The Shadows of Rutherford House by CE Rose
(Narrated by Colleen Prendergast)

Christie was a psychiatric nurse whose patient Lillian had a mental problem. There were drawn together because of the similar background - losing their mothers when young. This made Christie could not move on. Under the encouragement by Christie, Lillian went back to her ancient home, which was the mysterious Rutherford-Percy House.

Christie then was attracted to Lillian's past and the Rutherford- Percy House. When Christie tried to know more, she was shocked to find the connection between the house and her own family. And all the lies and secrets were finally uncovered…

Great book with the suspension. I have to concentrate and pay extra attention in the beginning. If you can follow the timeline and characters, you will fly through and jaw-dropping for the story following.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Saga Egmont Audio and CE Rose for this audiobook!

Format: Audiobook (9h30m)
Pub date: Sep 28, 2023

This cast of colorful characters is united by the Rutherford House. There are different timelines, so it will take a bit to get the gist of it, but have faith. The lines eventually come together for a good story.

The tale is dark, the characters are complex, there is atmosphere, and there are some twists. I always enjoy discovering how these multiple connections find their way together, so this was a good fit for me. The ending was shocking. The narration was excellent.

I have read this before but listening to it was an entire experience. I loved it so much!
This is a good and creepy story. The setting is lovely. The sadness of the loss of Freddy is so real!
Listen to this for sure. Thank you for the ARC.

I downloaded this audioARC from NetGalley and listened to it while doing Admin at work.

Three stars from me means that I believe the author achieved their aims, and it's a good book, but that I, personally, did not fall in love with it.

Full disclosure: I'm an only child and I love it. I've never felt lonely, and I don't feel deprived of the loving company of a sibling. So I found the author's repeated statements of horror at "single children" and only children both tedious and bizarre. Did she simply not realise that some of her readers / listeners would, statistically, be bound to be people without siblings?

The book also had a very simplistic view of the impact of incest. Both offspring born from such a union were extremely defective - one in looks and one in temperament.

I also did not enjoy the pacing of the book, which was very slow, like a family saga throughout and then we were hit by an onslaught of information at the end.

All in all, I found it a fair enough listen while working, but it just didn't appeal to me.

Three word review: family secrets everywhere.

Creepy house? Check. Troubled heroine? Check. long buried mystery? Check. Creepy sounds and things that go bump in the night? Check. This is an excellent Gothic thriller perfect for a beach, read, or under the covers on a cold snowy night