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Service
Danielle MacKinnon's nearly thirty and still hasn't got her life sorted. She's broke, hates her job as PA to the blithely privileged Jeannie, and now a break-up's left her with nowhere to live. It comes as a surprise when Jeannie suggests that Danielle stay at Westerley, the sprawling Yorkshire estate where she grew up. They need someone to look after the place anyway.
Danielle enjoys the borrowed luxury at first, but the house is strange, uneasy. The sleep paralysis that started in London has followed her there. Then Jeannie arrives unannounced.
Working for Jeannie, serving her, living in her house, the razor-thin boundaries between Danielle and her boss begin to dissolve. Soon their relationship slides into one that is older, stranger and harder to name.
Something is happening at Westerley. Things where they shouldn't be. The shadow of a maid sweeping in the dawn light. But is the house really haunted? Or is Danielle?
Danielle enjoys the borrowed luxury at first, but the house is strange, uneasy. The sleep paralysis that started in London has followed her there. Then Jeannie arrives unannounced.
Working for Jeannie, serving her, living in her house, the razor-thin boundaries between Danielle and her boss begin to dissolve. Soon their relationship slides into one that is older, stranger and harder to name.
Something is happening at Westerley. Things where they shouldn't be. The shadow of a maid sweeping in the dawn light. But is the house really haunted? Or is Danielle?
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 15, 2026
Danielle is Jeannie’s personal assistant. While she needs the money, she isn’t happy with her job. She feels like Jeannie is demanding more and more from her, and the lines keep blurring between Jeannie’s work and private life.
Danielle one day finds herself without a roof over her head. And she can’t seem to find a place to stay that she can actually afford. Luckily for her, Jeannie comes up with the perfect solution, as Jeannie needs someone to housesit the estate where she grew up.
I’ve been enjoying the Doctor Who audio dramas that Lauren Mooney wrote together with her husband. This is her debut novel as an author, so I figured I’d give this one a try too. And I’m glad I did. Even though the story itself might not completely be my cup of tea, I still found some things to enjoy in it.
This story touches upon some interesting themes. Like the housing crisis in the beginning of the story. The two main characters show how people living in the same world can live very different lives. And I like that, despite being a horrible boss, Jeannie isn’t portrayed as an over the top villainous boss. The Westerley house reminds me a bit of the Manderley house in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Though this is a different kind of story. So don’t go into this book with the wrong expectations. And then you’ve got the ghost, but I don’t want to give away too much about that.
A very slow start. The first part drags on for a long time to be honest. There’s some telling as we get to know about Danielle’s life up to that point. A lot of which doesn’t really feel necessary, though it does flesh out her character more. A lot of characters get introduced, most of which are not really relevant to the story. But once the story really gets going, it does feel worth the read.
I think this is just a case of me not being the right audience for this book, as it does do quite a few things right. The ending in particular is pretty strong. It just takes so long for the story to really get going.
Danielle one day finds herself without a roof over her head. And she can’t seem to find a place to stay that she can actually afford. Luckily for her, Jeannie comes up with the perfect solution, as Jeannie needs someone to housesit the estate where she grew up.
I’ve been enjoying the Doctor Who audio dramas that Lauren Mooney wrote together with her husband. This is her debut novel as an author, so I figured I’d give this one a try too. And I’m glad I did. Even though the story itself might not completely be my cup of tea, I still found some things to enjoy in it.
This story touches upon some interesting themes. Like the housing crisis in the beginning of the story. The two main characters show how people living in the same world can live very different lives. And I like that, despite being a horrible boss, Jeannie isn’t portrayed as an over the top villainous boss. The Westerley house reminds me a bit of the Manderley house in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Though this is a different kind of story. So don’t go into this book with the wrong expectations. And then you’ve got the ghost, but I don’t want to give away too much about that.
A very slow start. The first part drags on for a long time to be honest. There’s some telling as we get to know about Danielle’s life up to that point. A lot of which doesn’t really feel necessary, though it does flesh out her character more. A lot of characters get introduced, most of which are not really relevant to the story. But once the story really gets going, it does feel worth the read.
I think this is just a case of me not being the right audience for this book, as it does do quite a few things right. The ending in particular is pretty strong. It just takes so long for the story to really get going.
June 26, 2026
(4.5) Service has such an immediately captivating voice, it was impossible for me to put it down once I’d got started. For a while, we follow our narrator, Danielle, as she bounces around London between parties, friends’ flats, and her increasingly absurd job as general dogsbody to Jeannie, a sort of posh lady-who-lunches running a vaguely defined charity with the appropriate moniker of Hodgepodge. Danielle’s narration has that snappy, chatty, witty energy you get in these girl-adrift-in-the-city novels, reminding me of everything from
Bridget Jones’s Diary
to
Not Working
to The Rachel Incident.
Then, though, it starts to mutate into something else. Danielle is temporarily homeless after a breakup; a confluence of events leads her to agree to stay at Westerley, Jeannie’s country house, as its temporary caretaker. She starts having night terrors, seeing a shadowy figure in the corner of rooms; can never quite figure out when she’s asleep or awake, whether everything that’s happening is real. Meanwhile, her job, never exactly dignified, slides further and further towards something that looks a lot like servitude.
What Service reveals itself as, in its thornier second half, is a very modern gothic novel: the class divide as a ghost story. It’s not so much about a straightforward haunting and more of a paean to the people who get scrubbed out of history so the Jeannies of the world can keep pottering about with their spurious pet projects. There’s a particularly great sequence where Danielle, fully transmuted, wanders the corridors of the house in and out of time, seeing how the labour of those who came before her has been absorbed into the very fabric of Westerley, before she gets snapped back to reality.
What’s most impressive is that Mooney pulls these tonal shifts off without losing the voice that makes the first half so enjoyable – it’s never less than a delight, and never loses sight of Danielle’s humour. It can’t have been easy to weave such disparate threads together and capture these themes within a light-hearted and irreverent voice. An excellent debut.
I received an advance review copy of Service from the publisher through NetGalley.
Then, though, it starts to mutate into something else. Danielle is temporarily homeless after a breakup; a confluence of events leads her to agree to stay at Westerley, Jeannie’s country house, as its temporary caretaker. She starts having night terrors, seeing a shadowy figure in the corner of rooms; can never quite figure out when she’s asleep or awake, whether everything that’s happening is real. Meanwhile, her job, never exactly dignified, slides further and further towards something that looks a lot like servitude.
Maybe the power dynamic was just too different: because Jeannie was my boss, not my housemate; because it was her house and, more than that, her land I was walking across now. Everything as far as the eye could see belonged to her. It made her power over me feel, frankly, less benign than it had in London, and more ancient.
What Service reveals itself as, in its thornier second half, is a very modern gothic novel: the class divide as a ghost story. It’s not so much about a straightforward haunting and more of a paean to the people who get scrubbed out of history so the Jeannies of the world can keep pottering about with their spurious pet projects. There’s a particularly great sequence where Danielle, fully transmuted, wanders the corridors of the house in and out of time, seeing how the labour of those who came before her has been absorbed into the very fabric of Westerley, before she gets snapped back to reality.
What’s most impressive is that Mooney pulls these tonal shifts off without losing the voice that makes the first half so enjoyable – it’s never less than a delight, and never loses sight of Danielle’s humour. It can’t have been easy to weave such disparate threads together and capture these themes within a light-hearted and irreverent voice. An excellent debut.
I received an advance review copy of Service from the publisher through NetGalley.
July 16, 2026
Without a roof over her head and the means to rent in London, Danielle takes up the job of housesitting for her boss' house in the countryside. While there, the boundaries between "upstairs" and "downstairs" keep getting more and more blurred.
It's a slow but atmospheric start, but in my opinion a necessary way to set up the emotional stakes and the sheer helplessness that Danielle faces.
The genre shift from an almost-horror into... I don't know, historical psychosis? Took some getting used to, but I think I enjoyed it more than a "Jeanie embodying the malevolent spirits of her ancestors" or whatever would be.
I had a great time reading this, the tone of voice of Danielle was realistic. The avoiding conflict and having your confidence in yourself worn out of you felt realistic. All in all a great read.
It's a slow but atmospheric start, but in my opinion a necessary way to set up the emotional stakes and the sheer helplessness that Danielle faces.
The genre shift from an almost-horror into... I don't know, historical psychosis? Took some getting used to, but I think I enjoyed it more than a "Jeanie embodying the malevolent spirits of her ancestors" or whatever would be.
I had a great time reading this, the tone of voice of Danielle was realistic. The avoiding conflict and having your confidence in yourself worn out of you felt realistic. All in all a great read.
Did Not Finish
February 17, 2026DNF
August 12, 2026
This book was not at all what I expected it to be. It had me gripped right up until the end.
I highly recommend it !
4.5⭐️
I highly recommend it !
4.5⭐️
March 20, 2026
This is a tricky book to rate, as it took me a long time to read - not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because it’s been a really busy month. I think I’d go for 3.5 stars, as I thought some parts were genuinely unsettling, but then it didn’t go far enough with horror elements. It’s one I’ll be musing about, and hope to discuss it with others to gain more appreciation!
July 7, 2026
Danielle is nearing 30 and feels very much like she's drifting through life. She works for Jeannie, the owner of Hodgepodge, doing what exactly, she's not quite sure, but it seems to involve a lot of making tea. She’s just split up with her long term boyfriend and with two months left on the lease of their tiny one bedroom flat they have agreed that they will each have the flat for one month before they go their separate ways entirely. Sleeping on her friends sofa is not ideal, but its a temporary measure until its her turn to go home. But then when her friend Anita’s housemates get fed up of her being there, Danielle is left without any options. Her boss Jeannie offers her what seems like the perfect solution - go and stay in her country house to look after the place and work remotely. At first, Westerley seems like an absolute haven, but very quickly begins to feel unsettling. Danielle begins to experience more frequent sleep paralysis, nightmares and starts to see figures in what is meant to be an empty house. Time also starts passing in random and unexpected ways. Then Jeannie and her son turn up saying their London house is flooded and things get even worse. Jeannie's becomes increasingly more demanding and the boundaries between employer and employee start to blur until Danielle starts to feel like a servant. As time begins to blur even further and Danielle starts to get ever more isolated from her friends, she begins to uncover the history of this grand country house, a history built on generations of invisible labour, with countless servants’ lives erased and forgotten in service to the wealthy.
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting it to be. Instead of the haunted house novel that I anticipated from the blurb, it is actually more of a statement about the gap between the working class and those with wealth, expectations of the rich and the treatment of those who have, and still, work in the service industry. Although it is an incredibly atmospheric and well written novel, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me as I was expecting something entirely different. I feel that if the author had focussed more on the ghostly apparitions and haunting side of things, I would have enjoyed this book a whole lot more. That being said, it really does shine a light on the emotional labour involved in service jobs. Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry will know it's about constantly managing other peoples emotions and expectations, dealing with difficult situations and maintaining a cheerful façade even when you feel like your life beyond work is crumbling.
One of the book's greatest strengths though is its characters. The workplace relationships are messy, funny and believable, and the friendships between colleagues feel like the kind that can only develop after surviving long hours at work with each other. Danielle's friends outside of work are also so vastly different to her and it was quite interesting to see how she measures herself up against them.
It is an incredibly readable book, flows nicely and it was interesting to see where it was going, but I just wasn’t completely wowed by it.
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting it to be. Instead of the haunted house novel that I anticipated from the blurb, it is actually more of a statement about the gap between the working class and those with wealth, expectations of the rich and the treatment of those who have, and still, work in the service industry. Although it is an incredibly atmospheric and well written novel, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me as I was expecting something entirely different. I feel that if the author had focussed more on the ghostly apparitions and haunting side of things, I would have enjoyed this book a whole lot more. That being said, it really does shine a light on the emotional labour involved in service jobs. Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry will know it's about constantly managing other peoples emotions and expectations, dealing with difficult situations and maintaining a cheerful façade even when you feel like your life beyond work is crumbling.
One of the book's greatest strengths though is its characters. The workplace relationships are messy, funny and believable, and the friendships between colleagues feel like the kind that can only develop after surviving long hours at work with each other. Danielle's friends outside of work are also so vastly different to her and it was quite interesting to see how she measures herself up against them.
It is an incredibly readable book, flows nicely and it was interesting to see where it was going, but I just wasn’t completely wowed by it.
July 6, 2026
Hard to classify, preferred the class/work story to the ghost/supernatural parts.
Loved this until 70% through when it moved to another genre. Danielle starts as an office skivvy, assistant to a business owner, maid of all work so to speak. Living paycheque to paycheque and now split with a boyfriend. They can't get out of their tenancy so agree to each live in there for 2 months apiece until the term is up and they can stop paying the rent. It's Danielle's two months to bounce around at the moment and she's losing the goodwill of friends staying on their sofas.
This lends itself to the unlikely plot of Danielle being invited to live at her boss's incredible country pile, a sprawling Yorkshire estate with lands and tenants of its own. Where she'll be expected to work remotely and also look after the house for the two months.
As anyone would, she revels in the baths, the rooms, the space initially. Even if it is freezing. But then her boss (with adult son) show up, and her role doing light cleaning and maintenance descends into something more servile. And she's seeing visions of maids from times past...
That was where I tuned out a little. I was enjoying the story of the modern woman finding herself changed from an office worker doing over and above the contracted role to that of grateful employee unwittingly and politely cleaning the silver and making tea and sandwiches.
There's a sudden end, and before it not enough development of Act 3 with the slow devolving of the boss/worker relationship I thought, it could have been far more horrific and subtle.
Really interesting concept but I could have done without the supernatural element entirely, the story could have stood alone.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
Loved this until 70% through when it moved to another genre. Danielle starts as an office skivvy, assistant to a business owner, maid of all work so to speak. Living paycheque to paycheque and now split with a boyfriend. They can't get out of their tenancy so agree to each live in there for 2 months apiece until the term is up and they can stop paying the rent. It's Danielle's two months to bounce around at the moment and she's losing the goodwill of friends staying on their sofas.
This lends itself to the unlikely plot of Danielle being invited to live at her boss's incredible country pile, a sprawling Yorkshire estate with lands and tenants of its own. Where she'll be expected to work remotely and also look after the house for the two months.
As anyone would, she revels in the baths, the rooms, the space initially. Even if it is freezing. But then her boss (with adult son) show up, and her role doing light cleaning and maintenance descends into something more servile. And she's seeing visions of maids from times past...
That was where I tuned out a little. I was enjoying the story of the modern woman finding herself changed from an office worker doing over and above the contracted role to that of grateful employee unwittingly and politely cleaning the silver and making tea and sandwiches.
There's a sudden end, and before it not enough development of Act 3 with the slow devolving of the boss/worker relationship I thought, it could have been far more horrific and subtle.
Really interesting concept but I could have done without the supernatural element entirely, the story could have stood alone.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
July 5, 2026
I had a great time reading Service. Danielle is a wonderfully realised protagonist (the audiobook narration brings her to life brilliantly, and I highly recommend reading Service this way!) - she felt incredibly real, relatable and believably messy.
Through her eyes, the book sets out to highlight a lot; power dynamics, the lack of equity in social mobility, the compromises some people must make for even the chance at the life they’re sold, generational sense of worth, and how everything will always be considered a risk for those without a safety net - especially opportunity… I thought that, for the most part, it does it really well. Some passages felt really powerful though the topics were not covered in deep, heavy or expansive ways.
I loved the traditional gothic-lit turn of the second half of the book, leaning heavily on oppressiveness, weirdness and unreliable narration, and even a little bit of the absurd. I do think things took a rather large leap at one point but I can appreciate it for the sense of disorientation it achieved.
Overall I really enjoyed Service for how easy and gripping it was to read, and the amount of fun I had doing so through Danielle’s pov. I do have lingering questions (the pub? The phone?) but I think they’re interesting discussion points… so I’m hoping I can convince a friend to read it too!
Through her eyes, the book sets out to highlight a lot; power dynamics, the lack of equity in social mobility, the compromises some people must make for even the chance at the life they’re sold, generational sense of worth, and how everything will always be considered a risk for those without a safety net - especially opportunity… I thought that, for the most part, it does it really well. Some passages felt really powerful though the topics were not covered in deep, heavy or expansive ways.
I loved the traditional gothic-lit turn of the second half of the book, leaning heavily on oppressiveness, weirdness and unreliable narration, and even a little bit of the absurd. I do think things took a rather large leap at one point but I can appreciate it for the sense of disorientation it achieved.
Overall I really enjoyed Service for how easy and gripping it was to read, and the amount of fun I had doing so through Danielle’s pov. I do have lingering questions (the pub? The phone?) but I think they’re interesting discussion points… so I’m hoping I can convince a friend to read it too!
August 3, 2026
3.5⭐️
Read
August 12, 2026one to read if you liked yesteryear and frequent the pub
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an ARC of Service in exchange for an honest review.
Service is extremely readable and relatable. I am sure many women like me have found themselves at some point in life in a workplace situation, looking in the bathroom mirror and thinking is this the path to choose, questioning "where is my life heading?" and almost always followed shortly after by a request to show a visitor out of the office or to make a drink for someone that is not for you to enjoy. And I loved that, it made the novel feel instantly rooted for me.
I felt for Danielle, our main character, her relationship has broken down and as a result she finds herself sofa-surfing and quickly running out of goodwill from her friends. Danielle is forced to mask her personal situation at work as a busy PA at a "think tank" to owner, Jeannie. Danielle doesn't have time to think about where she will live when she has Jeannie to please, all day, every day. The pinpoint accuracy of the PA workplace represented in the novel, I have witnessed in real times and was at times uncomfortable, I felt for Danielle, she worked hard, knew her stuff but still had people undermining her and gaslighting her decisions just for a power play and for that I had a lot of sympathy for her and I loved the dynamic between her and her workplace and social friends.
The London social scenes gave me some very vivid flashbacks! Going out with colleagues / friends as others are and you didn't want to miss out, even if you didn't necessarily have the finances to fund it, no wonder Danielle is stressed and having night terrors. A breakdown at work leads her to revealing to her boss her living situation, but Jeannie has just the answer and sends Danielle to "look after" her childhood home in West Yorkshire for a few months, until Danielle can be released from her rental contract. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is.
The second part of the book drew me in even further as the house had a presence of its own, with its shuttered up rooms, its isolation and its dominance in the local area, everyone local has heard of Westerley. Danielle sees this as an opportunity to rest and refocus, but the night terrors have not abated and now they seem to becoming more frequent... especially when Jeannie pitches up for a visit.
I LOVED this story, the way that the themes of service were explored, how the boundaries of work and personal get blurrier as acts of kindness are taken for granted and expected rather than appreciated. The novel explores class and bias and simple scenes such as changing a lightbulb, or selecting some paint samples are loaded with much more subtext and I loved being able to draw those inferences as a reader.
Service didn't feel like a horror story to me personally, nothing shocked me (but I have seen a lot!) but for a modern gothic story I was captivated and highly recommend giving this a read!
Service is extremely readable and relatable. I am sure many women like me have found themselves at some point in life in a workplace situation, looking in the bathroom mirror and thinking is this the path to choose, questioning "where is my life heading?" and almost always followed shortly after by a request to show a visitor out of the office or to make a drink for someone that is not for you to enjoy. And I loved that, it made the novel feel instantly rooted for me.
I felt for Danielle, our main character, her relationship has broken down and as a result she finds herself sofa-surfing and quickly running out of goodwill from her friends. Danielle is forced to mask her personal situation at work as a busy PA at a "think tank" to owner, Jeannie. Danielle doesn't have time to think about where she will live when she has Jeannie to please, all day, every day. The pinpoint accuracy of the PA workplace represented in the novel, I have witnessed in real times and was at times uncomfortable, I felt for Danielle, she worked hard, knew her stuff but still had people undermining her and gaslighting her decisions just for a power play and for that I had a lot of sympathy for her and I loved the dynamic between her and her workplace and social friends.
The London social scenes gave me some very vivid flashbacks! Going out with colleagues / friends as others are and you didn't want to miss out, even if you didn't necessarily have the finances to fund it, no wonder Danielle is stressed and having night terrors. A breakdown at work leads her to revealing to her boss her living situation, but Jeannie has just the answer and sends Danielle to "look after" her childhood home in West Yorkshire for a few months, until Danielle can be released from her rental contract. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is.
The second part of the book drew me in even further as the house had a presence of its own, with its shuttered up rooms, its isolation and its dominance in the local area, everyone local has heard of Westerley. Danielle sees this as an opportunity to rest and refocus, but the night terrors have not abated and now they seem to becoming more frequent... especially when Jeannie pitches up for a visit.
I LOVED this story, the way that the themes of service were explored, how the boundaries of work and personal get blurrier as acts of kindness are taken for granted and expected rather than appreciated. The novel explores class and bias and simple scenes such as changing a lightbulb, or selecting some paint samples are loaded with much more subtext and I loved being able to draw those inferences as a reader.
Service didn't feel like a horror story to me personally, nothing shocked me (but I have seen a lot!) but for a modern gothic story I was captivated and highly recommend giving this a read!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Coming soon (June to be precise), Service is an electrifying debut from @mooneylwrites who delivers a razor-sharp and quietly unsettling story that effortlessly blends workplace satire with a creeping, atmospheric ghost story. The result is something that feels both strikingly modern and eerily timeless.
At its heart is Danielle, a protagonist who feels very real - flawed, searching, and compelling. As she steps into the decaying grandeur of Westerley, the novel slowly transforms from a story about burnout and class into something far more sinister. The tension builds with such control, as the boundaries between employer and employee begin to blur, and reality itself becomes increasingly unstable.
The writing is so sharp, observant, and laced with biting wit, yet there’s an undercurrent of unease that never quite lets the reader settle. The setting is vividly drawn, which makes Westerley feel alive (in all the wrong ways!)
What makes Service so memorable is how it uses the trappings of a ghost story to explore deeper themes of power, identity, and the invisible lines we’re expected to navigate in work and life. It’s clever, unsettling, and unexpectedly emotional.
Bold, original, and quietly haunting, Service marks this author as one to watch for us.
Thank you so much to the publisher for a proof of this brilliant book.
At its heart is Danielle, a protagonist who feels very real - flawed, searching, and compelling. As she steps into the decaying grandeur of Westerley, the novel slowly transforms from a story about burnout and class into something far more sinister. The tension builds with such control, as the boundaries between employer and employee begin to blur, and reality itself becomes increasingly unstable.
The writing is so sharp, observant, and laced with biting wit, yet there’s an undercurrent of unease that never quite lets the reader settle. The setting is vividly drawn, which makes Westerley feel alive (in all the wrong ways!)
What makes Service so memorable is how it uses the trappings of a ghost story to explore deeper themes of power, identity, and the invisible lines we’re expected to navigate in work and life. It’s clever, unsettling, and unexpectedly emotional.
Bold, original, and quietly haunting, Service marks this author as one to watch for us.
Thank you so much to the publisher for a proof of this brilliant book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A brilliant concept and such fun to read. But I just felt so much MORE could have been done with it. The book felt like 2 books sandwiched together, the first half a reflection of how difficult being in your twenties is, living in London and feeling isolated, in part because the world was built for rich people, and not for you. And that bit was fab. Then the second half ended up being a haunted house and really cool concept of connecting to a house’s history. And that was great too. But I didn’t QUITE understand how the two halves related to each other, nor felt we got a proper explanation of the logistics of the haunted house outside of “it was a dream”-esque ending. I also am not a fan of books without chapters, and this book had none, rather 4 parts splitting up the 300+ pages. I liked it enough that I would tell other people to read it if they were keen on the concept, but I do think the book wasn’t quite sure what it was - a horror book or a contemporary fiction - and while sometimes that’s ok (Bunny by Awad) for me this one fell a little flat. Thank you for the read, and good luck to the author, who has such a personable way of writing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Service by Lauren Mooney
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Danielle is bored at work; in need of a place to stay following a break up and quickly using up the good will and support extended to her by friends and family. When her boss Jeannie says that Danielle can stay at her family's sprawling estate (she'd actually be doing Jeannie a favour after all, keeping an eye on the place), Danielle jumps at the chance. At first, she is living her best life as lady of the manor, but she quickly begins to spiral left to her own thoughts and imagination. So when Jeannie turns up unannounced, the relationship between the two of them becomes something fraught and difficult...
The classic ghost story in a modern setting gave this story an interesting twist. There are darker moments with an intriguing premise and the promise of something deeper. Whilst the opening part of the novel is obviously required to set out the characters and scene, the latter part of the novel is where the majority of the intrigue and story lie, therefore this section of the book I found much more appealing. Definitely an author to watch.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Danielle is bored at work; in need of a place to stay following a break up and quickly using up the good will and support extended to her by friends and family. When her boss Jeannie says that Danielle can stay at her family's sprawling estate (she'd actually be doing Jeannie a favour after all, keeping an eye on the place), Danielle jumps at the chance. At first, she is living her best life as lady of the manor, but she quickly begins to spiral left to her own thoughts and imagination. So when Jeannie turns up unannounced, the relationship between the two of them becomes something fraught and difficult...
The classic ghost story in a modern setting gave this story an interesting twist. There are darker moments with an intriguing premise and the promise of something deeper. Whilst the opening part of the novel is obviously required to set out the characters and scene, the latter part of the novel is where the majority of the intrigue and story lie, therefore this section of the book I found much more appealing. Definitely an author to watch.
June 30, 2026
Danielle’s life is essentially falling apart at the seams and at the age of 30 she really thought she’d be somewhere, not stuck as a PA to some privileged lady with no boundaries. However that privileged, boundary-less lady offers her a temporary solution to all her troubles, little does Danielle know it all comes at a huge cost.
The mix of atmospheres in this book were SO surprising and actually worked so well together. The contrast between London Danielle and Westerley Danielle was so stark and yet so seamless I could hardly keep track of the shift.
I wouldn’t call this story a horror although there were definitely times I felt unsettled (which I love) and I constantly felt like I needed to cast an eye over my shoulder. The characters were so descriptively written, the atmosphere was urgent and intense and I loved how we swapped the vast overwhelm of London for the vast, and somewhat famous amongst the locals, overwhelm of Westerley.
I highly recommend this read, it felt like it mixed the modern with the historical, the young with the old, the sane with the bonkers and I was kept on my highly unsettled toes the entire time!
The mix of atmospheres in this book were SO surprising and actually worked so well together. The contrast between London Danielle and Westerley Danielle was so stark and yet so seamless I could hardly keep track of the shift.
I wouldn’t call this story a horror although there were definitely times I felt unsettled (which I love) and I constantly felt like I needed to cast an eye over my shoulder. The characters were so descriptively written, the atmosphere was urgent and intense and I loved how we swapped the vast overwhelm of London for the vast, and somewhat famous amongst the locals, overwhelm of Westerley.
I highly recommend this read, it felt like it mixed the modern with the historical, the young with the old, the sane with the bonkers and I was kept on my highly unsettled toes the entire time!
July 16, 2026
Loved it! What a brilliant debut. Service is set in contemporary London where we follow Danielle, a PA to a very posh lady Jeannie, who suddenly finds herself single and pretty much homeless. When Jeannie asks Danielle to stay at her childhood home in Yorkshire, Westerley, the line between the present and the past, our modern world and something else, quickly begins to blur. I loved the premise of this book! I loved the commentary, especially on class, 'upstairs' vs 'downstairs' and, of course, a big, old house - is it haunted?! - which can be up there alongside the Hill House and Manderley. It was a bit spooky, a bit uncanny and a bit Twilight Zone. Excellent! I really enjoyed Lauren Mooney's writing, the characters were vivid and just so interesting. This was a perfect read for me and I can't wait to see what she writes next.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This one was a discovery on the June Preview section of The Bookseller, which, if you don’t know, is like an oasis of dreams for readers and booksellers alike. Set in London, Service follows Danielle, a personal assistant whose life begins falling apart with comedic precision. She’s broke, hates her job, and following a break up, suddenly has nowhere to live. Enter Jeannie: her old, wealthy boss, who ‘kindly’ offers Danielle a temporary stay at her countryside mansion: Westerley.
Because of-fucking-course she has a mansion vaguely resembling both in physicality and name Pride and Prejudice’s Pemberley. And yes, the comparison is made explicitly enough in the novel that I occasionally felt as though Mooney was leaning a little too heavily on Austen’s imagined coattails rather than trusting her own Gothic atmosphere. Still, what initially goes unacknowledged is that the arrangement comes with conditions. Danielle may technically be a guest, but functionally she has only just begun becoming part of the help.
Now tell me: How many times would you say you’ve been taken advantage of by your boss in the past, let’s say, month, doing tasks that aren’t in your job description? And how many times would you say it’s been cushioned by a “would you be an angel” or “it would really help the team”? Because Danielle is exactly that type of woman: endlessly useful and, for all intents and purposes, may as well be diagnosed with major chronic burnout.
Her stay at Westerley only intensifies this casualisation of labour, making the novel feel equally eerie and at times almost like situational comedy. At Maria Semple’s event for Go Gentle recently, she described that the treasure of a book is that you should want to get back to it because it’s more real than life itself and that for particular scenes, you should be laughing before they start because you know the characters so well. I really loved this idea as it is what I found so specific about Danielle and Jeannie’s relationship. Because what do you mean she goes from managing Jeannie’s entire existence — appointments, groceries, Christmas gifts and emotional maintenance included — to getting on her hands and knees scrubbing wooden floors like some late-capitalist Cinderella?
Except this is no fairy tale. To make matters worse, Danielle is suffering from sleep paralysis and begins repeatedly seeing the figure of a maid lingering throughout the house, transforming Westerley into a series of haunted vignettes where every room reflects another version of the service roles she has spent her life performing. Linguistically, these sections were phenomenal. Mooney traces each incremental erosion of Danielle’s autonomy. There are no grand revelations, only the slow recognition that Danielle has become so accustomed to being useful that she can no longer distinguish kindness from exploitation of Service (apt title there, Lauren). It all works to preserve and sustain Jeannie’s decaying, hedonistic family legacy — which honestly made the novel so relatable.
The Gothic has always been obsessed with this kind of entrapment — Mooney just updates it to something painfully contemporary: burnout disguised as professionalism and self-erasure repackaged as being “helpful”. I thoroughly enjoyed this, despite its obvious odes to older Gothic narratives, which to be honest, made me miss them even more.
Because of-fucking-course she has a mansion vaguely resembling both in physicality and name Pride and Prejudice’s Pemberley. And yes, the comparison is made explicitly enough in the novel that I occasionally felt as though Mooney was leaning a little too heavily on Austen’s imagined coattails rather than trusting her own Gothic atmosphere. Still, what initially goes unacknowledged is that the arrangement comes with conditions. Danielle may technically be a guest, but functionally she has only just begun becoming part of the help.
Now tell me: How many times would you say you’ve been taken advantage of by your boss in the past, let’s say, month, doing tasks that aren’t in your job description? And how many times would you say it’s been cushioned by a “would you be an angel” or “it would really help the team”? Because Danielle is exactly that type of woman: endlessly useful and, for all intents and purposes, may as well be diagnosed with major chronic burnout.
Her stay at Westerley only intensifies this casualisation of labour, making the novel feel equally eerie and at times almost like situational comedy. At Maria Semple’s event for Go Gentle recently, she described that the treasure of a book is that you should want to get back to it because it’s more real than life itself and that for particular scenes, you should be laughing before they start because you know the characters so well. I really loved this idea as it is what I found so specific about Danielle and Jeannie’s relationship. Because what do you mean she goes from managing Jeannie’s entire existence — appointments, groceries, Christmas gifts and emotional maintenance included — to getting on her hands and knees scrubbing wooden floors like some late-capitalist Cinderella?
Except this is no fairy tale. To make matters worse, Danielle is suffering from sleep paralysis and begins repeatedly seeing the figure of a maid lingering throughout the house, transforming Westerley into a series of haunted vignettes where every room reflects another version of the service roles she has spent her life performing. Linguistically, these sections were phenomenal. Mooney traces each incremental erosion of Danielle’s autonomy. There are no grand revelations, only the slow recognition that Danielle has become so accustomed to being useful that she can no longer distinguish kindness from exploitation of Service (apt title there, Lauren). It all works to preserve and sustain Jeannie’s decaying, hedonistic family legacy — which honestly made the novel so relatable.
The Gothic has always been obsessed with this kind of entrapment — Mooney just updates it to something painfully contemporary: burnout disguised as professionalism and self-erasure repackaged as being “helpful”. I thoroughly enjoyed this, despite its obvious odes to older Gothic narratives, which to be honest, made me miss them even more.
July 8, 2026
I enjoyed this book. The author draws character very well, and she also makes you look at the old way of being in service and the parallels to the service sector now. Very good points about how people now feel unable to say no or they’re looked on as awkward, and awkward doesn’t make you likeable. Or able to progress.
There are ghosts of the past and present in Danielle’s life and so much that feels unresolved. It’s one of those books that make you think is she haunted in the purely gothic sense or is she so much of an outsider she is almost her own ghost.
I look forward to further books from the author in future.
With thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
There are ghosts of the past and present in Danielle’s life and so much that feels unresolved. It’s one of those books that make you think is she haunted in the purely gothic sense or is she so much of an outsider she is almost her own ghost.
I look forward to further books from the author in future.
With thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
An entertaining read with a strong theme and presence. Connecting past and present by contrasting how servitude has changed (and in some ways stayed the same) through time was interesting. The antagonists were believable, and the ghost story premise started out as inviting. However, the build up was meandering which made it difficult to keep interested in the main cast. The pacing had much left to be desired with the climax of past and present merging feeling too brief and rather sudden. It has been advertised as a horror but there is not enough tension or frightening imagery to make that an accurate description.
Thank you for the proof.
Thank you for the proof.
June 25, 2026
Thoughts: if you asked me what genre this book was I’m not 100% sure I could tell you, it’s got a little bit of a lot of different ones, but what I can tell you is that it gives you exactly what you need without even knowing you needed it.
This was a one sitting read for me, my family were watching something on the tv I wasn’t interested in so I took the book upstairs with a cuppa and just devoured it!
We’re following Danielle, she’s a bit down on her luck and finds herself with nowhere to live, after all it’s not her turn for the house she shares with her now ex yet & her friend can’t have her on the sofa anymore, so when her boss offers her the place she grew up in exchange for a few housekeeping chores Danielle takes it.
As soon as she gets to Westerley in Yorkshire she starts feeling uneasy but with no real reason why.
I can’t explain properly how this book made me feel, the writing style almost made it like we were watching Danielle, especially when she was in the house, we as the reader almost felt like part of the house itself.
It’s part horror, part comedy and a whole heap of Danielle working out who she is and where she belongs. Give it a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
This was a one sitting read for me, my family were watching something on the tv I wasn’t interested in so I took the book upstairs with a cuppa and just devoured it!
We’re following Danielle, she’s a bit down on her luck and finds herself with nowhere to live, after all it’s not her turn for the house she shares with her now ex yet & her friend can’t have her on the sofa anymore, so when her boss offers her the place she grew up in exchange for a few housekeeping chores Danielle takes it.
As soon as she gets to Westerley in Yorkshire she starts feeling uneasy but with no real reason why.
I can’t explain properly how this book made me feel, the writing style almost made it like we were watching Danielle, especially when she was in the house, we as the reader almost felt like part of the house itself.
It’s part horror, part comedy and a whole heap of Danielle working out who she is and where she belongs. Give it a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
July 22, 2026
Not my usual choice of book but I like to venture out.
I felt bad for the Danielle, stuck in a dead end job, struggling with social life, money relationships and to top it off a place to sleep. Things take a turn when she ends up at her bosses country house as a live in caretaker. I felt she made bad choices one after the other and this book could be more of a wake up call to people living the same life as her. As an audiobook it was a good listen to, felt it took a slightly weird turn near the end but all in all a decent book.
I felt bad for the Danielle, stuck in a dead end job, struggling with social life, money relationships and to top it off a place to sleep. Things take a turn when she ends up at her bosses country house as a live in caretaker. I felt she made bad choices one after the other and this book could be more of a wake up call to people living the same life as her. As an audiobook it was a good listen to, felt it took a slightly weird turn near the end but all in all a decent book.
May 18, 2026
A creative premise with great writing, I just wish there was better pacing. I feel like the first half of this book I was waiting for something to happen, and then it did, but still very slowly. The last 10% or so was a whirlwind that left me a little confused, but I appreciate the commentary on classism. A mixed bag for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Service #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Service #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
July 13, 2026
Started promising, surprised me with the haunted element, waited for it to be properly developed and get creepier, turned out to be some melodrama of "I like my best friend omg so embarrassing, omg do you think he lieks me too??! UwU that's so cringe" ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
And then slap on some boring , cliche movie - type ending of driving back and seeing a ghost in the rearview mirror. GTFO.
And then slap on some boring , cliche movie - type ending of driving back and seeing a ghost in the rearview mirror. GTFO.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Loved it! Spooky and funny and relatable and clever
June 27, 2026
read this in 24 hours, it was so unsettling. thoroughly enjoyed.
July 10, 2026
was enjoying this until about the last 25% which took such a weird turn that i did not enjoy and couldnt wait for it to finish. wish it had stuck with the original themes
July 10, 2026
DNF
I found this too patronising. Readers are smart too. The author (her politics/opinions) seemed to get in the way of the story.
I found this too patronising. Readers are smart too. The author (her politics/opinions) seemed to get in the way of the story.
July 2, 2026
Danielle is nearly thirty, broke, newly single and stuck in a soul destroying job as PA to her privileged boss, Jeannie. When Jeannie offers her the chance to stay at her sprawling Yorkshire estate, Westerley, it seems like the answer to all of Danielle’s problems. But the house feels increasingly strange, her sleep paralysis worsens, and the boundaries between employer and employee begin to dissolve in unsettling ways.
Service is such an interesting blend of workplace satire, gothic horror and literary fiction. Lauren Mooney perfectly captures the exhaustion of insecure work, impossible housing costs and the strange power dynamics that come with working for someone wealthier than you. The social commentary is razor sharp, but it’s also genuinely creepy, with an atmosphere that steadily builds as the novel progresses.
I did find the first half a little slower than I’d expected, but once the story moved to Westerley I was completely hooked. The unsettling tension kept growing, and I loved how the supernatural elements were woven into the very real anxieties around work, class and identity.
A clever, eerie debut that’s as funny as it is unsettling. If you like your gothic fiction with biting social commentary, this is well worth picking up.
Service is such an interesting blend of workplace satire, gothic horror and literary fiction. Lauren Mooney perfectly captures the exhaustion of insecure work, impossible housing costs and the strange power dynamics that come with working for someone wealthier than you. The social commentary is razor sharp, but it’s also genuinely creepy, with an atmosphere that steadily builds as the novel progresses.
I did find the first half a little slower than I’d expected, but once the story moved to Westerley I was completely hooked. The unsettling tension kept growing, and I loved how the supernatural elements were woven into the very real anxieties around work, class and identity.
A clever, eerie debut that’s as funny as it is unsettling. If you like your gothic fiction with biting social commentary, this is well worth picking up.
August 2, 2026
extremely accurate depiction of being a woman in her late twenties living in the uk
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