Every so often, you stumble upon a gothic novel that doesn't just tell you a creepy story—it gets under your skin and refuses to leave. House of Splinters did exactly that to me. The second Belinda Bainbridge walks into The Bridge, Laura Purcell had me completely hooked. The atmosphere is so heavy and unsettling that I swear I could feel the damp cold of those decaying hallways and hear something scratching behind the walls.
Belinda has spent her whole life living in her mother's anxious shadow, so when she finally becomes lady of the manor, she thinks her real life is starting. But The Bridge? It's not just a house. It feels alive—soaked in grief, greed, and something way older and darker than any human evil. Nothing grows in the garden, the servants won't stop whispering about past tragedies, and worst of all, her son Freddie seems weirdly drawn to these creepy wooden figures—the "silent companions"—that stand around the house like they're watching everyone.

What Purcell does so brilliantly is keep you guessing the whole way through. Is Belinda actually losing her mind, or is the house genuinely out to get her? The answer creeps up on you slowly, and before you know it, you realize every strange shadow, every midnight knock, every creak has been building to something all along.

The writing itself is gorgeous—rich and elegant without ever feeling like it's trying too hard. It's like watching candlelight dance across faded wallpaper: beautiful and delicate, but when the flame flickers just right, you catch glimpses of something terrifying underneath. The pacing pulls you in gradually, almost hypnotically, until the final act hits like a freight train and left me genuinely gasping.

But what really got me about House of Splinters is how much heart it has beneath all the scares. Yes, it's atmospheric and creepy as hell, but Purcell also digs into grief, family legacies, and the impossible weight put on women—especially how quickly they're labeled "hysterical" when they're the only ones brave enough to see what's really happening. Watching Belinda quietly come undone felt painfully real, and Freddie's eerie innocence just cranked up the dread even more.

And Nathan—oh, Belinda's unexpected brother. He shows up all charming and helpful, but there's something rotten lurking beneath that smile. His arrival kicks everything into overdrive, unearthing buried secrets and old sins that had me tearing through pages like my life depended on it, desperate to see which ghost would get the final say.

If The Silent Companions put Purcell on the gothic map, House of Splinters proves she's not going anywhere. This is a story about legacy, madness, and what happens when you try to live in a house that absolutely does not want you there.

By the time I finished, I didn't just feel spooked—I felt like the story had claimed a piece of me. The Bridge isn't just a backdrop anymore; it's a character that's going to stay with me for a very long time.

This is a slow-burn masterpiece that builds into an absolute crescendo of terror. Gothic horror doesn't get much better than this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the digital review copy. All thoughts are my own—and yes, I'm still a little haunted.

House of Splinters is a historical horror following Belinda and her family as they move out of London and into their ancestral home in the rural countryside following the death of her husband Wilfred's father. However, Wilfred is keeping secrets from Belinda about the truth behind his family's history, and those secrets come to light over time in horrifying and gruesome ways.

4.5 stars rounded down - another excellent read! I finished this right after finishing another horror novel, and both of them were so good! This story was atmospheric, spooky, creepy, and had just a touch of gore in all the right places. This was another story I could only bring myself to read during the day - and that's how you know a horror story is doing its job well!

I enjoyed the characters a lot, I adored Wilfred as a father and husband to Belinda, especially given how women were prone to being treated at this time. Belinda was incredible, I loved her strength and devotion as a mother, and loved how she stood up for herself and for her children. I thought the silent companions were excellently creepy, and I liked reading about the backstory of Anne and her daughter. I thought the reveals at the end were fantastic, I didn't expect them at all, but I thought the way the reveals and explanations tied into the plot were done really well.

I learned while reading about this book that it's actually a sequel (or prequel?) to another story set in the same location, so that's immediately going on my TBR to read shortly.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can't express how GOOD this was. So delightfully eerie and genuinely creepy that I had actually had to turn my lights on. I know some are going to find the pace of this slow, but trust me there was no other way the story should have played out. I thought at one point it was going to slow down too much and go from slow burn to snails pace, but before I could even worry, Laura had my pulse racing and heart pounding.

Every character felt so alive - including Bridge Manor. Creepy dolls and haunted houses with a heavy dose of dark family secrets, it's the perfect recipe for a gothic ghost story. And it DID feel like a classic ghost tale.

I can't wait to get my grubby hands on a physical copy AND to finally dive into The Silent Companions.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing & netgalley for the arc!

I was thrilled to return to the dank, decaying world of The Bridge in this brilliant companion novel to ‘The Silent Companions’ by Laura Purcell, the modern master of the gothic ghost story. A very different plot, but one that once again features our favorite uncannily creepy two-dimensional friends, the silent companions of the original book’s title. I would read ten novels set at the Bridge and featuring Hetta and her lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for a copy provided for an honest review.

If you enjoy a creepy gothic haunted house story, I have just the book for you. The Silent Companions has been my go-to recommendation for a gothic chiller for years. I was so excited to hear that the author was revisiting the setting of The Bridge, a remote estate in the English countryside. This story takes place prior to the events in The Silent Companions so it can be read stand alone and I certainly hope you enjoy it enough to seek out The Silent Companions immediately.

Belinda is excited to be moving with her husband to his late father’s remote estate with their son after feeling smothered by her anxious mother for years. The home and grounds are in quite the state of disrepair and she’s looking forward to all the projects though her husband is dismayed to find the neglect has penetrated to the extent of the farm and tenant houses with very disgruntled tenants and locals. When Wilfred’s brother arrives to join the family from abroad, he brings a different dynamic with eerie stories of the family home.

Filled with family secrets and an ancestral home that exudes unease in its inhabitants, the atmospheric setting of The Bridge is the perfect backdrop for this gothic suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the family histories combined with local legends filled with community and familial animosity. Is the house haunted? Who is behind the hauntings? Is it a disgruntled employee, a tragic ghost from the family’s past or both? I love suspense when it’s mixed with possible supernatural causes and this was just the book to keep me guessing.

Recommended to readers who love a haunted gothic chiller and dysfunctional families.

Where do I begin with this excellent, five-star read? With its amazing characters? Beautiful, atmospheric prose? Flawless plot? Or should I go with its unbearable creepiness and the insanely suspenseful last chapters? Why not all of the above? This novel is set at The Bridge, the same manor as the author’s previous “The Silent Companions.” I haven’t read it yet, so I’m not sure if it’s a prequel or a sequel (it has been bumped up my TBR and is next on my list). “House of Splinters” is described as a Gothic slow burner but it’s anything but “slow.” Purcell takes her time introducing the characters and describing the environment, yet the action never drags. If anything, the pacing ratches up the tension in ways that had me turning the pages anxiously. The historical context is well portrayed and rendered in immersive detail. I could almost feel the floors groaning and the uncomfortable furniture digging into my back. I read a lot of mysteries, and few things give me goosebumps anymore. Well, this one did. Belinda the MC, hearing things at night and, well, no spoilers but some parts made me look uneasily over my Kindle to make sure there was nothing there. The twists were surprising and forced me to rethink what had come before. I was never sure where the story was going. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this. Highly recommended.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Blackstone Publishing!

House of splinters - Laura Purcell

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to read this book. 📖🙂

House of Splinters was literally AMAZING!!!!!!
I loved The Silent Companions so, so much, so being back at The Bridge, six years after reading the first book, has been a dream 🥺
This prequel was even better than The Silent Companions, in my opinion!
So many twists, revelations, secrets and mysteries!!! I couldn’t guess what would happen!!
The book was so unsettling, with evil slowly spreading everywhere. Otherworldly evil or merely human?
I loved everything!
Please Laura Purcell, could you write 1000 more prequels/sequels set at The bridge?? I would devour them!! There are so many storylines left to explore!!! 🙌🏻

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This book gave me the same atmospheric dread of The Woman in White and then added a whole new level of supernatural horror. I absolutely loved it! I was worried I wouldn’t like it as much as The Silent Companions but I nothing to fear but those creepy painted wooden people themselves. This book was just as dark, unsettling, and beautifully written as the first. I can’t wait to read more from this author! Thank you so much for the digital ARC to review!

"House of Splinters is the long-awaited prequel to bestselling and multi-award-winning author Laura Purcell's gothic horror classic, The Silent Companions.

Not every house is a home...

Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband, Wilfred, and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home together: born a merchant's daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.

But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before, while their young son, Freddy, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures - so-called "silent companions" - that were once owned by his ancestors.

When Wilfred's charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family's past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?

And are Belinda's children truly safe here?"

As a huge Laura Purcell fan, the fact that she's finally written her first "sequel" which just happens to be to her breakout The Silent Companions, I am all aflutter. I also ordered a signed copy from overseas last year because I couldn't wait until February!

Can we just start with the cover. If this doesn't set the mood for this beautifully written gothic novel I don't know what would! And another novel about a house that is living and breathing its secrets and sins?!?! Geez! Alex E Harrow is gaining some company in atmospheric, gothic writing that have the house as the central, living breathing, creepy character.

What if houses held our deepest sins and secrets? What if the legacy we leave becomes woven into the walls and hallways of the house we live in. What if......the houses we lived in and passed on breathed and lived as well?

On surface level this book is a creepy tale of hidden secrets, greed, grief and the legacies that people leave behind drenched in the walls of The Bridge. However, on a deeper level this deals with themes that are much more complex and complicated, much deeper and heart felt; especially by women. In a home that has withstood time and history there are stories hidden and untold, deeply seated in the walls and hallways. The stories of women who come undone under the stress of womanhood, those who are brave enough to speak up but then are labeled hysterical, crazy, undone. This is a masterpiece in writing! I found myself so immersed and emotionally invested that after the last page when I could breathe again I found myself rethinking things and revisiting this story.

If you enjoyed "Starling House" by Alex E. Harrow or Wildewood by Jessica Thorne that have the same gothic vibes then you will fall in love with this one - uniquely its own.

In House Of Splinters by Laura Purcell, Belinda is done living under her mother's domineering shadow. When her father-in-law dies, leaving a grand estate called The Bridge to her husband and her family, she's all too eager to flee her hometown in favor of building a life for herself and children. After they arrive, however, strange happenings make her question all she knows about the house and everything her husband has told her about it and his family's history. The garden is wild, the house is falling apart, and her son, Freddie, seems obsessed with the figurines around the estate - dolls, owned by his ancestors. When Nathan, her husband's charismatic brother, arrives, she begins to suspect a terrible truth: they are not alone in that house.

This book was a compelling blend of historical, fantastical, and terrifying. I've never read anything by Purcell before, and I didn't know this was a prequel to another novel until I looked it up. Reading this book has made me excited to dive into and read The Silent Companions, the full novel and main storyline written by Purcell, and discover what other characters and stories occur in this universe. I absolutely loved the characters, especially Belinda, and how everyone else treated her so differently from each other. I loved the twists and turns, and was gasping and flying through the pages soon after starting to read the novel. Purcell is a phenomenal author of horror, and her work is both easy and satisfying to read.

I had no idea that Purcell was releasing a prequel to the much beloved The Silent Companions, and as soon as I saw it on NetGalley, I knew I needed to read it!

Set about a hundred years before the events of The Silent Companions, this story follows Belinda and her husband, Wilfred, as they move their growing family to the ancestral Bainbridge home following the death of Wilfred’s father. But not everything is roses at this estate - almost immediately, the family senses something sinister in the house. And, of course, they quickly become acquainted with the silent companions.

As expected from 18th century society, as Belinda begins to express her fear and anxiety, the rest of the cast of characters dismiss her and boil it down to her “nervous disposition” (read: hysteria). But when Wilfred’s estranged brother, Nathan, comes to The Bridge, he affirms the darkness that Belinda feels in the house and quickly becomes her ally in the fight to save her family. Can they work together to ultimately save their loved ones?

As with the story's predecessor, Purcell’s writing is GORGEOUS!! She expertly builds an eerie and entrancing atmosphere that keeps you hooked from start to finish, while also exploring themes of complicated family dynamics, grief, the impossible expectations women have to navigate to be taken seriously. At this point, if Purcell writes it, I will absolutely read it!

While there are obvious links between House of Splinters and The Silent Companions, you do not need to have read one to enjoy the other (though I, personally, loved finding the ways they connected). And - dare I say - I think I may have enjoyed this slightly more!

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell will be released on February 10th, 2026.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC!

A return to the world of The Silent Companions so we already know they’re not a statue or a painting but somewhere in between. It still retains a chilling atmosphere and ambiguity as the author splinters the story into multiple points of views and their experiences with the malevolent forces of evil and their subconscious fears.

This deeply atmospheric, foreboding novel tells a deliciously creepy ghost story that will stay with you long into the night.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you, NetGally and Blackstone Publishing, for this ARC

The Silent Companions is probably one of my all time favorite books so when I found out a prequel was coming out and it was available as an ARC I jumped at the chance and held my breath I'd be accepted and I jumped for joy (literally) when I got the email I was approved. I immediately dived in when I was finished cleaning, and wow, this is another banger! House of Spliters is a slower burn as it does assume you have read Silent Companions and know the story of The Bridge and the Companions. Knowing what happens to the end of the story I had an idea that some characters would make it out but even by the end I was like oh we could lose all these characters.The Silent Companions follows a newly widowed wife dealing with her late husband ancestral home but in House of Splinters we follow Belinda and Wilfred and their young son Freddie and I loved their little family. Having a husband of that time period, listen and care for his wife (a bit he started to believe her a bit too late), but I loved their dynamic that we didn't get in book 1. The horror was still there. Like I said, it was still a slow burn, but it was a different type of horror as children were now involved. The Companions themselves are so unsettling as a horror concept, and book 1 still holds some amazing scares. There's 2 scares in this that made me so uncomfortable because if it was in a horror movie, it would be such a good scare! I liked this one too that sure the Companions are causing mischief, but we find out they dont like taking the blame for things they didn't do 😉 and we get a whole different side of them. This is such a good book series and Im happy we got to go back to The Bridge and to the world that Laura made, these books are begging for a movie or limited series (with the right director these could be terrifying) I will never stop saying the praises of these books!!! House of Splinters is out in North America on February 10th, 2026

Laura Purcell does not disappoint in this new tale from The Bridge! And, you don't need to have read The Silent Companions first to enjoy this story (although the backstory is helpful).

We follow Belinda Bainbridge as she moves with her family to her husband's estate, where of course strange things start to happen. Her son, Freddy, is acting strangely and obsessed with his new toys: the silent companions. Belinda is pregnant and due with her new baby soon, which adds to the stress of the move and getting settled in their new home. Additionally, her husband Wilfred is dealing with money troubles and unrest among the village people. Surprise guests complicate matters and soon the family will suffer the consequences of past wrongs.

Spooky, gothic, and mysterious, this book was such a good read. The atmosphere was thick with foreboding and the prose lovely and perfect for the setting. I loved the twist, but I felt like there were some loose threads left hanging.

Recommend for lovers of gothic ghost stories!

*A GOTHIC, TWISTED, AND HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL HISTORICAL THRILLER: HOUSE OF SPLINTERS BY LAURA PURCELL 🏠🔪*

Laura Purcell's "House of Splinters" is a MASTERPIECE OF DARK INTROSPECTION 🤯. This atmospheric, gothic tale will ensnare you in its eerie world 🌫️. The story follows a complex exploration of family secrets, madness, and the darker side of Victorian-era England.

Purcell's writing is lush, evocative, and hypnotic, crafting a narrative that's both a haunting ride and a poignant exploration of the human psyche 😮. The characters are complex, flawed, and unforgettable, with a cast that'll stay with you long after the last page 📚.

The twists are expertly woven, with a story that'll leave you breathless and pondering the darkness that lies within 💀. If you enjoy historical thrillers with plenty of suspense, gothic atmosphere, and a focus on character dynamics, "House of Splinters" is a MUST-READ 📖.

haunting gothic horror that works really effectively. the plotting is good and the tension is great. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.