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The House on Rye Lane
They thought they’d found their dream home. They were wrong.
2008. The house Maxine and Seb have just bought was a bargain – a huge Georgian townhouse on the edge of Peckham Rye, it needs a lot of work but Max couldn’t resist it. Now they are in, though, nothing seems to be going right – and as the problems mount up, Max starts to doubt her relationship as well as her decision. Is Seb all he seems to be? And why are the neighbours so evasive about the house’s previous owner?
1994. Cookie and his parents have been forced by his dad’s gambling debts to move into the attic room of a big old house, as lodgers. Tensions run high between them and their elderly landlady, and there’s something odd about the place that Cookie can’t quite put his finger on…
1843. Horatio built this house for his beloved wife, who then died in mysterious circumstances. After a second death on the premises, both his servants and the locals are starting to talk. Horatio’s grief is tinged with shame and guilt. What is he hiding? And will the house ever be free of his legacy?
2008. The house Maxine and Seb have just bought was a bargain – a huge Georgian townhouse on the edge of Peckham Rye, it needs a lot of work but Max couldn’t resist it. Now they are in, though, nothing seems to be going right – and as the problems mount up, Max starts to doubt her relationship as well as her decision. Is Seb all he seems to be? And why are the neighbours so evasive about the house’s previous owner?
1994. Cookie and his parents have been forced by his dad’s gambling debts to move into the attic room of a big old house, as lodgers. Tensions run high between them and their elderly landlady, and there’s something odd about the place that Cookie can’t quite put his finger on…
1843. Horatio built this house for his beloved wife, who then died in mysterious circumstances. After a second death on the premises, both his servants and the locals are starting to talk. Horatio’s grief is tinged with shame and guilt. What is he hiding? And will the house ever be free of his legacy?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 18, 2024
90 people are currently reading
757 people want to read
About the author
Susan Allott
2 books129 followersSusan Allott is a critically acclaimed British writer whose debut The Silence was published internationally by Harper Collins in 2020 and was longlisted for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.
Her second novel, The House on Rye Lane, publishes 18 January 2024 (UK) and 30 April 2024 (US). Susan lives in south London with her husband and children.
‘Sublime, elegant and exciting. The House on Rye Lane is beautifully written and entirely gripping. I’m a big fan of Susan Allott’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘The lovechild of Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests and Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs… confirms Susan Allott as a huge talent’ ERIN KELLY
Sign up for Susan's author newsletter via her website www.susanallott.com
Follow Susan on Twitter @susanallott and Instagram @susanallottauthor and Facebook @facebook.com/sallottauthor
Specialises in: Contemporary, literary (including book club fiction), crime/thrillers/mysteries.
Her second novel, The House on Rye Lane, publishes 18 January 2024 (UK) and 30 April 2024 (US). Susan lives in south London with her husband and children.
‘Sublime, elegant and exciting. The House on Rye Lane is beautifully written and entirely gripping. I’m a big fan of Susan Allott’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘The lovechild of Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests and Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs… confirms Susan Allott as a huge talent’ ERIN KELLY
Sign up for Susan's author newsletter via her website www.susanallott.com
Follow Susan on Twitter @susanallott and Instagram @susanallottauthor and Facebook @facebook.com/sallottauthor
Specialises in: Contemporary, literary (including book club fiction), crime/thrillers/mysteries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
July 23, 2025
This is a story with 3 distinct timelines. It is a sinister, gripping, riveting, page-turning tale that isn’t my typical read. Yes, I love a good mystery, but I am the girl that if the music starts to have that dark foreboding sound coming on, I am going to place that pillow over my eyes, and ask my husband to just tell me when the creepy parts are over.
Of course, as readers, we can’t do that, right? So, I have to pay attention and allow myself to be ready to read through this intricately plotted tale. And, hope I don’t allow myself to be spooked too much.
What is interesting about this story, is that the character, isn’t so much about the people that inhabit the tale, it is the history that inhabits the house on Rye Lane. (Hence: the name of the book!) Thus, making the key character of this book, the “House” on Rye Lane.
Once, readers feel the suspense, follow the different timelines, and flow with the characters who live within the house during those timelines, the plot begins to come together making it hard for readers to put the book down.
The questions then become…
What secrets lie within this house? And, what happened to the previous tenants, and why?
The final question will be…what will it take, for the House on Rye Lane to finally settle down?
Oh, one last thing…please, don’t read this book in the dark.😳
Of course, as readers, we can’t do that, right? So, I have to pay attention and allow myself to be ready to read through this intricately plotted tale. And, hope I don’t allow myself to be spooked too much.
What is interesting about this story, is that the character, isn’t so much about the people that inhabit the tale, it is the history that inhabits the house on Rye Lane. (Hence: the name of the book!) Thus, making the key character of this book, the “House” on Rye Lane.
Once, readers feel the suspense, follow the different timelines, and flow with the characters who live within the house during those timelines, the plot begins to come together making it hard for readers to put the book down.
The questions then become…
What secrets lie within this house? And, what happened to the previous tenants, and why?
The final question will be…what will it take, for the House on Rye Lane to finally settle down?
Oh, one last thing…please, don’t read this book in the dark.😳
January 28, 2024
Slow-build tension…
Built around 1830 and having lain empty for quite some time, the house on Rye Lane is in need of serious renovation when Maxine and Seb move in in 2008. They’re both working in well-paid jobs though, so they can afford it. Except that Seb had been working in Lehman’s in the city, one of the banks that would be hit hardest by the crash. So now Seb is unemployed and, with the state of the banking sector, pretty much unemployable. As Maxine struggles to keep the renovations ticking over, their relationship is becoming increasingly strained. But theirs is not the first strained relationship that the house has seen in its history…
Jumping back and forward between three timelines (two more than I prefer), I felt this book would have its work cut out to hold my attention. And for a while it was touch and go as to whether I’d stick with it. The first half is slow as we gradually meet and get to know the characters in the three timelines. But it starts with a great prologue that sets up an enticing mystery and that was enough to keep me reading. Gradually I found my interest growing in the two main strands – 1994 and 2008 – and while the earliest strand – 1843 – never quite grabbed me, it is minor in comparison to the other two, really there to set up the history of the house and the neighbourhood and to provide a background for the house’s rather creepy reputation.
In 1843, the house is owned by Horatio Lloyd, the man who originally had it built. His wife has recently died as has one of the maids, and the gossip is that Lloyd may have killed them. Lloyd claims they were killed by the miasma rising from the Peck, the river running across the Rye into which the sewage of all the new houses is dumped. Lloyd is the first of the house’s owners to find himself struggling financially and hoping, literally that his ship will come in.
In 1994, Diana Lloyd now owns the house – a descendant of that long-ago Horatio. Miss Lloyd can’t afford the upkeep of the house alone, so she has taken in lodgers – the Delaneys, who live in the attic. Ruth and Lee are also having marital issues brought on by financial worries, this time because Lee has a gambling problem that has led him into serious debt with some scary people. Their son, young Cookie, is deeply unhappy in this house, and the elder Delaneys bitterly resent that Mrs Lloyd keeps rooms on the second floor empty and unused, while all three of them are crowded into one living space in the attic. The prologue tells us that Mrs Lloyd dies, probably murdered by one of her lodgers, and the chapters in this timeline gradually reveal the tensions that led up to that and we eventually find out who did the deed, and why.
2008 is probably the main timeline – it’s certainly the one I became most invested in. Max and Seb may be having their problems but they’re both likeable and seem to genuinely love each other. But we soon learn that Seb is lying to Maxine, though we don’t know about what. The house is adding to their problems not just because of money, but because Maxine loves it while Seb finds it creepy and possibly haunted. He’s not sleeping – is it the house or his financial woes that keep him awake at nights? Is it his imagination that taps turn on by themselves and there are sounds that might be footsteps on the upper floors? Then there’s Colin, the man who is doing the renovations. Maxine finds him attractive, though she’s determined to resist temptation and make her relationship with Seb work. Seb doesn’t like Colin at all, and resents Maxine hiring him without consultation.
That’s all I’m going to reveal of the plot, which makes it hard to explain why the book becomes so tense in the second half, but the slow revelations are what make the book work. All along the reader knows slightly more than the characters but still not enough to be sure how the stories will play out. And because the characterisation is done so well, whether of the likeable characters like Max or the less appealing Delaneys, I found I cared about what would happen to them and that meant that the suspense grew to a level where I’d have carried on reading even if an earthquake had happened around me!
Allott uses her setting very effectively, especially the idea of the Peck – once a river meandering through a rural landscape, then turned into a sewer as houses began to be built in the area, and finally buried underground as urban sprawl brought Peckham into London. The house is spooky but without it being overdone. Everything that happens can be rationally explained, but there’s a feeling that the history of the house has made it a place of ill-luck, and Allott subtly makes the three stories echo each other as if it is the house that influences how its tenants behave. There’s a theme of gambling running across the three stories – from Horatio with his fortune tied up in a risky trading venture, to Lee whose gambling takes the form of getting into debt with bookmakers, to Seb and Lehman’s, gambling the economy of the world on the floor of the stock exchange.
I wasn’t at all sure about this one till I was a good way into it, but gradually it caught and held me, and I found the second half increasingly tense and riveting. Very different from her debut novel, The Silence, but just as good, this one has cemented Allott’s place on my must-read list.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Built around 1830 and having lain empty for quite some time, the house on Rye Lane is in need of serious renovation when Maxine and Seb move in in 2008. They’re both working in well-paid jobs though, so they can afford it. Except that Seb had been working in Lehman’s in the city, one of the banks that would be hit hardest by the crash. So now Seb is unemployed and, with the state of the banking sector, pretty much unemployable. As Maxine struggles to keep the renovations ticking over, their relationship is becoming increasingly strained. But theirs is not the first strained relationship that the house has seen in its history…
Jumping back and forward between three timelines (two more than I prefer), I felt this book would have its work cut out to hold my attention. And for a while it was touch and go as to whether I’d stick with it. The first half is slow as we gradually meet and get to know the characters in the three timelines. But it starts with a great prologue that sets up an enticing mystery and that was enough to keep me reading. Gradually I found my interest growing in the two main strands – 1994 and 2008 – and while the earliest strand – 1843 – never quite grabbed me, it is minor in comparison to the other two, really there to set up the history of the house and the neighbourhood and to provide a background for the house’s rather creepy reputation.
In 1843, the house is owned by Horatio Lloyd, the man who originally had it built. His wife has recently died as has one of the maids, and the gossip is that Lloyd may have killed them. Lloyd claims they were killed by the miasma rising from the Peck, the river running across the Rye into which the sewage of all the new houses is dumped. Lloyd is the first of the house’s owners to find himself struggling financially and hoping, literally that his ship will come in.
In 1994, Diana Lloyd now owns the house – a descendant of that long-ago Horatio. Miss Lloyd can’t afford the upkeep of the house alone, so she has taken in lodgers – the Delaneys, who live in the attic. Ruth and Lee are also having marital issues brought on by financial worries, this time because Lee has a gambling problem that has led him into serious debt with some scary people. Their son, young Cookie, is deeply unhappy in this house, and the elder Delaneys bitterly resent that Mrs Lloyd keeps rooms on the second floor empty and unused, while all three of them are crowded into one living space in the attic. The prologue tells us that Mrs Lloyd dies, probably murdered by one of her lodgers, and the chapters in this timeline gradually reveal the tensions that led up to that and we eventually find out who did the deed, and why.
2008 is probably the main timeline – it’s certainly the one I became most invested in. Max and Seb may be having their problems but they’re both likeable and seem to genuinely love each other. But we soon learn that Seb is lying to Maxine, though we don’t know about what. The house is adding to their problems not just because of money, but because Maxine loves it while Seb finds it creepy and possibly haunted. He’s not sleeping – is it the house or his financial woes that keep him awake at nights? Is it his imagination that taps turn on by themselves and there are sounds that might be footsteps on the upper floors? Then there’s Colin, the man who is doing the renovations. Maxine finds him attractive, though she’s determined to resist temptation and make her relationship with Seb work. Seb doesn’t like Colin at all, and resents Maxine hiring him without consultation.
That’s all I’m going to reveal of the plot, which makes it hard to explain why the book becomes so tense in the second half, but the slow revelations are what make the book work. All along the reader knows slightly more than the characters but still not enough to be sure how the stories will play out. And because the characterisation is done so well, whether of the likeable characters like Max or the less appealing Delaneys, I found I cared about what would happen to them and that meant that the suspense grew to a level where I’d have carried on reading even if an earthquake had happened around me!
Allott uses her setting very effectively, especially the idea of the Peck – once a river meandering through a rural landscape, then turned into a sewer as houses began to be built in the area, and finally buried underground as urban sprawl brought Peckham into London. The house is spooky but without it being overdone. Everything that happens can be rationally explained, but there’s a feeling that the history of the house has made it a place of ill-luck, and Allott subtly makes the three stories echo each other as if it is the house that influences how its tenants behave. There’s a theme of gambling running across the three stories – from Horatio with his fortune tied up in a risky trading venture, to Lee whose gambling takes the form of getting into debt with bookmakers, to Seb and Lehman’s, gambling the economy of the world on the floor of the stock exchange.
I wasn’t at all sure about this one till I was a good way into it, but gradually it caught and held me, and I found the second half increasingly tense and riveting. Very different from her debut novel, The Silence, but just as good, this one has cemented Allott’s place on my must-read list.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins via NetGalley.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
February 26, 2024
I'm a little disappointed with this one, after reading the blurb, I felt it was very much not what it said on the tin. The three different timelines were well done and the characterisation was good, however, after being initially intrigued, I found the story somewhat repetitive, it seemed to drag, and was ultimately for me, a bit of a let down, 3 stars.
January 18, 2024
4.5 stars. Three separate timelines, all bringing together the history of one house on Rye Lane. In 1843 there is Horatio. He’s grieving over the death of his wife and obsessed with the disease that the River Peck brings. In 1994 Cookie and his parents live in a tiny upstairs room, forced there by his father’s gambling debts. Then in the present day Maxine and Seb have just bought this unloved and dilapidated house. The renovation plans are immense and costly, so for that they will need financial security. Seb suddenly losing his job is the start of things going wrong…
What a gloriously creepy and unsettling read this was. The very first chapter reveals a murder so it’s instantly apparent that the house has a dark history. I loved the separate timelines; Horatio’s descriptions of the Victorian waterways, filled with sewage and disease felt oppressive and claustrophobic, but it was fascinating to move 150 years into the future and reflect on the changes to the area. To meet new residents starting new chapters; moving in, moving out, moving on, while the house stands sentinel; silent and watchful.
Wonderfully vivid and interesting characters, an eerie plot and a perfect denouement made this an absolutely riveting and incredibly well researched story. Highly recommended!
What a gloriously creepy and unsettling read this was. The very first chapter reveals a murder so it’s instantly apparent that the house has a dark history. I loved the separate timelines; Horatio’s descriptions of the Victorian waterways, filled with sewage and disease felt oppressive and claustrophobic, but it was fascinating to move 150 years into the future and reflect on the changes to the area. To meet new residents starting new chapters; moving in, moving out, moving on, while the house stands sentinel; silent and watchful.
Wonderfully vivid and interesting characters, an eerie plot and a perfect denouement made this an absolutely riveting and incredibly well researched story. Highly recommended!
December 18, 2023
A difficult review for me this one as not sure I can describe it as deserves…
I guess the easiest way is to say it as it is:
A big mansion house in Peckham that we find out via 3 story’s and timelines ( 1843, 1994 and 2008 ) causes its occupants a myriad of problems and grief
The 3 timeline sets of characters are not particularly endearing and in some cases feeble springs to mind, nevertheless they all play a part in what happens to amd in the house
The descriptions of the house are enough so you would never want to step into it as are the carryings on that go on BUT the changing fortunes as described of Peckham build a vivid picture of how the area used to be and is now
It’s darker than ink in places and there is not a whole lot of humour in the book but then the stories told are not ones to be lol ding at
Well written and the obvious time and effort invested in the history in the book shines through even before you read the Authors very detailed and interesting letter at the end
I guess now thinking back on the book I do know what to say as above and it is a good if unexpected and unsettling in parts read
I guess the easiest way is to say it as it is:
A big mansion house in Peckham that we find out via 3 story’s and timelines ( 1843, 1994 and 2008 ) causes its occupants a myriad of problems and grief
The 3 timeline sets of characters are not particularly endearing and in some cases feeble springs to mind, nevertheless they all play a part in what happens to amd in the house
The descriptions of the house are enough so you would never want to step into it as are the carryings on that go on BUT the changing fortunes as described of Peckham build a vivid picture of how the area used to be and is now
It’s darker than ink in places and there is not a whole lot of humour in the book but then the stories told are not ones to be lol ding at
Well written and the obvious time and effort invested in the history in the book shines through even before you read the Authors very detailed and interesting letter at the end
I guess now thinking back on the book I do know what to say as above and it is a good if unexpected and unsettling in parts read
October 6, 2023
This is the first novel I've read by the author and I will definitely be reading her debut novel next. The House on Rye Lane is a stunning novel that drew me in from the first page and I was completely immersed in it over the course of 24 hours. It's set over 3 timelines- 1843, 1994 and 2008. In 2008 Maxine and Seb purchase a Georgian townhouse to renovate, in 1994 Cookie and his family are lodgers in the attic room of the same house and in 1843 we meet Horatio who had the house built for his wife who died in mysterious circumstances. This is a beautifully written novel with an almost dreamlike quality, it's so atmospheric with a sinister undertone that draws the reader in completely . All three timelines come together over the course of this well researched novel that also brings the house and the area of Peckham Rye and its history to life. This is one of the best novels I've read this year and I would highly recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
January 18, 2024
Spooky, gothic splendour - this book will creep under your skin and keep you enthralled to the very last page. It’s the tale of three families who over the years have all lived in the freezing, creaking house on Rye Lane, where their dreadful secrets and terrible deeds have been absorbed into the bricks themselves. Stunning prose, drenched in atmosphere, this captivating novel excels in character and storytelling. The best book I’ve read in ages.
October 17, 2023
I really enjoyed the author's first
book, which was very different from this one, but happily just as good.
The different time lines worked well and the sinister house (which I imagined as quite Gothic but maybe that was more to do with the story) felt like one of the main characters. I like Ms Allott's writing style and look forward to finding out the theme of her next book which will definitely be on my reading pile
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book.
book, which was very different from this one, but happily just as good.
The different time lines worked well and the sinister house (which I imagined as quite Gothic but maybe that was more to do with the story) felt like one of the main characters. I like Ms Allott's writing style and look forward to finding out the theme of her next book which will definitely be on my reading pile
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book.
October 9, 2023
I found it difficult to get into this book at first, mainly due to the quick changes in perspective but about 10% of the way in I was hooked. The short chapters helped me whizz through it and I read the last 50% in one sitting. The story felt almost dreamlike, the settings and characters were so well written. I loved the different time periods all linking together and really enjoyed the book!
September 29, 2024
Solid thriller but the second half dragged before what felt like a very rushed and unbelievable ending. 3 stars
December 17, 2023
Read this book in two parts not intentionally but because of circumstances. This was a great read, really good characters and the eerie presence of the house nailed it. Full review to follow.
My thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this awesome read.
My thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this awesome read.
January 30, 2024
It took me a while to get into this novel and then I was hooked. I found it in places a very chilling read and that is reflected by the fact I have given it four rather than five stars. The novel is very well written (as was her last) but my discomfort was quite acute at some points.
January 13, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. Told over three timelines, it is immensely gripping and filled with twists and turns. I would highly recommend.
January 26, 2024
I really enjoyed this brilliant book. I do love a bit of a mystery with a bit of history thrown in !
5⭐️’s
5⭐️’s
May 5, 2024
The lie folded itself into the history of the house. It was swallowed up gladly, pulled under, so she couldn't have taken it back if she'd wanted to."
I thought this book would scare me, not break me.
January 18, 2024
1843. Grieving widower Horatio Lloyd writes furious letters to The Times demanding the enclosure of the stinking River Peck, which he blames for his wife's untimely death.
1994. Twelve-year-old Cookie and his parents move into the freezing attic of Mrs Lloyd's once-grand townhouse, fleeing his dad's gambling debts.
2008. Maxine is convinced she has found her dream home, even if it does need a bit (okay, a lot) of work. Her boyfriend Seb isn’t so sure - he can't shake the feeling that something very bad happened in the house.
Susan Allott's second novel, The House on Rye Lane, is an engaging mystery which combines rigorous historical research with three intriguing, inter-weaving storylines taking place in the same house over a period of over 170 years.
The author was inspired to dig into the history of Peckham, the district in south London where she lives, when the 2020 lockdowns compelled her to slow down and stay at home. Supported by local historians, she spent months researching how the area had evolved from a semi-rural middle-class enclave in the nineteenth century, to one of London's most deprived and notorious areas in the second half of the twentieth century, to a highly sought-after, fashionable (and expensive) hot-spot in the new millennium. In her author's note, Allott explains how she hoped to write 'a portrait of a corner of London whose wealth and fortune has fluctuated wildly over the centuries,' and at times - particularly in the 1994 and 2008 timelines - the historical exposition did feel clunky, the narrative contorted to fit the historical context rather than seamlessly blending into it. Nevertheless, the history of the area is fascinating, and even the more egregious information dumps are still very interesting.
The characters are a mixed bag. I was impressed by the way Allott is able to shift back and forth between Horatio's formal, old-fashioned cadence and the more casual way of speaking (even in their inner monologue) of the modern characters. Ruth, Cookie's mother, and Dorothy, their elderly landlady, get relatively little page time but feel like fully-realised, nuanced characters. In contrast, Max and Seb are the main characters of their timeline but I felt like the reasons behind them acting in certain ways were quite vague and non-specific, and I never felt like I had a secure grasp on who they were as individuals. I enjoyed their part of the narrative, which is the twistiest and most dynamic of the three mystery plots, but felt like I wasn't terribly invested in their fates.
A real highlight for me is how Allott craftily misdirects the reader, playing on our familiarity with certain story-telling and character tropes to imply which characters we should trust and empathise with. Some of these arcs have more satisfying resolutions than others, but I did enjoy the feeling that the author was using the reader's own awareness of the genre to wrongfoot us.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.
1994. Twelve-year-old Cookie and his parents move into the freezing attic of Mrs Lloyd's once-grand townhouse, fleeing his dad's gambling debts.
2008. Maxine is convinced she has found her dream home, even if it does need a bit (okay, a lot) of work. Her boyfriend Seb isn’t so sure - he can't shake the feeling that something very bad happened in the house.
Susan Allott's second novel, The House on Rye Lane, is an engaging mystery which combines rigorous historical research with three intriguing, inter-weaving storylines taking place in the same house over a period of over 170 years.
The author was inspired to dig into the history of Peckham, the district in south London where she lives, when the 2020 lockdowns compelled her to slow down and stay at home. Supported by local historians, she spent months researching how the area had evolved from a semi-rural middle-class enclave in the nineteenth century, to one of London's most deprived and notorious areas in the second half of the twentieth century, to a highly sought-after, fashionable (and expensive) hot-spot in the new millennium. In her author's note, Allott explains how she hoped to write 'a portrait of a corner of London whose wealth and fortune has fluctuated wildly over the centuries,' and at times - particularly in the 1994 and 2008 timelines - the historical exposition did feel clunky, the narrative contorted to fit the historical context rather than seamlessly blending into it. Nevertheless, the history of the area is fascinating, and even the more egregious information dumps are still very interesting.
The characters are a mixed bag. I was impressed by the way Allott is able to shift back and forth between Horatio's formal, old-fashioned cadence and the more casual way of speaking (even in their inner monologue) of the modern characters. Ruth, Cookie's mother, and Dorothy, their elderly landlady, get relatively little page time but feel like fully-realised, nuanced characters. In contrast, Max and Seb are the main characters of their timeline but I felt like the reasons behind them acting in certain ways were quite vague and non-specific, and I never felt like I had a secure grasp on who they were as individuals. I enjoyed their part of the narrative, which is the twistiest and most dynamic of the three mystery plots, but felt like I wasn't terribly invested in their fates.
A real highlight for me is how Allott craftily misdirects the reader, playing on our familiarity with certain story-telling and character tropes to imply which characters we should trust and empathise with. Some of these arcs have more satisfying resolutions than others, but I did enjoy the feeling that the author was using the reader's own awareness of the genre to wrongfoot us.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.
January 25, 2024
If you are looking for a seriously good mystery with lots of layers and plenty of atmosphere then give this a go!
This novel focuses on one house, across three different time periods, and the dark and disturbing events that take place there. The history of it almost lends a supernatural gothic edge to the story, but as always, it’s the real humans who are the danger.
I loved the multiple narratives and how they all slowly wove together to build to that shocking ending, and the way the author managed to make me fearful every time someone was in that house, just waiting for something terrible to happen! And nothing was black and white with the characters - whilst some were more likeable than others, they all had their own demons and faults, so there was far more to the story than the murder. Definitely a compelling and chilling read!
This novel focuses on one house, across three different time periods, and the dark and disturbing events that take place there. The history of it almost lends a supernatural gothic edge to the story, but as always, it’s the real humans who are the danger.
I loved the multiple narratives and how they all slowly wove together to build to that shocking ending, and the way the author managed to make me fearful every time someone was in that house, just waiting for something terrible to happen! And nothing was black and white with the characters - whilst some were more likeable than others, they all had their own demons and faults, so there was far more to the story than the murder. Definitely a compelling and chilling read!
February 24, 2024
It builds and it builds and then it explodes. The house is so real and eerie, and the whole book feels gloriously claustrophobic.
In a REALLY good way.
In a REALLY good way.
April 2, 2024
One house, multiple time periods and inhabitants. The premise was promising but I found this novel dragged, the links were just too tenuous, and the ending!
April 26, 2024
When I first picked up this book, the three lines of time and characters made me dread slogging through it. I was surprised that it was no slog at all, and even the time setting least interesting to me (set in the 1800s) intrigued me with each related chapter.
The characters took a little while to grow on me but I fell in love with Seb and Maxine instantly. Something that did not need to grow on me was the writing style. Often, I have little things here and there I dislike when I'm beginning to read a book by a new author, which I eventually get used to and love. In this book, none of the words irritated me - they were all beautiful and evocative yet not purple-prosy at all. I'm still reeling from some of the scenes and fragments of imagery.
With the ending, I was confused at one or two of the chapters, then pieces slotted into place mentally. When I reread the last couple of chapters with this new understanding, everything made sense in a satisfying yet tragic way.
The characters took a little while to grow on me but I fell in love with Seb and Maxine instantly. Something that did not need to grow on me was the writing style. Often, I have little things here and there I dislike when I'm beginning to read a book by a new author, which I eventually get used to and love. In this book, none of the words irritated me - they were all beautiful and evocative yet not purple-prosy at all. I'm still reeling from some of the scenes and fragments of imagery.
With the ending, I was confused at one or two of the chapters, then pieces slotted into place mentally. When I reread the last couple of chapters with this new understanding, everything made sense in a satisfying yet tragic way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2024
A wonderful read.Complicated until everything began to fit like a jigsaw.Thoroughly enjoyable.Thank you.Mind set and match xxxxx
April 24, 2024
I listened to this as an audiobook, very easy to get invested in the characters and timelines that gradually weave together. Fabulous book well written and interesting
March 14, 2024
4 stars.
Ooh, this was a fun creepy listen. Told across 3 timelines, from the perspectives of the changing occupants of a large house in Peckham, incorporating elements of London's history into the storyline. I listened to the audiobook, which has 3 narrators - one for each of the timelines - and it worked very well as all 3 are very good and did a wonderful job of voicing the different characters relevant to the timelines.
The first is in the 1800s, where Horatio Lacey is in the aftermath of his wife's death and his boys gone off to boarding school. This is the least expanded-upon timeline, possibly because it is largely .
The other two are in 1994 and 2008, both sharing the theme of financial hard-luck stories: In 1994, Cookie and his family are forced to move in as lodgers at Rye Lane due to his father's gambling debts; in 2008 Maxine and Seb are struggling to refurbish the house as they would like because of the financial crash. These .
Dropped a star as I found the ending a bit weird, with . There is a lovely epilogue where the author describes her research into the area and how it was incorporated into the book.
Ooh, this was a fun creepy listen. Told across 3 timelines, from the perspectives of the changing occupants of a large house in Peckham, incorporating elements of London's history into the storyline. I listened to the audiobook, which has 3 narrators - one for each of the timelines - and it worked very well as all 3 are very good and did a wonderful job of voicing the different characters relevant to the timelines.
The first is in the 1800s, where Horatio Lacey is in the aftermath of his wife's death and his boys gone off to boarding school. This is the least expanded-upon timeline, possibly because it is largely .
The other two are in 1994 and 2008, both sharing the theme of financial hard-luck stories: In 1994, Cookie and his family are forced to move in as lodgers at Rye Lane due to his father's gambling debts; in 2008 Maxine and Seb are struggling to refurbish the house as they would like because of the financial crash. These .
Dropped a star as I found the ending a bit weird, with . There is a lovely epilogue where the author describes her research into the area and how it was incorporated into the book.
November 14, 2023
I enjoyed this and the different eras and the characters past and present ,good atmosphere of each era and I really felt the chill of that room
I was involved with all the characters situations and enjoyed the links forwards and backwards
I was going to give it three stars as is an enjoyable story but an extra star as delightfull the little Easter eggs between each era or objects linking the peoples similar interactions with the house and also the situation of self denial ,determination delusion and desperation that seeps through
I was involved with all the characters situations and enjoyed the links forwards and backwards
I was going to give it three stars as is an enjoyable story but an extra star as delightfull the little Easter eggs between each era or objects linking the peoples similar interactions with the house and also the situation of self denial ,determination delusion and desperation that seeps through
February 25, 2024
Atmospheric and creepy but in a good way! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and kept thinking how wonderfully written it was as I was reading it. I loved the unsettling nature of the house and weird noises & feelings for the occupants. It was crafted so well that it felt completely believable. I loved Allott's first novel The Silence and whilst this was very different, I really enjoy how she seems to craft stories that whilst they're uncomfortable, they're still a really good read.
February 24, 2024
.4.5
Story of a ouse in Peckham Td over 3 time spans it flwsthe fortunes of 3 gambers. Excellent. Istory - ost rivers - excellent sense of place and believable chaacters.
Bet everyone googles Peckham Rye within reading the first 50 pages! I didn't get that far.
Looking to read the author's earlier book now
Story of a ouse in Peckham Td over 3 time spans it flwsthe fortunes of 3 gambers. Excellent. Istory - ost rivers - excellent sense of place and believable chaacters.
Bet everyone googles Peckham Rye within reading the first 50 pages! I didn't get that far.
Looking to read the author's earlier book now
March 4, 2024
I loved this story. The three timelines worked together so beautifully the writing just flowed. Susan Allots first book, The Silence, was an excellent read too. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
April 12, 2024
Disappointing end
Tale of house through the years an d history repeating itself, perhaps. I felt that we were only skimming the surface of the characters and there could have been so much more. Though not a bad tale.
Tale of house through the years an d history repeating itself, perhaps. I felt that we were only skimming the surface of the characters and there could have been so much more. Though not a bad tale.
February 16, 2024
Wow, absolutely fantastic.
March 4, 2024
Very easy read, good thriller
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