DNF at 25%

Thank you to Allison & Busby for the advanced copy, I feel like I've let you down by deciding not to finish this book!

TLDR; LOVED the first book (also an ARC, read my rambles here https://www.netgalley.com/book/334816/review/1373346), but the sequel is giving unpolished early draft vibes.

The Good: The setting and tone of voice carried through to the sequel, I once again felt fully immersed in a smoggy, eerie Victorian London. Something in Cooksley's writing hooks me and compels me to read (part of me still wants to keep reading even with The Bad and The Ugly), but maybe that's just my obsession with historical fiction. I liked the idea of switching focus from Maddie/Lucius to Rebecca/Grace, as they had been set up in the first book to be really rich, interesting, shake-the-Victorian-table characters. However-

The Bad: I felt the characters here were incredibly two-dimensional and flat, which is a double-whammy disappointment with how great Maddie/Lucius were in the first book, and how well set-up Rebecca/Grace were. Again many of the characters felt caricaturistic, but without a sense of depth and realism which made them very awkward to read, especially the dialogue exchanges. It was equally frustrating to read the scene of Rebecca breaking the news of Rose's death, and having everyone instantly cry. That doesn't happen in real life! Where is the shock?! Where is the emotional build up? Where are the five stages of grief? So many little details that really add up and take the reader out of the story.

The chapters felt too short, as though they were unfinished placeholders just to map out the pace of the story and never revisited or fully finished. The pace despite this was incredibly slow, and I feel like nothing noteworthy has happened by the time I decided to put the book down. We start with a bang with a mysterious murder and missing keys, and then... nothing? It was quite boring, I'm sad to say. I also don't remember Rose from the first book (she might be an entirely new character, I'm unsure) and so I have very little invested in wanting to find out why she was murdered. Could have had a Jack the Ripper uhh... rip off, with each 'fallen' woman at the shelter being picked off one by one. Something with a little more actual mystery and a faster pace, matching how gruesome the first book could often times be. I would have also started the book similar to the first with a flash-forward to whatever high-tension scene we have coming up, and then instantly jump into Rebecca informing the shelter women that Rose has been killed, skipping the first initial chapter/s.

Last but not least, misogyny. Not from me (I hope), but as a clear theme the author is interested in, with time-accurate misogyny littering basically every page. This started out as a 'hell yeah, call out the gross sexism' and turned into 'oh, another sexist micro aggression? How groundbreaking'. It was too much, and yet not enough. I would have much preferred a deep dive on one or two examples, like Rebecca running a shelter, or Maddie wanting to be an artist, and thoroughly explore the misogyny around those instances, instead of a thousand shallow papercuts seemingly just for the sake of it. Again, the caricaturistic nature of the characters comes through, with most of the male characters simply being bobbleheads of sexism. Would hit harder coming from a character who is otherwise genuinely likeable, but still holds the time-accurate ideas of what women are supposed to be.

The Ugly: This felt like an early draft, rushed and shallow. I don't want to put the fault to Cooksley because she has proven (to me) that she is a great writer with The Small Museum, but hey, writing takes time to perfect! I understand 100% that authors are often pressured by publishers with deadlines and due dates and I imagine Cooksley simply didn't have the time she did for the first book to really sit with the story and the characters and add flesh to bones. I might be wrong, maybe it's a different editor, who knows, regardless I need publishers to start trusting authors instead of squeezing unpolished books through the gate. Patience is a virtue, etc.

Sorry! Still love The Small Museum and need it adapted to screen, somehow, someway.

If I had finished it and nothing about the writing, characters, or pace changed, then it would have been a 2/5

This is a dark tale exploring attitudes to so called fallen women in Victorian London. It opens with a brutal murder of a much loved cook who worked in a home for abandoned women and their illegitimate children. It seems that the proprietors of this house are the only ones who genuinely care for these people. Others, including from the medical profession regard them as irredeemable and eminently disposable, willing to use them in spurious medical research for their own gratification. As the investigation to the murder proceeds the proprietors face losing their house and their lives but manage to overcome these challenges in what turns out to be an optimistic ending.

3.5 stars

As a lover of historical fiction, I was eager to dive into this gothic Victorian murder mystery—and it certainly delivers on atmosphere. The macabre tone and creepy Evergreen mansion evoke strong Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier) vibes, made even more amusing by the narrator also being named Rebecca. Grace and the enigmatic Threlfall intrigued me early on, and while I haven’t read the preceding book, this one stands well on its own.

Though I enjoyed the mystery and the slow unveiling of the true villains, I found the story lacked the rich historical detail I often crave in historical fiction—beyond a few midwives’ tales and period superstitions. That said, the writing kept me guessing until about 85% in, and the themes of revenge and hope gave it depth. Overall, a moody, engaging read, though I wished for more immersion in its historical setting and perhaps a bit more character development.

A very enjoyable victorian thriller, even if you haven't read the previous book.
Some twists and turns, I enjoyed the different perspectives in different chapters which gives more insight into the characters.
Altogether a good read. A little slow in places but worth sticking with.

I hadn't read the previous book, so it took me a little while to get into the story, but in the end it was worth it.
The first half felt a bit slow, but the tension in the second half, and increasing towards the end, was excellent.
I'm not normally a huge fan of historical fiction, but this was a good book to dip into, particularly when it seemed more of a thriller than historical fiction to me. I did feel myself hugely concerned about what was going to happen to these characters, which, as they are only fictional, meant that the author did a splendid job of bringing them to life.

I feel if I’d read the first book in this series I’d maybe be more invested in these characters more and have a better understanding of the world.

Rebecca is a very interesting character and I found myself liking her a lot but just felt things were jumping around in terms of storylines and I just wanted to focus on the murder that I just got a bit confused.

A dark gothic tale that will leave you wanting and questioning. The atmosphere is lush and decadent, pulling into this dark but gorgeous world. It is very well thought out and written with great attention to details. The story has several layers. The characters are interesting to say the least but are a bit unreliable. A mystery you should not miss, if you love gothic tales and atmospheric reads.

This book is a follow up to the Small Museum by the same author and keeps the sense of creepy dread going. A good gothic tale and I did enjoy reading it.

If you're in the mood for an atmospheric Victorian gothic, then step inside The Surgeon's House by Jody Cooksley. Evergreen House, former ancestral home of the sinister Everly family is now a refuge for women fallen from society 's grace and a school for their children run by Rebecca Harris and her husband George and staffed by the mysterious. I enjoyed this book. Thankyou NetGalley and Allison&Busby for this arc to read.

A very haunting mystery, with lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I couldn’t quite get on with this book, it was really slow to get started and it felt like nothing happened for the first 3/4 of the story. At times it also felt like the book made a storyline jump without making it clear it had moved on in time. I did get quite confused on a number of occasions. Once it actually got going, I quite enjoyed it and read it quite quickly as I wanted to reach the finale. I debated giving it a 3 out of 5 but I don’t think it quite made it, so it’s a 2 from me.

This was one strange, twisted story. Set in England in the 1800’s, when things were done much differently. Wayward women, regardless of the cause, were considered criminals and/or derelicts. Thus the reason for homes/institutions to house them. This story follows one such place. I was given a complimentary copy of this book and the opinions are my own.

Although uncomfortable, the barest aspect of this book was the representation of views of women in the era.
The attitudes and experience of women was well written, and felt true to the historical reports of the time.

The storyline was good. As others have said I loved Rebecca and George, and was happy with how their storyline played out. However the ending was a little rushed, and I wish more time had been spent on it.

This book didn’t massively stand out, but perhaps this is a reflection of the excellent examples of the genre we have at the moment rather than a failing of the book. It wasn’t a disappointment at all, and was a decent example of the genre.

3.5 but rounded up.

firstly, the blurb on NetGalley did not list this one as a sequel so i was surprised to find that that was the case. the book was generally fine, but i found some of the characters a bit flat. 3.25 stars. tysm for the arc.

This book has a great setting, and I was really drawn in by it (Victorian England). I liked the book, but realized it may have been better if I had read the book that this was a sequel to. I didn't quite realize it was a sequel until I had already begun reading, and by then had already made it too far in the book to go back!

DNF @25%

I was wondering why this felt like a sequel and it turns out that it is. I had to read another review for this book to figure it out. I don't like this book so far, and I'm not interested in reading the first one and continuing with this one.

A great and suspenseful novel which had me gripped up to the end! I have not read the first book, I did not need to, but I will as I definitely want to know what led to this second book. I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed reading about what was done (or not) to help vulnerable women. The storyline was rather creepy with the murders and the experiences done in the past (still happening?), but also very well done. I started guessing some facts but nearly at the very end.... This is the kind of novel you don't want to put down before the conclusion.... I loved it!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

Rebecca and George are such a likeable couple. They are running a home for unmarried mothers and their children doing their best by them, teaching new skills and running a small business selling crafts to help with running costs. At the start f the book, we find out that the beloved cook Rose has been murdered and from there, the home is hit with a series of tragedies leading to many threats of closure. Alongside that, the story is told of Grace who is in an asylum plotting revenge, and that of Threfall who is running a private clinic in the basement of Evergreen House. There are some good red herrings along the way.
I found out at the end of the book that it actually a sequel to another book about Rebecca and Maddie. This is definitely readable as a standalone, but I want to read the first one now as well!
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

🌒 4 stars
The Surgeon’s House by Jody Cooksley pulled me into the haunting shadows of Victorian London and didn’t let go. This follows Rebecca Harris as she fights to protect the vulnerable souls under her care at Evergreen House—only to be drawn into another web of secrets, violence, and ghostly legacies.

I was immediately taken with the gothic atmosphere—rich, layered, and unsettling in all the right ways. Cooksley knows how to build dread, and the house itself feels like a breathing presence, heavy with grief and memory. Rebecca is a standout heroine—resilient, compassionate, and stubborn in a world that wants to silence her.

The added mystery and tension, though I found some of the pacing in the middle a bit sluggish. A few threads didn’t pull as tightly together as I’d hoped, but the emotional depth, historical detail, and feminist undercurrents more than made up for it.

This one lingered with me—dark, smart, and full of aching beauty. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves their fiction with gothic flair and a beating feminist heart.

#TheSurgeonsHouse #NetGalley #HistoricalFiction #GothicReads #VictorianGothic #FeministFiction #JodyCooksley #RebeccaHarris #GothicMystery #BookReview #ARCReview

The Surgeon’s House is, seemingly, a historical mystery revolving around the residents of Evergreen House, a refuge and safe space for women and children to start over. Primarily following the proprietor of the house, Rebecca Harris, Cooksley attempts to represent the struggles that women faced in the 1880s while also laying down vague lines for a mystery to unfold. However, I was severely let down by this book, and eventually chose not to complete it on page 199 of 320. With weak pacing, bland characters, and a frustrating narrative, I simply couldn’t find anything about this story that I actually enjoyed, and so I decided that it was better to leave it unfinished than attempt to push through the last ~100 pages.

The only compliment I can give to the character writing is how utterly awful the men were, as that seemed to be the one purpose they served - every man that interacted with Rebecca and her wards was rude and cruel and disrespectful, to the point that it took away from the book for me. I respect that Cooksley wanted to showcase the mistreatment of women in the 1880s, however, it felt entirely without purpose, as if it was done simply to upset readers rather than create any sort of commentary or worthwhile narrative impact.

This story started strong for me, as it immediately kicks off with the event that I thought would set the plot into motion. I discovered very quickly, however, that the plot was simply “women suffer,” which was just annoying to me. So, the narrative lost me by the time I reached the fifth chapter, but I was determined to read as much as possible in the hopes that things would improve.

I’m a huge fan of stories set in 1880s England, because it's such an interesting and revolutionary time in that country’s history. Admittedly, I felt like nothing about this story - aside from the way men treated women - even alluded to the era that it was set in. I recognize that the setting should be important, and yet the only time it seems to come into play is when Cooksley wants to emphasize that the women are suffering because of cruel men.

There was so much promise in the plot of this story, but it felt like it was simply doing nothing and going nowhere. I know that I missed out on the last third of the book, but the quality of the first 200 pages was so lackluster that I just couldn’t keep going. Nothing about this felt like the mystery that I thought it would be. Maybe that’s on me for misunderstanding the description and assuming this would actually be a mystery novel, but it's so not. Though there were brief moments of intrigue, the chapters always cut off just before things had the chance to get interesting, leaving this pacing and story utterly dull.

Cooksley's writing style isn’t bad, but unfortunately it's just not interesting. She clearly shows an understanding of structure (and upon researching her, she certainly has the experience to show as much), and yet this story was so dull and somewhat vague to me. It felt as if there was never enough detail to create an immersive world or interesting characters, and so the plot suffered from lacking those elements. It's just not clear to me what the goal of this book was, because all aspects of the writing were simply underwhelming for me.