Hannah Larson and her somewhat problematic son Nicky leave NY for a visit with a close family friend in Cambridge, England. Hannah has just discovered her lawyer husband is unfaithful and is afraid of leaving him to fend for herself. She left her dissertation uncompleted when it became apparent that Nick had extreme behavior problems and hasn’t had any income of her own for years. Afraid to be independent, she longs for a normal life. Hannah is happy to be invited to visit her ‘uncle’ Christopher in England while he is battling cancer. Christopher leaves for the states for medical treatments.

Nicky, ever the inquisitive child, finds a body in the manor house, a long dead body. A team of historians and archeologists descend on the manor house to investigate. Hannah works with the historic home’s librarian to uncover the mystery of who the woman was and why she was walled up in the house. Along the way Hannah and Nicky meet a cast of characters who become a new family.

Artfully blending the modern era and the Elizabethan past, Belfer presents us with a mystery and a somewhat late coming-of-age story. Hannah makes decisions about her own future, learning some family secrets along the way. The secrets she learns are her own as well as those of long ago inhabitants of the house.

Verdict: Recommended for those who enjoy women's fiction, historical fiction, and thought provoking reads.

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer tells the story of Hannah who travels to England from New York with her young son Nicky to visit her ailing uncle. Her uncle has an apartment in a grand old home which also serves as a museum and a library used for research by scholars. Once there, Hannah's uncle flies to New York for cancer treatments leaving Hannah and Nicky in England for the summer. Hannah has just learned that her husband has been unfaithful so she welcomes the reason to escape to England. The grand estate is near Cambridge and is filled with secret passages and doors and an unexplored area of the home that is blocked off. Nicky is quite curious and stuns everyone when he finds a skeleton and in what appears to be a boarded up room. This piques everyone's curiosity. The reader is then delved into the history of the grand home and what may have happened to what is determined to be a woman. The room is scoured for clues and an old library is used to search through old books. Ashton Hall was fascinating to me in all the extensive research that was done creating levels and facets to the novel. There are other side stories in the book that will have the reader switching between modern day and the Tudor reign. Ashton Hall is not a typical murder mystery. It is a complex and thought-provoking creating a wonderful story that left me pondering about the Tudor reign. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of Ashton Hall.

I felt this book was misrepresented as a thriller. It is more accurately historical fiction, although with many contemporary themes such as LGBTQ and neurodivergent children. I ultimately loved this book, as it hit on so many of my personal interests. However, if I had wanted a true thriller this would not be that book. I was impressed with the level of historical detail and the author’s obvious research into the 16th century. The setting was perfectly drawn and I was so excited to discover that Ashton Hall was based in part on Blickling Hall, which I have actually visited. I fell in love with many of the characters – Nicky, Isabella, Janet, and Duncan. A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I’ve seen blurbs and reviews that have described this book as a Gothic Mystery, but it did not fit that category at all, in my opinion. There is a mystery to figure out and the MC stays in an old English manor, but there is nothing eerie about the story. The MC’s son discovers a 500-year-old skeleton in a hidden part of the manor and that’s about as creepy as it gets; no hauntings, no supernatural threats, nothing scary about the manor at all. The mystery of finding out who the skeleton was and what happened to that person was intriguing enough to keep me reading until the end, which was a disappointment. Maybe I would have enjoyed this book more had I not been expecting something different, and I will definitely give this author another chance.

I would categorize this book as more of a contemporary/women’s fiction read with some renaissance history added in. I really enjoyed the historical parts of the story, and I learned some new things about England in the 1500s. It was obvious that the author put a great deal of effort into the research for this book.

At the beginning of Ashton Hall, Hannah Larson and her son Nicky travel to Cambridge in England to spend the summer with her beloved “honorary uncle,” Christopher, who is suffering from cancer. They find, however, that Christopher has decided to go to the US to try a new treatment but wishes them to remain at his “apartment” in the centuries-old manor house Ashton Hall.

After only a few days Nicky discovers a hidden room containing the skeleton of a woman, apparently a Catholic who lived during the Elizabethan era, when her faith would have put her at risk. As a result a team led by Matthew, a personable archeologist, comes to the Hall, and Hannah and Nicky are sucked into the mystery of who the woman was, why she had been shut away, and how she died. In addition, Hannah, who has just discovered that her husband has been unfaithful and is in the process of reevaluating her marriage, finds herself attracted to Matthew, who has a daughter who, like Nicky, is very bright but also faces significant challenges due to neurodivergence. In the course of learning to let go of Christopher and finding out more about Isabella Cresham, her life, and the constraints placed on her as both a woman and a Catholic in an earlier age, Hannah comes to better understand herself and find the courage to make the changes that need to be made in her own life.

While I enjoyed this book, I have to admit that it was not what I expected. The historical part, including the research, was lovingly detailed and Belfer obviously did some serious research of her own to achieve this, but the mystery, which I found more interesting,) was limited to the past and took a decided back seat to the domestic drama. This is a matter of taste, however.

I did have two minor quibbles. One character, whom I will not name, so as not to spoil the story, devolved into something of a cartoon character villain when I felt they could have been more believably portrayed. Secondly, it was implied that Catholics were persecuted during Elizabeth I’s reign solely due to religious bigotry. While that no doubt played a large part, the situation was more complicated. in 1570 the Pope officially excommunicated Elizabeth and released English Catholics from their allegiance to her, which, however loyal individuals may have been, made each of them a potential traitor. I don’t feel that it would have been difficult to add that key bit of context. I did, however, appreciate the afterword, explaining how the book came to be written, the bibliography, and of course the references to our mutual hometown of Buffalo, NY. 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed reading this book. This is my first book by this author and I look forward to seeing what is next for this author. This is a story that is well written and hard to put down. A story that is engaging and fast paced. I enjoyed how the author's writing skills pulled me into the story. Her characters are connectable and supportive to each other. A story about hauntings, a history of mothers and daughters and the lives they had. It is a great story that you don't want to miss. One of the best gothic stories I have read in a while. I highly recommend reading this book. A great book.

This book wasn’t what I expected going in, but I really enjoyed it all the same.

There’s definitely an eerie vibe - you can’t help but have that when a woman’s body is found trapped and hidden away in a secret room - and secrets. So Many Secrets. While I’d love to be on a property with hidden doors, passages and rooms like the ones in this book, I’d like it minus the remains please! I’m not *that* adventurous!

But overall, I felt like the book was less about the mystery of the woman who died, and more about how the discovery effected the lives of everyone who was around present day. Still there are a lot of interesting historical facts in here. My reading was slowed more than a few times because i wandered off to search on the side to find out more.

Some truly heartbreaking parts, I couldn’t help but feel how overwhelmed the Hannah was with everything (her son Nicky and family situation especially). I would have liked to see an epilogue set further down the road, but the flashback was … no spoilers, but wow.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC

"That's the point of books, isn't it? To be passed from hand to hand, until they fell apart. Part of the great river of life."

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When Hannah and her neurodivergent son, Nicky, move from the US to England to care for a family member's home for the summer they stumble upon a skeleton in a long forgotten part of the house.

Sounds intriguing, right?

Well, unfortunately I found this one to be a bit of a snoozefest. It's more women's fiction than historical fiction or mystery. The structure reminded me a little of The Lost Apothecary only instead of seeing the timeline in the past we are told about it, in very brief snippets. Sometimes via long lists of entries in a budget ledger or a library check out list. I like these elements in theory but the execution here didn't work for me.

I was frustrated at Hannah about the decisions she was making in her life. Her husband was awful, her son wasn't getting proper care and yet they had plenty of time to moan about potentially what could have happened to this skeleton. Meanwhile, we didn't really get enough details about the prior timeline to put real meat on the bones.

Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this one. All opinions above are my own but just because I didn't love this one doesn't mean you won't.

Intriguing. That’s the first note I made while reading Lauren Belfer’s Ashton Hall. Hannah’s precocious son Nicky stumbles across a skeleton in the ancient home they’re visiting. Nicky is intriguing, the skeleton’s story is intriguing and Belfer’s plans for building on this intriguing start are … intriguing.
Fascinated. I was absolutely fascinated by the details about everyday life in the skeleton’s era Hannah and the team were able to uncover. I’ve never heard of the ancient library loan records kept by families. You can learn so much about a person by observing the way they read. I wonder what my goodreads.com page says about me?!
Bored. I’m bored and disappointed that a fine author jumped on the bandwagon of everyone-must-be-gay. Not just one “surprise” story-line, but all, everyone, must have a hidden gay past. It’s becoming cliché.
Ashton Hall was a good read. I will give Belfer another go.

Different and interesting novel that tells the story of an American woman, Hannah Larson, who moves to England with her young son. They go to live in an apartment in an old manor home with her "uncle" Christopher, who is nearing the end of his life. Over the course of the novel, Hannah deals with her sons developmental issues, problems in her marriage, and the challenges of returning to academic life after a very long hiatus. Her son, Nicky, finds a secret room in the old house where the skeleton of a woman is uncovered. This discovery leads to a new avenue of research for Hannah, and possibly a new relationship, too.

Who was the woman in the secret room? How did she come to be there? Will Hannah's marriage survive her trans-Atlantic move? Will Nicky's problems be more than Hannah can handle on her own? These questions are addressed in the narrative, as is the overall issue of women's and mothers' roles throughout the centuries.

Ashton Hall is well-written and thoughtful, and the characters and settings are well-drawn. For me, it was definitely not a page-turner, but more of a leisurely read. I liked the way it dealt with timely issues in a low-key and realistic way, and also how it explored societal issues in a similarly low-key, non-dogmatic vein. I would recommend for those who like history and women's fiction. I did not get a real "gothic" vibe as described in the blurb (which was what I actually chose to read it for), but overall it was still a satisfying read.

3.5 stars

I was given an ARC of this title by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a tough book to review because it wanted to be so many different things. The description promises a historical mystery but the author spends a significant amount of time focusing on marital infidelity, LGBTQ issues, neurodiversity, and women's equality. There's not much time for a historical mystery, which is a shame. The ending was extremely rushed, as if the author remembered the original plot and hurried to wrap it up.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

Ashton Hall is set in present-day Cambridge, England, but reconstructs aspects of life of the family who lived in the fictional house in the sixteenth century. The action opens with the discovery of a skeleton and takes the reader through investigation into the cause and circumstances of the death, while also inviting us into the daily life of protagonists Hannah and her son Nicky.

I found this an interesting and transporting story, filled with details large and small that brought me into the world of Ashton Hall. However, having completed the book, I realize that many characters and plot points feel incomplete and slightly unsatisfying. I would have liked to have seen some of the minor characters brought back into the story before its conclusion.

All in all, an enjoyable read, perfect for summer.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review:

What a beautiful and haunting read! This book is not so much a mystery, but a historical fiction novel that explores the past lives of the women that called Ashton Hall home. This novel clearly showcases that Lauren Belffer did her research and I learned so much about the Tudor era during the 16th century. It goes on to show that women from that time period may not be so different from us today. And that ending! What a surprise.
I loved Hannah and her relationship with her son Nicky as well as how the book is told in a linear fashion in regards to the research Hannah does. Highly recommend this to historical fiction lovers!

This was a well written and haunting story. A bit creepy at times but interesting. I reviewed this for my opinion only.

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting but I have to say it did exceed my expectations. Like so much of my reading experiences, this one makes me want to learn more about British history.

I've read all of this author's other books, and was thrilled to see she'd written another one.

I have mixed feelings about this one--she confronts some timely issues regarding LGBTQ families, marital struggles, the difficulties of parenting a neurodiverse child. I don't love that the characterization creates 2D stereotyped villainy, and I found it difficult to understand how/why the narrator made some of the decisions she did.

It's clear the author has done a lot of research to inform this novel and I loved the historical mystery storyline.

Not a bad book, just not my favorite from this writer.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is not fair, I suppose, to expect perfection from an author. I struggle with someone who does a brilliant job researching and then using the research to create a fascinating historical narrative, but spends too much time on an uninteresting, unrealistic present day storyline. And why do some authors rush the ending?
I wish the editor had encouraged Belfer to put less emphasis on Hannah’s dysfunctional marriage. Also, portraying Nicky in an extreme example of neurodiversity took away from the story that was advertised as a “Gothic mystery”. I felt like an agenda on this subject was being pushed which turned me off. This book was not pitched as revolving around Nicky. That is another book.
The husband’s character was also lacking. His understanding of his son’s behavior and wife’s sacrifice was not fair or realistic
The way the author described step-by-step the process to investigate what happened to Isabella was fascinating and well done. Also, descriptions of Ashton Hall were excellent and added to the story. Favorite parts were Katherine’s story and Author’s notes.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #AshtonHall for an advanced digital copy.

When Hannah Larson gets word that a close relative is very ill, she leaves New York City with her son, Nicky, to be with him at his manor house in Cambridge. Nicky has special needs and is brilliant but socially awkward and prone to outburst of anger. Lauren is concerned about taking him so far away and disrupting his routine but once they arrive at Christopher’s home, Nicky begins to thrive.

One morning while exploring, Nicky finds a skeleton in a boarded up section of the house. This historic find from the 1500 Tudor period is a mystery that Hannah has to solve. Who was she and why was she boarded up in that room and left to die?

Hannah is a historian and was working on her dissertation but decided to put it on hold to care for Nicky. She is conflicted about giving up her studies and being dependent on her husband especially after something is revealed about him. When the skeleton is discovered she is immediately intrigued by it and begins to piece together who she was and what might have happened by pouring over centuries old ledgers that were found in the manor and with the help of forensic science from the current day. As Hannah begins to learn more about this women she begins to evaluate her own life and marriage.

I enjoyed Ashton Hall but it was a little bit slow and very light on the mystery aspect. The investigation and the journals take the reader back to the the time period with lots of period details and that was interesting as was how Hannah would resolve her conflicted feelings about her career, her marriage and Nicky’s future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced reading copy for an honest review.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. I am a sucker for anything "gothic", "gothic mystery", gothic atmospheric", etc. and so this book immediately grabbed my attention. It had all the right elements to draw me in: an old historic home, past/present, an adult woman at the forefront...and yet. It felt...lacking. I really struggled to believe that this old, old home had a body that had been there since the ELIZABETHAN era and absolutely no one had ever discovered. Until a young boy, on his first journey throughout exploring the house, just happens upon it, right out of the gate?! I really struggled to connect with Hannah on an emotional level-she felt whiney, unsure, conflicted, and dealing with a really complex marital issue w/her husband. The whole "he's cheating but it's with another guy and he still really loves his wife" thing was weird and off to me. I've not been in a situation that is anything like that, but in my mind: cheat is cheat. The story got wrapped up overall, but I just...I frustratingly found myself struggling to push through this one.

This one wasn’t for me. I really struggled through it. The descriptions are so in depth - which is not a bad thing - and the history that was discussed, set in the 1500, was too much for me. I went into this book thinking it was a thriller which may be part of why I was let down. If you enjoy that time period and the history surrounding, you would likely enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.