It’s my turn to post my review on The Shadows Of Rutherford House by C E Rose. Many thanks to C E Rose for asking me to be a part of the tour and the copy of the book to take part.
Darkness lies at the heart of this family…
In 1959 Milly starts her new life as a housemaid at Rutherford House, working for the aristocratic Rutherford-Percy clan. Entranced by her new mistress, Vivienne, she becomes deeply embroiled in the household and the keeper of dark secrets the family conceals beneath the mansion’s grand exterior.
In the present day Christie is working as a psychiatric nurse when she meets troubled patient Lillian Percy,
Vivienne’s granddaughter and heiress to Rutherford House. They soon bond over the loss of their mothers – Lillian’s died when she was a child; Christie’s mysteriously disappeared over twenty years ago – and Christie finds herself increasingly fascinated by Lillian’s family and their imposing ancestral home.
As Christie learns more about the Rutherford-Percys, she finds a shocking clue that could help her uncover what happened to her own mother. Desperate for answers, Christie puts her job, her family and even her very life on the line. But how much of the truth does she really want to know?
These last few months I have reviewed so many excellent books. The Shadows Of Rutherford House is no exception. C E Rose has never written a bad book and this one is another that proves her skill as an author.
A dark gothic thriller that’s told from multiple perspectives of three characters over alternate timelines. We meet Christie, a psychiatric nurse in the present who ends up going to work at Rutherford House after the disappearance of her mother.
She becomes intrigued by the Rutherford-Percy family history while there. As she delves into the past her story becomes interwoven with the people who lived and worked in Rutherford House. The more she learns about the dark past the more she believes she has discovered clues leading to her own mothers disappearance.
I do have to say this is a book that requires 100% of your attention but the rewards that it brings are awesome! A story that is that multi layered that the proverbial onion must be massive. C E Rose, once again creates the most intriguing characters who make you so intrigued to know them as the spring to life from the pages.
Even with short chapters and my promise of ‘just one more chapter’, I couldn’t put it down. From the slow build up of the story and the reveals that gradually came to the secrets that rise to the surface as the ‘puzzle’ is solved I was gripped. This is an author who has that knack of knowing how to keep a readers attention from the first to last page, and she excellent at it.
The atmospheric writing with vivid details even makes the house feel like a character too. The dark history attached to the house and the occupants within its walls becoming apparent as the story unfolds. Even Christie, with her determination to discover what happened to her mother increased the tension and sense of unease to the point were I was sat on the edge of my seat!
I loved the unraveling of all the secrets within this story. The connections of the past and present all interweaving together and creating a tale that gave me goosebumps at certain times and sit at the edge of my seat at others. Certainly a dark, twisting, gothic suspense thriller that entertains.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 