warning, this takes a really long time to get going. It spends quite a lot of time establishing Adelais’ childhood and how she saves a boy’s life and befriends him, so it’s a ways in before she gets the warehouse and then jumps ahead to the hotel. It is worth persevering with the book, as you do see the fruit of the lengthy groundwork, and then it all goes together at the end (if a little hurriedly for me regarding de Smet). But the ending was enough to bump it up from 3 to 4 stars for me 👍🏻

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

This is a brilliantly atmospheric novel with a host of intriguing and believable characters.
I was loving this story and totally engrossed in the first third of the novel and wondering what the significance of the House with Nine Locks was and indeed how it could even fit with the narrative. Then when the protagonist’s uncle died the house was revealed and the story really took off.
I absolutely loved this book and didn’t want it to end.

The House with Nine Locks is an atmospheric mystery that skillfully intertwines multiple storylines, keeping the reader intrigued as the secrets of the house slowly unfold.

I really enjoyed the way the book wove its different threads together—it’s a smartly crafted narrative with plenty of twists. However, the pacing felt uneven. It took about 35-40% of the book just to reach the main plot point described in the blurb, which made the buildup feel a bit too slow. At this point I nearly gave up reading. Then, in contrast, the last 20% felt rushed, with all the intricacies and reveals happening so rapidly that they lost some of their impact. A little more balance would have made the conclusion even more enjoyable

What a great book and not at all what I was expecting from the cover art. Superbly crafted mystery set mainly in post war Flanders in Belgium with fantastic flawed characters who become inveigled in the world of forgery.
Great stuff.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

I was asked by NetGalley to review

Interesting story - and the plot was really clever.

I enjoyed the events and characters post war - great twists and turns

Recommended read

The story is set in post wall Flanders where we initially beat Adelais as a young girl cycling around the city and overcoming her physical disability using a special adapted bicycle bought for her by her glamorous uncle.
She discovers the same uncle has died and left her the keys to the house with the nine locks of the title. Within this house she finds a printing press which has been used to make counterfeit paper money.
She’s not her uncle‘s daughter for nothing and given the opportunity grabs it with both hands making a fortune and quickly requiring ways to launder her illegal fortune.
Add in a policeman who is determined to discover where this counterfeit money is coming from and we have a set up for a old-fashioned cops and robbers mystery story, I think daring dos rather like Dick Barton mixed with an adult Enid Blyton famous five novel and you can see where this one is going
Fast paced and keep your attention throughout there’s enough character development to make you empathise with the young girl and want the best for her but this is primarily a Story lead novel.

The author has a clear flowing prose style. The novel is an enjoyable immersive read. I could see it becoming a television series.

I recommend the novel for the lovers of mystery detective stories with a historical twist.
I write an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book was published on the 21st of January 2025 by random house UK vintage.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon UK.

My daughter in law read this one and became so engrossed she almost forgot to collect her son from our house !
Apparently there are so many twists and turns she was almost dizzy. She highly recommends that everyone (including me ) reads it immediately.

A thoroughly good read, it kept me guessing throughout, told with humour and without sentimentality, we follow our heroine from an inauspicious start in life. Polio has left her with a crutch to bear(quite literally) but with more than her fair share of pluck and hope. She becomes an unlikely hero when she rescues a young man from the river, and they become friends, with the hope on her part of more. Life has other challenges in store, and there is a mystery at the heart of her family, which has become unhappy. There is some tongue in cheek humour to be found in the mother who is suspected at first of conducting an affair. Instead she turns into a religious eccentric. The police are busy tracking down criminals in a counterfeiting crime, and it does not stretch the imagination too much to connect what follows. An absolute joy.

With a cover like this, I had expected a completely different type of book but, though, surprised by the content, I wholly enjoyed it. The House with Nine Locks delivers two engaging storylines in post war Flanders. One centers around Adelais, a spirited young girl who, struggling with her mobility after suffering from polio, tries to make the most out of a less than desirable home life and Major de Smet of the Federal Gendarmerie, a doggedly determined police inspector, investigates a murder of a night watchman. The narration for both run in parallel as Adelais gets older and gains greater freedom, thanks to her beloved uncle Cornelius, and de Smet's investigation grows into something more.

The sense of place and the unhappy home life Adelais endures, with a mother solely focused on religious matters and doing good works and a drunk father feels authentic and bleak. But just as the reader settles in to the status quo, things shift in a new and interesting way. I enjoyed watching Adelais grow in maturity and confidence as her situation changes and the twists I might have seen coming had I been looking for them added to the richness of story. De Smit felts more an enigma being wholly driven by his work but his contribution to the story added volumes.

This felt like A Gentleman in Moscow crossed with a juicy crime caper. I was hooked, never quite knowing what might happen next, which made it all the more delightful. An engrossing read, The House with Nine Locks most certainly deserves lots of attention for being a cracking yarn.

I have just finished reading this book and I must say that it was such a good read! It is set in Belgium, mainly Ghent, 40-50 years ago. I would never have guessed what was behind the door with nine locks but it was a gripping tale that continually surprised. It was a masterfully crafted plot and well written. The flawed characters are believable and shocking too as their perverse motivations become clearer. There is only one truly likeable character by the end for me. Which one is it?

I really enjoyed this historical mystery, it combines both genres brilliantly to create a unique and clever story.

The setting of post war Flanders is splendidly realised, I felt immersed in time and place and can fully appreciate the cover quotes describing the novel as ‘cinematic’. It was the perfect setting for the intelligent and complex mystery which unfolds.

It was refreshing to have two strong female main characters in Adelais and Saskia, I admired their ingenuity and ambition to thrive in a man’s world. Adelais in particular is a character that you can’t help rooting for.

In terms of the mystery element, the game of cat and mouse between Adelais and Major de Smet builds suspense as their paths circle closer together. In addition there is the mystery surrounding Adelais family and the reason for their downfall, which is gradually revealed as the story progresses. If that isn’t enough there are also a couple of other surprises, that I didn’t see coming, which provide the novel with a very satisfactory ending.

I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy this one and it is a must for anyone who enjoys a cleverly constructed mystery.

The House with Nine Locks is a wonderful, immersive and original historical novel with the best cast of characters I've come across in a long time.

From the publisher:
"In post-war Flanders, Adelais de Wolf's family is slowly, inexplicably, falling apart: her mother evermore lost to religious devotion, her father to alcohol. But with the death of a beloved uncle, Adelais finds herself in receipt of an unexpected legacy: a shuttered house in a rundown district and its contents – contents that hold the promise of independence and wealth. All that is required is application, nerve, and a willingness to break the law."

I was drawn to The House with Nine Locks initially because it's set in my home country, Belgium, which is relatively rare for English novels. And I loved 'seeing' the places I know as they would have been in the late 1940s. But the novel is wholly original not just for its setting: the story is unique, the characters distinctive and the plot continually surprising. Not with contrived twists, but due to the characters' individual choices and actions. It's intelligent, insightful and imaginative, with scenes that are vividly brought to life.

There's Adelais, a determined, independent young woman who refuses to let herself be defined by her physical disability (from polio). Her rather ruthless but staunchly loyal friend Saskia. Sebastien, who doesn't fully succeed in emancipating himself from parental expectations. De Smet, the morally dubious police inspector. These and the other characters are portrayed in all their complexity. No cardboard cut-outs here.

I love Philip Gray's writing style. It's a classic, British literary style, deceptively simple. Very easy to read and lose yourself in, in a way that makes you forget how precise and careful the language actually is. The dialogue is very true, each character having a distinctive voice. And surprisingly, Gray also has managed to capture the 'spirit' of Belgium in this novel. Hard to sum up a national spirit in a few words; suffice to say there's a definite feeling of Simenon! A certain Belgianness ('belgitude') pervades the novel.

Indeed it's altogether so original, but with a sense of real people, that I frequently found myself wondering if it were based on a true story (and if the author had strong connections to Belgium).

Very hard to say more without spoilers, but I will say that this is the most gripping and interesting story I've read in a long time and I recommend it 100%.

Loved this book.

Looking at the cover I was expecting something more of a mystery/whodunnit but I was completely wrong.

Adelais de Wolf is a young girl who has a weak leg that means she cannot do all the things other children do. Her parents try to help but the real saviour is her mysterious uncle, Cornelis, who refuses to pander to Adelais and instead gifts her a hand operated cycle betting her that she cannot make a long ride. Adelais is not one to shy from a challenge and on one ride she finds herself flung into the rescue of a boy. It changes her whole life.

I loved this book. It starts slow and Adelais suffers all the same problems as any young girl who wants to be something she cannot be - either through birth or physically or choices that are made for her. After she saves the boy's life though she realises she can do anything.

The novel really changes tempo after this and Adelais begins adulthood with a whole new life which brings her into a seedier world that she must hide from all but her closest childhood friend.

The story goes in directions I never saw coming. The plot is unlike anything I've read before. Adelais herself is a likeable and engaging character who you root for throughout (despite the fact that she does not play by the rules - legal or ethical). I cheered her all the way through.

Philip Gray has written a remarkable book that I looked forward to reading. I wanted to finish it but I also wanted it to last longer.

Brilliant. Highly recommended.

This book is a slow burner, there were points I wanted to give up but I am glad I did not. Once the book got going and everything started to come together I was gripped. Very clever story with lots of twists and turns. I hope their is another story featuring Adelais and Sebastian.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was an engaging crime story set in the murky world of forgery. The main character, Adelais, the daughter of an engraver, sets out on a journey into this world to become an expert and reap the rewards including a lucrative hotel business. I found the cast of characters interesting and believable, and although the pace felt a little slow at times, it kept my interest with twists and turns in what develops as a cat-and-mouse story. However, it’s unclear who is the cat and or the mouse. There were some excellent visual scenes of vespa scooters darting across the city.
Overall, this was an entertaining story with perhaps an open door to another story in the future. Well worth reading.

Thank you, Netgalley, the publisher and author, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Adelais, partially disabled by polio meaning she must wear a leg brace and use a stick, is a determined young woman. Her parents are each increasingly absorbed in their own mental turmoil for reasons she does not fully understand. Her father is neglecting his business and has turned to drink, and her mother has embraced a life of prayer and good works in an effort to seek forgiveness for some unknown sin. Only her Uncle Cornelius recognises Adelais has the necessary spirit to overcome the obstacles she faces, setting her challenges such as learning to use a handcycle. He describes them as kindred spirits and treats her as a kind of protege, seeing in her a strength of will her parents seem no longer to possess.

Adelais’s success gives her the confidence to tackle other challenges, such as learning to dance, although she also has another very particular reason for wanting to do this following a chance encounter. That encounter gives rise to a friendship and a shared dream but one which will require a huge amount of money to achieve. The property she inherits on the death of her uncle which, curiously, given its rundown state is protected by nine sturdy locks and latches, offers a means to achieve this. She sets about acquiring the skills required with the dogged determination her uncle must have hoped and planned for. It’s an activity that involves months of practice to achieve the necessary degree of perfection and, having mastered it, Adelais embarks on a criminal enterprise with the help of her friend Saskia for whom the whole thing is something of a lark. They have success beyond their wildest dreams but slowly things begin to fall apart.

Meanwhile Major de Smet of the Federal Gendarmerie is obsessed with a crime that has frustrated his efforts to solve it for years. It’s become a personal crusade, one he approaches with fanatical zeal spending hours poring over evidence he has accumulated and trying to detect patterns that will lead him to the culprit. His life in other respects has been a failure but solving this could bring him the recognition he craves. His superiors have come to think of it as a lost cause and a waste of police time but he’s determined to prove them wrong.

Although we always know more than both characters, the tension comes from Adelais never realising quite how close she becomes to being discovered and de Smet never quite realising how close he is to solving the case, or how easy it is to be distracted by prior assumptions.

By this time in the book you may have forgotten the events of the opening chapter but in a series of revelations we discover the answers to many things. It’s a brilliantly constructed bringing together of many threads in the story. But for Adelais, it sheds an entirely new – and unwelcome – light on the enterprise she has been engaged in leaving her with some difficult moral choices.

The House with Nine Locks is an enthralling historical mystery. I loved Adelais and the skilfully crafted plot kept me turning the pages, including looking out for the items that feature on the cover.