I absolutely love Chanel Cleeton. The House on Biscayne Bay she brings her signature style to Miami in the early 1900s. Told in dual timelines, with murder and mystery, this was an entertaining, gripping and fascinating story. I was completely transported to the era.
After the Great War in 1918, businessmen and the rich moved to South Florida, and it was here along Biscayne Bay that wealthy industrialist Robert Barnes built Marbrisa, a glamorous estate for his wife Anna. The tale shares their rise and fall from the talk of the town to tragedy. We learn their tale before we meet the present owners, Carolina, and her husband, Asher Wyatt.
In 1941, after the tragic death of her parents in Havana, Carmen Acosta journeys to Marbrisa to live with her estranged sister Carolina and husband, Asher, who is in charge of her inheritance. From the start there is a sense of foreboding and it only intensifies as we learn about the home’s tragic past and the unhappiness that lies within.

This was my first book by Chanel Cleeton and I found myself unable to put it down. After the end of WWI, wealthy industrialist Robert Barnes builds his wife, Anna, a glamorous estate on Biscayne Bay, It would seem that it's a dream but it's anything but for her. The dual timeline is of the subsequent owners of the home and the mysterious death of the woman of the house. I found it a strong read throughout, then a little weak at the end but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for my advanced copy. This one is out now!

Chanel Cleeton is an auto-buy author for me and I am a huge fan of her historical fiction novels. I was excited to see that her new book, The House on Biscayne Bay, sounded different than her prior stories. It definitely was! The gothic themes and house as a character gave huge Rebecca vibes, which is one of my favorite books. I thought the atmosphere Cleeton created in Marbrisa was captivating and embodied the very idea of gothic literature. The ending felt a little rushed and I did figure out the big twists prior to the reveal. I love this new style of writing for Cleeton and look forward to what comes next!

The House on Biscayne Bay is a historical novel set at Marbrisa, a sprawilng and mysterious estate in Florida. It is told in two timelines. In 1918, Robert and Anna Barnes build the house. Later, in 1941, Carmen Acosta travels to Marbrisa to stay with her sister and brother-in-law ... and ends up trying to solve the mystery of the house.

I wanted to read this novel because I have enjoyed Chanel Cleeton's fiction before. I love historical fiction, and liked the idea of the South Florida setting.

This was a fast moving read. I like the way the author sets a Gothic scene with this mysterious house. This book is wonderfully atmospheric and the Gothic setting is suitably eerie. The story is told in two timelines, and both feature well-delineated characters. The historical details in this book are also very well done.

I recommend The House on Biscayne Bay for fans of historical fiction - and especially for anyone who enjoys a Gothic setting.

Loved this book. Her books keep getting better and better. This one reminded me a bit of Rebecca. Having never been to that part of the country, this book made me almost want to go to Florida.

The House On Biscayne Bay was a southern historical mystery set on the grounds of a gothic mansion in Miami in 1918 and 1941 with an epilogue set right after WWII.
It follows two women - Anna Barnes, a Northerner coming down to Miami in 1918 and Carmen Acosta coming from Cuba in 1941 to stay with her sister. They live at the same opulent mansion some decades apart and can't shake their uneasy feeling about the decadent display of wealth and status. Both women have to deal with the death of a woman on the grounds.
In Anna's time a woman drowns at a party and in Carmen's time the house seems haunted with strange and slightly gruesome occurrences that escalate to the point where Carmen's sister is stabbed and murdered.
Carmen wants to know why her sister was murdered and finds herself unraveling secrets and mysteries surrounding the house. She realizes that these are not separate incidents, the past connects to the present.
I enjoyed how atmospheric the story was. The setting was incredibly well created, the mansion Marbrisa vivid in my mind and the mystery enticing enough to keep me engaged and reading, eager to find out. I loved the epilogue since I love when I get a glimpse of the future of surviving characters in my mysteries and in this case it was just wonderful - for them and for the house.
With the two timelines and two POVs with each their own story to tell, the book was moving along quickly and in a very engaging way!
Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the eARC - #gifted All opinions voiced are my own !

This gothic historical fiction mixed with a bit of family saga and mystery thriller was a beautiful read following two FMC from two different time periods. Anna, who’s husband built Marbrisa for her in Florida where they move from New York and then Carmen who travels there after the death of her parents in Havana to live with her sister and her brother-in-law. We get to read both POVs, one from right after WWI and one right before WWII. The story includes a large beautiful mansion that takes center stage as its own character and several deaths on the property which lead to the mystery and vibe of the landscape. It’s a beautiful written story and perfect for those that enjoy HF and light gothic thrillers mixed in.

I love Chanel Cleeton's novels, and this was no exception! Though this doesn't focus on the Perez family like the majority of her novels, the two women whose perspectives are captivating to read! The way Cleeton connects her main characters is always a draw for me, and the sign of a great historical fiction read!

Two timelines intertwine as death stalks this gothic mansion in Miami. I found both Ana and Carmen’s stories to be interesting, and I was intrigued to find out the truth behind the murders. The setting of the mansion in Miami was very atmospheric and set the scene well.
I found the reveal to be a bit lackluster, and this was definitely a slow burn, however I have loved all of Chanel Cleeton’s books and she remains an auto-buy author for me.

This is my favorite Chanel Cleeton book since Next year in Havana! I loved that it was a historical fiction with mystery. I enjoyed the dual timelines and perspectives of Anna and Carmen and the reveal of how the two stories were connected. There was a major twist at the end that I didn’t see coming that made me enjoy the book even more. If you’re looking for a fast and entertaining read try this one out.

In 1918, Anna’s husband, Robert, surprises her for her birthday by having a mansion built in Miami. During their first party at Marbrisa a woman drowns in the bay. Anna is not happy in the grand house and this death plagues the rest of their lives.
In 1941, Carmen comes to Marbrisa to live with her sister, Carolina, and her husband, Asher, after the deaths of her parents in Havana. She is soon drawn into the mystery of dead animals on the property and then the death of another woman. She becomes scared she could be next and starts to look into how the past and the present are intertwined.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed her writing. I love a mix up of historical fiction and mystery. The house was a character of its own with a gothic vibe throughout. I enjoyed the characters and the dual timelines and how they were connected.

Thanks to @netgalley @berkleypub and @letstalkbookspromo for an arc for review. Available now!

I’m going to start this review off by saying that I think the marketing for this story is skewed. I’ve seen this book on a lot of horror lists and while it has elements of the potential for a cursed/haunted estate, this is really historical fiction at the end of the day.

That being said…this is really good historical fiction!!

I don’t read too much in the historical fiction genre these days, but this book captivated me and pulled me in within the first few pages thanks to the murder mystery elements and setting. I fell in love with both of our narrators, Anna and Carmen. Each of their stories was intriguing on its own, but trying to find out how they would ultimately overlap in the end was a fun combined journey! There are a handful of secondary characters we get to meet that also add to the layers and mystery of the story.

I loved the idea of a cursed house in the sense that things do not go well for several people either living or working at Marbrisa. While not a curse in the haunted house styling, it does make the reader very weary and suspicious, which really kept me coming back for more with this story. By alternating the narratives with cliffhangers at the end of chapters, I couldn’t help but fly through this book.

If you’re looking to get swept away to the past for a tale of intrigue and mystery, this is definitely for you!

History, mystery & intrigue
If you like mystery, a little history, and a lot of intrigue you will love this book. Set in Miami in the 1920s, we first see the mansion on Biscayne Bay through the eyes of Anna, the wife of the builder. Anna and her husband, Robert, already live on Park Avenue in NYC and summer in Newport but Robert builds this house to surprise on Anna on her 40th birthday. Unfortunately the surprise is on him because she hates it (the house is too grandiose, Miami is too hot). However, resigned to living there, Anna works with the architect to design the grounds so that they complement the house and are appealing to her. Anna and Robert throw a huge party and someone falls in the bay and drowns - which is the start of the intrigue.

Fast forward 10 years and the house now belongs to a different family, and the house is said to be cursed, haunted and full of secrets. We meet Carmen who moves to the house to live with her sister and brother-in-law. It is up to Carmen to sort out the mystery and secrets as she, herself, is in danger.

Cleeton is a skilled author. She keeps the pace going at a good clip, provides luscious descriptions of people and places, and throws in a few spectacular shifts that you do not see coming. I loved this book!

I love gothic novels where the house is the location and a character and the impetus of the plot. (I’m a real estate agent with a deep appreciation for historic preservation, so this should not come as a surprise.) Without Marbrisa, without the house on the bay, Cleeton wouldn’t have had a story to tell us. None of the characters would have come together, in either timeline, and the mystery and thrills would not have occurred or had such a grand effect on the reader. The House on Biscayne Bay is a five star read for me from Chanel Cleeton, a season pass author in my life if ever there was one. If you love a grand house that’s built for your dreams but also food for your nightmares, with screaming peacocks, random alligators, dangerous sea cliffs, and weather that can turn from beautiful one minute to harrowing the next, then pick up this title from Chanel Cleeton. You might be asking yourself the same question that’s also the first line of the book: “I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would want to live in Florida.”

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel of a grand house built during the early 1900s in Miami. The house Maribrisa, has a dark history and we are told it's story along with it's occupants during two different timelines in the early 1900s. Chanel Cleeton took inspiration from the great mansions that were built in Miami during the boom and creating a mysterious story of murder and intrigue. The story is rich with characters that are wealthy and take great pride in showing of their riches to the world through the grand estate. However, with great greed usually comes darkness and this story is abundant with it. Several people have lost their lives at Marbrisa, is it bad luck, a person doing the killing or the spirits that haunt the walls of the house? You'll have to read to find out. The story was very entertaining, although I will say at times I felt it repetitive, for the most part the book moved along well and told a good story. It definitely kept me interested and turning the pages. I would like to read more by this author, I have heard great things about her books over the years and I certainly enjoyed this one.

If you liked Rebecca, you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the gifted eARC. All thoughts are my own.

I absofreakinglutely loved this book! Chanel Cleeton is an author I pick up when I want a guaranteed home run historical fiction story featuring strong female characters in great settings.

In The House on Biscayne Bay, we follow two POVS - Anna in 1918 and Carmen in 1941.

In 1918, Anna is gifted a house named Marbrisa by her husband as a 40th wedding gift. She sees no appeal in moving to Miami, FL, where the bugs are as big as dogs and alligators slink across the roads at night. Her husband is enthralled with the house and its lavish construction, and Anna begins to feel like she’ll lose her husband if she doesn’t get on board with his grand vision. When tragedy strikes at the party revealing their lavish home to high society, Anna cannot let go of the feeling that something is amiss at Marbrisa.

In 1941, Carmen moves into Marbrisa to live with her sister and brother-in-law after the sudden loss of her parents. Her sister seems distant and not like her former self and strange things begin to happen in the house. The echoes of the past refuse to be forgotten as Carmen digs further into what happened in 1918 and who - or what - caused the deaths of two women under suspicious circumstances.

The House on Biscayne Bay was such a delightful departure from Chanel’s Cuba saga. It had gothic mystery vibes and I absolutely loved the setting of a lavish house against the untamed bay. I was hooked from the start, and the two POVs flowed seamlessly while captivating me with their individual characters and story arcs.

I cannot recommend this highly enough if you enjoy mysteries and gothic fiction. The setting is perfection, the characters are well-written, and the house is full of secrets.

In The House on Biscayne Bay, the lives and fates of two women from different timelines, both residents of the grand Floridian mansion Marbrisa, intertwine, connected by mysterious deaths. The House on Biscayne Bay is a gothic mystery, and it's a little different from other Cleeton's books. I enjoyed it but didn't love it as much as her other books. I liked the atmospheric setting but found the characters in both timelines one-dimensional. The mansion, Marbrisa, was the most interesting character, in my opinion. I did guess who the villain was, but it did not detract from my enjoyment. I recommend The House on Biscayne Bay to readers who enjoy historical and gothic mysteries.

At the end of WWI Miami is the destination for the rich and glamorous and the perfect place to make your mark by building the most opulent home -Marbrisa. But beneath the surface things are not what they seem and as a perfect marriage crumbles with secrets and lies ghosts are created that will impact future residents of the House on Biscayne Bay.

I love Cleeton books, but this is definitely not what I’m accustomed to by her….and I loved it. This one is much more mysterious. The main character in this one is totally the house and I love a gothic story when the house is the main character. The setting really makes this story!
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Chanel Cleeton is 1 of 2 authors who write historical fiction that I RUN to the bookstore for. The House on Biscayne Bay is an amazing historical fiction/mystery.

Dual timelines! First timeline is 1918 featuring Anna Barnes and the second is set in 1941 and features Carmen Acosta. Both are set at Marbrisa, an estate on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. She really writes the most beautiful, atmospheric settings that have me googling images to feel fully immersed in the story line. I loved the haunted mansion components that reminded me of Riley Sager's novel. The characters are all 3 dimensional and the timelines weave together effortlessly. Themes include death, family, legacies, fear, respect, trust, jealousy, secrets.

Somehow Chanel always writes an amazing book with NO filler. She is really impressive, and I still need to backlist the rest of her books. I absolutely love her! The only thing holding me back from a 5-star rating is the ending was a little anti-climactic & I am not one for the glitz/glam main characters.

Would highly recommend!