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The House of Lost Secrets
She thought she knew her best friend…She was wrong.
The weatherworn cottage Clachan has always been Jo Wilding’s sanctuary, a blissful escape from her tumultuous home life. From the first summer Rachel invited her to join the Willoughby family in the wilds of Scotland, she fell in love with the sea air, sandy beach and Tristan, Rachel’s older brother…
All these years later, Clachan is where their most important occasions and conversations take place, so when Rachel organises a weekend there, Jo never suspects that this weekend will change everything. Because it turns out Rachel has been keeping a secret, a betrayal that plunges Jo into a past she’s spent years trying to forget.
Left to untangle the pieces of their past alone, Jo has to decide if there is such a thing as forgiveness when there is no one left to forgive?
The weatherworn cottage Clachan has always been Jo Wilding’s sanctuary, a blissful escape from her tumultuous home life. From the first summer Rachel invited her to join the Willoughby family in the wilds of Scotland, she fell in love with the sea air, sandy beach and Tristan, Rachel’s older brother…
All these years later, Clachan is where their most important occasions and conversations take place, so when Rachel organises a weekend there, Jo never suspects that this weekend will change everything. Because it turns out Rachel has been keeping a secret, a betrayal that plunges Jo into a past she’s spent years trying to forget.
Left to untangle the pieces of their past alone, Jo has to decide if there is such a thing as forgiveness when there is no one left to forgive?
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2024
7475 people are currently reading
12898 people want to read
About the author
Anstey Harris
4 books504 followersAnstey Harris is based by the seaside in south-east England where she lives with her violinmaker husband and two dogs. She teaches creative writing in the community, local schools, and occasionally as an associate lecturer for Christchurch University in Canterbury. If you'd like to have a go at some writing exercises with Anstey, head over to Instagram and look at her IGTV channel, where she also interviews authors about their journeys and tips for writing.
Anstey writes about the things that make people tick, the things that bind us and the things that can rip us apart. In 2015, she won the H G Wells Short Story Prize for her story, Ruby and The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton (a Richard and Judy pick for July 2019) won the RNA Sapere Books Pomantic Novel of the Year title in 2020.
In novels, Anstey tries to celebrate uplifting ideas and prove that life is good and that happiness is available to everyone once we work out where to look (usually inside ourselves). She enjoys writing issue-driven books where the issues take a back seat to the characters. Her short stories tend not to resolve quite so well and often feature sticky ends...
Things that interest Anstey include her children and grandchildren, green issues and conservation, adoption and adoption reunion (she is an adopted child, born in an unmarried mothers' home in Liverpool in 1965), dogs, and food. Always food. She would love to be on Masterchef but would never recover from the humiliation if she got sent home in the first round.
Anstey writes about the things that make people tick, the things that bind us and the things that can rip us apart. In 2015, she won the H G Wells Short Story Prize for her story, Ruby and The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton (a Richard and Judy pick for July 2019) won the RNA Sapere Books Pomantic Novel of the Year title in 2020.
In novels, Anstey tries to celebrate uplifting ideas and prove that life is good and that happiness is available to everyone once we work out where to look (usually inside ourselves). She enjoys writing issue-driven books where the issues take a back seat to the characters. Her short stories tend not to resolve quite so well and often feature sticky ends...
Things that interest Anstey include her children and grandchildren, green issues and conservation, adoption and adoption reunion (she is an adopted child, born in an unmarried mothers' home in Liverpool in 1965), dogs, and food. Always food. She would love to be on Masterchef but would never recover from the humiliation if she got sent home in the first round.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 637 reviews
August 9, 2024
This is one of those books that is very difficult to review being reviewing it would spoil it.
And I usually think people get way too anal about spoilers (OMG you told me she has brown hair, that's a spoiler!!!!), but in this case...I can't really say anything about the plot because it would indeed be a spoiler. Something occurs very early on that I do think it is best to NOT know about before you start reading. The bit of shock you get from it feels necessary as part of the overall reading experience.
What I will say is that I wish that overall reading experience had been a bit better. I did really like the setting -- I've spent time in similar cottages-by-the-sea and so much of the description of the home and the land was spot-on. I also appreciated this exploration of how secrets can fester and cause damage you weren't even cognizant of years and years later. And especially when you're talking about lifelong best friends, about families torn asunder, secrets can feel like a shield and a weapon simultaneously. I thought the author did a good job of delicately teasing that all apart. But the writing style was somewhat haphazard and messy. It felt like someone had puzzle pieces from three or four different puzzles and was trying to force them together into one picture. There are, as the title indicates, multiple secrets involved here, and she tries to tie them all together, but it ended up feeling a bit forced. I also thought that a couple of them were not actually things people would hide from someone they cared about for decades, but hey, il en faut de toutes sortes, I suppose.
I also wished we had gotten a bit more character development, because no one ended up feeling all that three-dimensional to me. And I struggled with the ending a bit, regarding...how to say this without spoiling...Jo's thoughts about someone and an event. There, that's nice and vague. It just rubbed me the wrong way and carried implications that I didn't feel comfortable with.
Not a bad book, but definitely had some issues.
And I usually think people get way too anal about spoilers (OMG you told me she has brown hair, that's a spoiler!!!!), but in this case...I can't really say anything about the plot because it would indeed be a spoiler. Something occurs very early on that I do think it is best to NOT know about before you start reading. The bit of shock you get from it feels necessary as part of the overall reading experience.
What I will say is that I wish that overall reading experience had been a bit better. I did really like the setting -- I've spent time in similar cottages-by-the-sea and so much of the description of the home and the land was spot-on. I also appreciated this exploration of how secrets can fester and cause damage you weren't even cognizant of years and years later. And especially when you're talking about lifelong best friends, about families torn asunder, secrets can feel like a shield and a weapon simultaneously. I thought the author did a good job of delicately teasing that all apart. But the writing style was somewhat haphazard and messy. It felt like someone had puzzle pieces from three or four different puzzles and was trying to force them together into one picture. There are, as the title indicates, multiple secrets involved here, and she tries to tie them all together, but it ended up feeling a bit forced. I also thought that a couple of them were not actually things people would hide from someone they cared about for decades, but hey, il en faut de toutes sortes, I suppose.
I also wished we had gotten a bit more character development, because no one ended up feeling all that three-dimensional to me. And I struggled with the ending a bit, regarding...how to say this without spoiling...Jo's thoughts about someone and an event. There, that's nice and vague. It just rubbed me the wrong way and carried implications that I didn't feel comfortable with.
Not a bad book, but definitely had some issues.
August 25, 2024
I remember telling a friend about how I loved the novel Burial Rites for its depiction of place, how alongside the novel’s human characters, Hannah Kent had created a such a vivid portrayal of Iceland, I felt it was an equal protagonist in the story. The friend suggested I was being a little wanky! He may well have been right, BUT how else to describe it when a writer does such an impeccable job of crafting setting that you can feel its worn stairs, hear its wild creatures and taste its salty air. That’s how it was to read about Clachan in The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris. I was, in every sense, there.
The story is as immersive as the location. Invited to stay at her best friend Rachel’s family cottage in Scotland, Jo is forced to confront secrets, her own and those of the woman she loves
I adored the messy and complicated intensity of the women’s friendship and don’t want to say much more for fear of spoilers, but the nuance and empathy with which Harris tells this tale of family and friendship is impeccable.
The story is as immersive as the location. Invited to stay at her best friend Rachel’s family cottage in Scotland, Jo is forced to confront secrets, her own and those of the woman she loves
I adored the messy and complicated intensity of the women’s friendship and don’t want to say much more for fear of spoilers, but the nuance and empathy with which Harris tells this tale of family and friendship is impeccable.
September 11, 2024
*3.5 stars
Without a doubt, the writing in THE HOUSE OF LOST SECRETS was beautiful and the story compelling—descriptive, eloquent, and poignant. I became entranced by Scotland and captivated by its charm. This was a story of friendship and love, suffering and loss, but ultimately, one of acceptance, forgiveness, and new beginnings.
I truly enjoyed the introspective journey the novel took me on, even if some parts moved more slowly than I anticipated they would. What I missed, though, was greater character development. As much as we were given glimpses into Jo’s past life and state of mind, I still felt as if there was so much more to learn about her.
Would I recommend this novel to friends? Yes, most definitely! It’s a novel that truly speaks to you as a reader, reminding you that in the end, darkness can always give way to the light, if only you let it.
Without a doubt, the writing in THE HOUSE OF LOST SECRETS was beautiful and the story compelling—descriptive, eloquent, and poignant. I became entranced by Scotland and captivated by its charm. This was a story of friendship and love, suffering and loss, but ultimately, one of acceptance, forgiveness, and new beginnings.
I truly enjoyed the introspective journey the novel took me on, even if some parts moved more slowly than I anticipated they would. What I missed, though, was greater character development. As much as we were given glimpses into Jo’s past life and state of mind, I still felt as if there was so much more to learn about her.
Would I recommend this novel to friends? Yes, most definitely! It’s a novel that truly speaks to you as a reader, reminding you that in the end, darkness can always give way to the light, if only you let it.
November 13, 2024
3.75. A beautiful book about friendships and secrets and self-reflection that can only be done through time and older age.
August 10, 2024
Too introspective, too much description, about every little thing, even a wheelbarrow. Too repetitive. No likable characters.
August 11, 2024
DNF
I know this is highly rated but I couldn't get into it. 25% and I'm still clueless as to what's happening.
I know this is highly rated but I couldn't get into it. 25% and I'm still clueless as to what's happening.
July 28, 2024
The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris is a beautifully crafted study of lifelong friendship. The story is shot through with mystery and those terrible secrets we keep from the people closest to us for fear of destabilising everything we know and believe. This richly layered novel drew me in more deeply with every page turn, holding me tightly until each truth was finally revealed. A truly compelling read.
May 27, 2024
Compelling, evocative and beautiful: my heart aches!
Anemoia - the feeling of nostalgia for a place or time you’ve never known - is the only word that can describe my mood as I finish The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris. Clachan Cottage, the trees, the water: Harris’s evocative emotive prose transported me and left me with a yearning to leave for Scotland immediately.
Rootless after the failure of her marriage and the loss of her dearest friend, Joanna retreats to the remote cottage where their childhood memories still echo around the walls. Here she embarks on a journey of discovery and acceptance that is both compelling and poignant. Through Joanna’s memories, Harris paints a picture of a friendship which, though flawed, is everything a deep and long-standing relationship should be.
As Joanna peels back the layers of memories held in the fabric of Clachan, long-held secrets are revealed and she is forced to confront truths about her friend - and her own life - which could destroy her or set her free.
A beautiful and compelling read which squeezed my heart, but left it full.
Anemoia - the feeling of nostalgia for a place or time you’ve never known - is the only word that can describe my mood as I finish The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris. Clachan Cottage, the trees, the water: Harris’s evocative emotive prose transported me and left me with a yearning to leave for Scotland immediately.
Rootless after the failure of her marriage and the loss of her dearest friend, Joanna retreats to the remote cottage where their childhood memories still echo around the walls. Here she embarks on a journey of discovery and acceptance that is both compelling and poignant. Through Joanna’s memories, Harris paints a picture of a friendship which, though flawed, is everything a deep and long-standing relationship should be.
As Joanna peels back the layers of memories held in the fabric of Clachan, long-held secrets are revealed and she is forced to confront truths about her friend - and her own life - which could destroy her or set her free.
A beautiful and compelling read which squeezed my heart, but left it full.
June 29, 2025
The House Of Lost Secrets is the fourth novel by award-winning British author, Anstey Harris. Having given the eulogy for the friend she’d planned to grow old with, Joanna Wilding just wants time to grieve her losses. Her friend, yes, but also her home and her business, fallen victim to her greedy ex in an exhausting divorce.
She’s shocked to learn that Rachel Willoughby has left her their favourite place, Clachan, the Dumfries and Galloway coastal cottage surrounded by woods where they made their happiest memories. But it’s perhaps a silver lining with a cloud, because it is saturated with Rachel, and the place where Jo found her body on the weekend Rachel was to reveal something huge. But it could be the perfect spot to do that grieving…
When Jo arrives at Clachan, she’s puzzled to find another occupant: the decorator that Rachel had contracted the renovation she and Jo had been planning together for months. The privacy she’d hoped for is not possible, but somehow, she and Meg get along.
Jo is convinced she will find a clue to what Rachel was going to tell her. Since their late teens, Jo has kept a secret from her best friend, but now she finds she’s not the only one to have held something close, and she wonders if she knew her friend at all.
Harris gives the reader a stirring tale of friendship and loyalty where some of the characters look very different depending on perspective. There are twists and turns, and it features religious fervour, PTSD, sexual assault, abortion, guilt, grief, a post-mortem cover-up and the death of siblings. Her main protagonist has much to face, but grows for the experience. Moving and thought-provoking.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.
She’s shocked to learn that Rachel Willoughby has left her their favourite place, Clachan, the Dumfries and Galloway coastal cottage surrounded by woods where they made their happiest memories. But it’s perhaps a silver lining with a cloud, because it is saturated with Rachel, and the place where Jo found her body on the weekend Rachel was to reveal something huge. But it could be the perfect spot to do that grieving…
When Jo arrives at Clachan, she’s puzzled to find another occupant: the decorator that Rachel had contracted the renovation she and Jo had been planning together for months. The privacy she’d hoped for is not possible, but somehow, she and Meg get along.
Jo is convinced she will find a clue to what Rachel was going to tell her. Since their late teens, Jo has kept a secret from her best friend, but now she finds she’s not the only one to have held something close, and she wonders if she knew her friend at all.
Harris gives the reader a stirring tale of friendship and loyalty where some of the characters look very different depending on perspective. There are twists and turns, and it features religious fervour, PTSD, sexual assault, abortion, guilt, grief, a post-mortem cover-up and the death of siblings. Her main protagonist has much to face, but grows for the experience. Moving and thought-provoking.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.
September 16, 2025
This was a beautiful written story about two best friends and what happened after one of them dies. I loved this story!
August 14, 2024
This is a beautifully written story about friendships, heartaches, laughter and growth. Centered on two best friends where one yearns to learn the secrets kept by her friend who passed suddenly due to a stroke. She is gifted the 300 hundred year old summer house of her friend, and there she seeks to come to terms with her past, her family relationships, and those secrets. She is sharing the house with the young decorator and together they navigate life’s challenges. It is a story that can be even more appreciated as we get older. Tales of their teenage years certainly bring fond memories, and we are blessed as we age to see how our thoughts and patterns are shaped. Great, descriptive writing!
August 4, 2024
I wasn’t sure at first, there was so much pain and sadness that hit far too close to home, but I’m glad I persevered and accompanied Jo on her journey.
August 23, 2024
As the title suggests, The House of Lost Secrets, has a wonderful exploration of just how secrets can hold - festering in many forms throughout the years. Whether that be internally or externally with relationships. I enjoyed the cottage by the sea backdrop which seems to be a great environment for heavy topics (loss, cycles, secrets, etc).
However, I felt the book missed the mark for me despite all the potential. This book does not hold my attention well at all — the “journal entry” style format to the skipping around from memories to memories lost me. It seems to be needing some serious editing for it to streamline a plot — instead we got a haphazard mess. In addition, there was no specific character building, limiting the growth of all characters in this novel.
However, I felt the book missed the mark for me despite all the potential. This book does not hold my attention well at all — the “journal entry” style format to the skipping around from memories to memories lost me. It seems to be needing some serious editing for it to streamline a plot — instead we got a haphazard mess. In addition, there was no specific character building, limiting the growth of all characters in this novel.
August 24, 2024
This was one of those Kindle first reads you can get with your Prime Membership that I downloaded just to have something extra in case on a trip. It is not at all what I expected from the description, but it was a beautifully written book. I really liked the way they dealt with how attitudes on consent and what constitute sexual assault have evolved, but that can still be hard for some people from older generations to understand and accept. Also had some great examples of how people can experience the exact same thing totally differently and the "mind. blown." moment that comes when they realize there's another way to see the situation.
August 14, 2024
A beautifully written book about a woman whose best friend dies and the secrets she discovers. Part mystery, part women’s fiction, I couldn’t put this one down.
August 14, 2024
DNF at 20%. Nothing happened and nothing compelled me to finish.
August 16, 2024
I didn't enjoy this book. It was very drawn out and never caught my interest. It was a first read book so I thought I would try it.
August 17, 2024
I’m sorry this was beautiful but I was so bored at times the pacing was not for me
September 3, 2024
3.5⭐️ not a bad book but just not for me. put me in a major reading slump 🥲
September 10, 2024
I got this as an Amazon First Read in August, and I'm so glad I picked it! Wonderful writing and a good story. I will definitely read more by her!
August 31, 2024
I absolutely loved this book! To me, it was so well written it was like reading poetry at times; I'd find myself reading a paragraph and just staring out into space, thinking about it! Can't wait to read some more by this author!
March 16, 2025
Hat mich sehr überrascht die Geschichte, dann noch das Setting mit dem Cottage am Meer? Immer her damit! Hab’s gerne gelesen. Viele wichtige Themen kamen auf und weiß trotzdem nicht, ob Anstey Harris am Ende dann nicht doch zu viel wollte.
August 19, 2024
Secrets revealed
This book has a lot of twist and turns and definitely keeps you wanting to read it. Secrets revealed there are a lot of surprises. I enjoyed this book.
This book has a lot of twist and turns and definitely keeps you wanting to read it. Secrets revealed there are a lot of surprises. I enjoyed this book.
August 9, 2024
To be honest,I DNF. I just couldn’t get into it.
August 30, 2024
3.5 stars!
For a Kindle first read, this one wasn't too bad! I was pulled in immediately and thought "wow, this started off depressing" (my kind of book). It's a book of loss and grief, trauma and growth. I liked the friendship between Jo and Meg.
I did think the second part of the book was a bit clunky (thank you, Sandra!) - not bad, but a bit all over the place. Once I finished, I honestly didn't know how I felt about the book, but after a few days thinking it over, settled on 3.5 -- one of the better Kindle Firsts I've read.
For a Kindle first read, this one wasn't too bad! I was pulled in immediately and thought "wow, this started off depressing" (my kind of book). It's a book of loss and grief, trauma and growth. I liked the friendship between Jo and Meg.
I did think the second part of the book was a bit clunky (thank you, Sandra!) - not bad, but a bit all over the place. Once I finished, I honestly didn't know how I felt about the book, but after a few days thinking it over, settled on 3.5 -- one of the better Kindle Firsts I've read.
September 25, 2024
Betrayed: Joanna hasn't spoken to her mother, Val, since she was 18. Joanna's best friend, Rachel, and Rachel's mom have been writing letters to Val, keeping her informed about everything that her daughter has been doing.
Now, Rachel is suddenly dead. Being betrayed by the dead can haunt the ones left living.
What did Rachel want to tell her when she was invited to Clachan, Rachel's family home? What secrets were meant to be shared and what was meant to stay buried?
Thank you to NetGalley, for the advance copy of this wonderful book.
Now, Rachel is suddenly dead. Being betrayed by the dead can haunt the ones left living.
What did Rachel want to tell her when she was invited to Clachan, Rachel's family home? What secrets were meant to be shared and what was meant to stay buried?
Thank you to NetGalley, for the advance copy of this wonderful book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2024
Boring. Who cares? 15% in and I quit. I don’t even know what happened to Tristan and I don’t know Rachel’s secret. By an hour from now, I won’t care.
October 20, 2024
This was a very powerful book but then stories in which everyone has their secrets usually are.
Joanna and Rachel have been friends from childhood but the relationship for Jo, she thinks, is more of Rachel and her family filling a need in her life. Jo has only her crazy religious fanatic Mother who is obsessed with her church and wants Jo to believe as she does. The Wllloughby family becomes Jo’s refuge. Through the years Rachel and Joanna remain close and it is only after Rachel’s death that Jo discovers she was not the only one keeping secrets.
The story mainly takes place at the Willoughby cottage in Scotland to which Jo returns because, for a reason she does not yet understand, it has been left to her by Rachel.
So many secrets which little by little are revealed to us as we read this book.
I enjoyed the read and truly did not want to put it down when my life interfered with my ‘reading time’. The descriptions of the cottage and surrounding area definitely added to the atmosphere of story.
I won this ebook in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you to the author, Anstey Harris.
Joanna and Rachel have been friends from childhood but the relationship for Jo, she thinks, is more of Rachel and her family filling a need in her life. Jo has only her crazy religious fanatic Mother who is obsessed with her church and wants Jo to believe as she does. The Wllloughby family becomes Jo’s refuge. Through the years Rachel and Joanna remain close and it is only after Rachel’s death that Jo discovers she was not the only one keeping secrets.
The story mainly takes place at the Willoughby cottage in Scotland to which Jo returns because, for a reason she does not yet understand, it has been left to her by Rachel.
So many secrets which little by little are revealed to us as we read this book.
I enjoyed the read and truly did not want to put it down when my life interfered with my ‘reading time’. The descriptions of the cottage and surrounding area definitely added to the atmosphere of story.
I won this ebook in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you to the author, Anstey Harris.
October 16, 2024
This book, for me, elicited feelings of introspection, grief, longing, and gratitude for friendship, experiences, and life. I truly enjoyed the world building elements and descriptions of the land, sea, and home where much of the book takes place. This book left me reflective of aspects of my life and changes I’d like to make after watching the characters each reckon with difficult things and learn important life lessons.
February 4, 2025
I thought it was a beautiful book and I now want to go to a cottage like this, but I felt like this really dragged in some places. There were a number of things I found relatable, including the spotlight on how your friends can be and are your family. The cooking and food element was nice too… the eating meals together. Love that.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 637 reviews