This is a Gothic novel for the thinking person. In mid 19th century, England, a traveling showman ads an albino girl to his repertoire of what he calls freaks. She falls in love with him and becomes pregnant with his child. He locks her up in a house called Merry Hall, and things go rapidly downhill from there. Flash forward to 2005 when a single mother, desperate for a place to live moves into Merry Hall only to discover that it’s a long dead previous inhabitants have never left

This is an amazing debut novel by the author, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. Dolly is an albino girl who is working for practically nothing when the amazing Mr wenham picks her up offering a glittering future beyond her dreams. She adores him and will do anything for the man who has promised her a life of plenty. Things turn to tragedy though and affect generations of the family for years to come. Nell and Fern need to discover what has happened in the spooky Merry Hall, can they find out its secrets before it’s too late?

Amazing writing that keeps you wanting to know more, well written and engaging.