Loved this! A story within a story is always fun. Not quite a metafiction, but some elements. Just enough spooky scenes to keep me turning pages but nothing too crazy. I especially enjoyed the narrators reflection on love and how it can be shown.

I LOVED this. I love everything Kelly Rimmer writes, so I was super excited to get it. It's different than her other books, but I found myself unable to put it down. I loved the contrasting storylines and while I had pretty much figured out where it was going, it was so well done that I was really happy to be correct in my predictions. I couldn't help but root for the main character through the entire book.

Loved the creepy gothic vibes of this one! Rimmer has a great knowledge of the time period as well. This is a super suspenseful story, if a bit predictable at times. It kept me turning the pages. The ending manages to be surprising and yet satisfying. This is a finely-crafted narrative. Readers looking for a gothic tale will find much to admire in THE MIDNIGHT ESTATE.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Fiona Winslow has reached a rough place in her life. Just past her fiftieth birthday, she has lived through the implosion of her twenty-five-year marriage, with her husband hooking up with her best friend/mutual business partner. Together, the errant lovers have pushed her out of their joint company and imposed restrictions on when she can get back into the architectural restoration business. To keep herself occupied while she recovers from the triple blow of losing husband, best friend, and career, Fiona has bought her family’s abandoned estate, Wirimbirra, from her cousin, Jon, and intends to restore it to the grandeur she remembers from her childhood.

The estate is in sad shape when she enters it, and the locals mutter about ghosts and specters, but Fiona remembers it as a loving home, not least because of her Uncle Tad, a world-famous novelist and the father of Jon. Fiona begins her cleanup with energy, but a series of strange incidents soon have her wondering whether the locals know more than she does about the mysteries of Wirimibirra. And when she discovers a box filled with copies of “The Midnight Estate,” a novel by an author she’s never heard of, she dives in—only to discover that someone seems to have known more about the history of her own family that she ever knew was there to know..

Fiona is a sympathetic character, and the setting—contemporary rural Australia intermixed with vintage Gothic—is refreshingly different. The book slips smoothly between Fiona’s present and the fictionalized events of the past, touching on themes such as coercive control (a form of partner abuse) and the treatment of aboriginal Australians by the white population. But it is, above all, a good read.

You can find out more from my blog interview with the author (link below) in late July, a few days after the book appears.

The Midnight Estate
by Kelly Rimmer
Pub Date: July 22, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
I wanted to read this book mainly out of my deep and undying love for Kelly Rimmer’s novel, The Things We Cannot Say. The blurb didn’t grab my attention but I was lured in with the hope of another gut punching novel by the queen of historical fiction!

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book but the pacing really threw me off at first. Not my favorite by this author but I would recommend it for historical fiction fans.

From the first page to last I was engrossed in the stories of Midnight Estate. Fiona is coming back to the mansion , Wurimbirra, she has always loved, the house of her famous Uncle Tad, celebrated author. It’s been 10 years since his death and her cousin Jon has not set foot in it in all that time. Fiona has been warned off by her mother and by Jon of the ghosts and horrible things haunting this house but she has felt only love there growing up. Cleaning, she discovers a carton of an unread new book, The Midnight Estate, and is compelled to start reading it. The story tells of a woman abused by her husband, rescued by a stranger, and given a new life in Australia.
Both stories are riveting, and the transition between the two timelines seamless. Rimmer tells a story beautifully, and her characters are well detailed and interesting. Gothic, ghostly, and mysterious, this is a book I highly recommend.

"The Midnight Estate" is a gripping, creepy, involving story that captured me from first to last page. The estate of the title exists in two realms, a rural area of Australia and as a novel written by a writer no one has ever heard of. Fiona Winslow loses her husband, best friend, and her business in one fell swoop. She's in her fifties, has two daughters in college, and decides to go back to the place she was happiest--Wurimbirra, a large historical property where she and her mother lived for many years with her uncle. Uncle Tad died ten years ago and the house has been empty since his wake. The locals are sure it is haunted, as is Fiona's mother and cousin. She buys the place from her cousin and plans to call on her expertise as an architect to restore it. Wurimbirra has been empty since the guests left Tad's funeral, but she finds a box on the porch, delivered ten years before, filled with copies of a novel by an unknown author. She begins to read.

Kelly Rimmer skillfully weaves these experiences into a story that retains suspense through to the end. You'll be surprised--the whole thing seems so unlikely! But Rimmer's understanding of how things were different in the 1950s pays off in the fine plotting and satisfying end. Rimmer is a new find for me, and I look forward to more of her books.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A different sort of book for Rimmer but it was a good addition to her catalog it was very readable and easy to follow . I loved the characters and setting.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me

In the wake of a breakup she never saw coming, Fiona Winslow retreats to her beloved childhood home, looking to restore herself by restoring it. But though she can’t quite explain it, she quickly realizes that Wurimbirra isn’t the same house she remembers.

As Fiona tries to understand the strange things happening around her, she unwittingly stumbles upon an even bigger mystery—one that changes everything.

I love reading about old houses and their secrets, and The Midnight Estate definitely delivers a compelling story about how people shape places and vice versa. While some reviewers have noted that the big reveal was too easy to see coming, I didn’t think it took away from the characters, their stories, or even the originality of how the author engineered the twist.

What stood out to me most in the novel were Rimmer’s messages about kindness and connection, about being willing to care for others even when your own world is falling down around you, just because it’s the right thing to do. I also appreciated how she reminds us that burying the past doesn’t erase it; we have to confront it to move forward.

As Fiona wisely observes at the end of the story, “there is power in uncovering and honoring and sharing the truth about the past. In exposing history, even history that is difficult and ugly, we can learn to walk a better path in the future.”

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a pleasure to read. The protagonist is an architect named Fiona who returns to her childhood/uncle's home after a bitter divorce with plans to restore it to its former glory. Her uncle was a popular author who enjoys a good tale, and his death is what allows her to move back into the house. The locals believe the estate to be haunted. It is, but not by who they think haunts it.

The story is a dual narrative book within a book moving between the present day and the her uncle's time in the house. She discovers a box of books delivered from her uncle's publisher while cleaning out the house after his death. She is drawn to read it nightly before she goes to bed. She comes to realize that there are parallels that may be revealing deeply held family secrets she knew nothing about.

I enjoyed this book, and will seek out more from this author. Some folks found the twist to be predictable, I did not.

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a fantastic story that is told about what happened in the past through a book. This was a unique and fun way to reveal the past. Although I originally read this book because of the haunted house, I quickly became invested in the lives of all the characters. I highly recommend this book!

Mrs Kelly Rimmer has become one of my favorite historical fiction author. It is in my opinion hard to write historical without actually feeling bored or feeling like reading history book if that makes sense. The way she always weaves the characters with the story and the time of history is really impressive. I have enjoyed her books and I always look forward to her books!

A story within a story. A woman returns to Australia to clean out her late uncle's( who was a famous author) home. Undaunted by people telling her that the house is haunted and that she should just sell (including her mother), she continues her pursuit of making the house habitable again. In her cleaning, she finds ten copies of a book by an unknown author that she begins to read. Finding similarities in the story, the reader begins a fascinating read as to what really happened to this family. I couldn't put this down! I will be recommending this to people to read.

This book was difficult for me to get into. I have enjoyed Kelly Rimmer’s work in the past but this one fell a little flat for me. The first 3/4 of the book felt like background information and then things finally picked up at the end. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters over the course of the book.

I enjoyed Kelly's previous books, her writing is good and she has heartfelt stories. A beautifully moving story about a woman who moves into her deceased relative’s rotting house, and vows to restore it. Stumbling upon memories and untold stories, Fiona goes on a journey to find out more about her family, and herself. A gripping, heartfelt story that will hold your attention until the very end. Rimmer incorporated some startling statistics to bring awareness to domestic violence. The numbers are shocking but it is important to be aware of these issues so we can take steps to end them. This book was still a very enjoyable multi-timeline novel with compelling characters and mystery and intrigue to keep me interested. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, although I felt as though I had almost all of it figured out before it was "revealed.

Another great read from Kelly Rimmer! This had a lot more suspense than her other books but the story was still full of emotion, history, and hope! Just when you think you’ve solved the mystery, there is a twist thrown in. I loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early read.

This was a great read. It took a little bit to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked! I loved the way the story is told!

Architect Fiona purchases her childhood home, Wurimbirra, with plans to return it to its former glory. As she starts to clean, she finds a box of books written by her uncle, a renowned author. As she reads the book, it becomes obvious that the book is personal and holds some deep family secrets.

I have loved Kelly Rimmer's other works, but this one was just "meh." It's not that I didn't enjoy it, it's just that it was so predictable. From the first page of the story within the story, the reader just knows that there's more to it than just a random novel found in the house. It was an engaging story, but I think it was supposed to be suspenseful, and it just wasn't. I also think that the story within a story format made it difficult for much character development. We didn't get to know Fiona, any more than she was going through a bad divorce and had escaped to Wurimbirra. We got to know the story characters more than the protagonist of the novel. It just didn't work well for me.

Overall, 3⭐s. It was a quick read, but not one that I'll revisit.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House Publishing for an advanced reader copy. This book is scheduled to be published in July, 2025.

The Midnight Estate follows Fiona as she moves into her family's estate after having her life turned upside down. Fiona sets about cleaning out the house and finds a box of novels titled The Midnught Estate. As Fiona tears through the book, she notices how the story parallels the themes in her life. The story flips between the novel and present day. The transitions are seamless and build on each other. It is impossible not to root for the main characters both in the novel and present day.

The Midnight Estate has the right amount of mystery that keeps you wanting to read more to see what happens. I was hoping it wasn't going to end where it did because I just wanted more to the story.

I really enjoyed this book, as I have all of Kelly Rimmer’s books. Her books are some of my favourites. The story is about a very interesting and often tragic topic which is kept hidden away so much more than it should be.

This book is a story within a story which takes place in the USA and Australia. The main character returns to her childhood home as a middle aged divorcee who starts to discover a history about her family she knew nothing about. Fiona finds a book in her uncle’s library and finds similarities to her life as she reads the book. Eventually she realizes her uncle has written this book and it is a true story of her family history. Fiona confronts her mother about the book and finds all the secrets that had been kept from her.

It is a very good story and an enjoyable read. It kept me hooked from beginning to end. I would highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this novel.