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The House on the Hill
Sometimes the best things in life are right in front of you…
Kate Jackson likes her quiet life.
She lives in a quaint Northumbrian village, working as a self-employed gardener.
On the hill adjacent to her land is a seemingly deserted property, neglected for over a decade and in dire need of some care.
Robert, Kate’s boyfriend, fancies the land for property development, but nobody seems to know who even owns it now, after its prior owner died in old age some many years previously.
Then, Kate and Robert each encounter some activity over at Hillside House and start to think that perhaps it isn’t so deserted after all.
They have a new neighbour, Elek, and nobody seems quite sure how he ended up there, but Kate finds herself oddly eager to uncover the mystery of his sudden appearance…
As the mystery unravels, so too does the relationship between Kate and Robert as Kate grows increasingly disenchanted with Robert and his mercenary outlook.
Soon Kate and Elek’s friendship grows closer and blossoms with the promise of something more.
Could Kate’s quaint little world be smaller than she thought?
The House on the Hill is a gentle novel of a quiet life, mystery, change and a touch of romance.
“A moving story of brave new beginnings” – Holly Kinsella, author of Uptown Girl
Miranda Barnes has lived in Northumberland nearly all her life, and most of her romantic fiction is set in the area she has come to love. Contemporary and authentic, her novels focus on the loves and lives of local people - shop assistants, craft workers, and farming and fishing folk.
Kate Jackson likes her quiet life.
She lives in a quaint Northumbrian village, working as a self-employed gardener.
On the hill adjacent to her land is a seemingly deserted property, neglected for over a decade and in dire need of some care.
Robert, Kate’s boyfriend, fancies the land for property development, but nobody seems to know who even owns it now, after its prior owner died in old age some many years previously.
Then, Kate and Robert each encounter some activity over at Hillside House and start to think that perhaps it isn’t so deserted after all.
They have a new neighbour, Elek, and nobody seems quite sure how he ended up there, but Kate finds herself oddly eager to uncover the mystery of his sudden appearance…
As the mystery unravels, so too does the relationship between Kate and Robert as Kate grows increasingly disenchanted with Robert and his mercenary outlook.
Soon Kate and Elek’s friendship grows closer and blossoms with the promise of something more.
Could Kate’s quaint little world be smaller than she thought?
The House on the Hill is a gentle novel of a quiet life, mystery, change and a touch of romance.
“A moving story of brave new beginnings” – Holly Kinsella, author of Uptown Girl
Miranda Barnes has lived in Northumberland nearly all her life, and most of her romantic fiction is set in the area she has come to love. Contemporary and authentic, her novels focus on the loves and lives of local people - shop assistants, craft workers, and farming and fishing folk.
131 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2015
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55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 27, 2016
THE HOUSE.ON THE HILL is filled with twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved this story from beginning to end. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen. Miranda Barnes had me and my emotions all over the place. I can't wait to read more by this wonderful author!
September 17, 2016
E-Reader Romance / Mystery
Kate Jackson lives in a small cottage in Northumberland. She owns her own gardening business.
Her her friend is an elderly lady, Frances Murray. Her boyfriend is Robert who is commercial developer/ lawyer who negotiates prices of large projects.
The house next door, Old Hillside Manor becomes a major problem. Last owner was Colonel Fenwick. Suddenly a new owner shows up, Elek Costas.
Kate becomes obsessed with finding out if he really owns the house. Robert makes an offer to Elek to buy the house. He will tear down the house & build a group of homes. This caused Kate to break off their relationship.
So much happens the further Kate researches online. It will keep you wanting what will happen next. There is an unknown secret & possible romance. I recommend reading this book. I had to keep reading it to the end.
Kate Jackson lives in a small cottage in Northumberland. She owns her own gardening business.
Her her friend is an elderly lady, Frances Murray. Her boyfriend is Robert who is commercial developer/ lawyer who negotiates prices of large projects.
The house next door, Old Hillside Manor becomes a major problem. Last owner was Colonel Fenwick. Suddenly a new owner shows up, Elek Costas.
Kate becomes obsessed with finding out if he really owns the house. Robert makes an offer to Elek to buy the house. He will tear down the house & build a group of homes. This caused Kate to break off their relationship.
So much happens the further Kate researches online. It will keep you wanting what will happen next. There is an unknown secret & possible romance. I recommend reading this book. I had to keep reading it to the end.
September 25, 2016
This was a mystery with a little bit of a love story. I really enjoyed the way Barnes introduced the characters and the mystery they tried to solve.
July 25, 2016
Kate has a lovely life, she lives in an old cottage in a Northumbrian village running her own gardening business and has a handsome man Robert in her life. Then one night Robert sees a light on in the big old house next door that has been empty for years - walking across the garden the following day Kate is accosted by a man shouting abusively for her to get off his land. He says his name is Elek Costas and the house belongs to him!
Kate is worried about this not believing this man and so calls the police and reports the incident and also tries to make her own investigations - how can the man suddenly own the old Colonel's property it has not been on the market and no-one knows who owns it
Meanwhile she starts to discover Elek is not as bad as she thought and finds out that they have a lot in common he is a Greek Cypriot who owned his own market garden and has great gardening knowledge. She also discovers that her own boyfriend Robert is trying to buy the house off him so that he can demolish it and put a housing estate right on her doorstep!
A lovely easy read that I read in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed, there is a bit of everything - romance, intrigue and good characters
Kate is worried about this not believing this man and so calls the police and reports the incident and also tries to make her own investigations - how can the man suddenly own the old Colonel's property it has not been on the market and no-one knows who owns it
Meanwhile she starts to discover Elek is not as bad as she thought and finds out that they have a lot in common he is a Greek Cypriot who owned his own market garden and has great gardening knowledge. She also discovers that her own boyfriend Robert is trying to buy the house off him so that he can demolish it and put a housing estate right on her doorstep!
A lovely easy read that I read in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed, there is a bit of everything - romance, intrigue and good characters
July 26, 2016
The House on the Hill is what I would classify as a sweet, cozy mystery. Although the novel opens with Kate dating Robert and eventually Elek, the romance with Robert feels almost platonic, and Elek's romance with Kate seems to have been glossed over except for one or two kisses.
The real story is the history of the house on the hill, which certainly turns out to be an interesting one with a surprise twist or two. Getting to that story does take a while, and as a reader, I felt as though more of the novel was spent on Kate's strange obsession with the house and her relationship with Robert rather than Elek and the eventual secret of the house.
Some of the dialogue was a bit tricky as well, but I attribute that to being more authentically Scottish, which was not always natural to my Americanized English.
Overall, the plot flowed, and the primary characters of Kate and Elek were well developed. It makes for a nice rainy day read!
The real story is the history of the house on the hill, which certainly turns out to be an interesting one with a surprise twist or two. Getting to that story does take a while, and as a reader, I felt as though more of the novel was spent on Kate's strange obsession with the house and her relationship with Robert rather than Elek and the eventual secret of the house.
Some of the dialogue was a bit tricky as well, but I attribute that to being more authentically Scottish, which was not always natural to my Americanized English.
Overall, the plot flowed, and the primary characters of Kate and Elek were well developed. It makes for a nice rainy day read!
August 22, 2016
Honestly, when I began this book, I wasn't sure what to think of it. It crawls a little in the beginning and I couldn't quite get a handle on what type of book it was. Mystery? Romance? Combination of genres? Sort of.
As the book progresses, the house itself becomes the important part of the story. I felt the romance in this book was a bit dry and lackluster for the most part and some of the conversations felt very forced. It was when the history of the house came into play that I began to really enjoy this book. The author has done a fantastic job with description and creating a rich timeline of events and stories from the past that make this book interesting.
If you enjoy stories that delve into the past in order to make sense of the present, this one will be a good addition to your bookshelf.
This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
As the book progresses, the house itself becomes the important part of the story. I felt the romance in this book was a bit dry and lackluster for the most part and some of the conversations felt very forced. It was when the history of the house came into play that I began to really enjoy this book. The author has done a fantastic job with description and creating a rich timeline of events and stories from the past that make this book interesting.
If you enjoy stories that delve into the past in order to make sense of the present, this one will be a good addition to your bookshelf.
This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
August 1, 2016
I received this free from netgalley and endeavour press to which I am very thankful.
I had high hopes for this book but the major "revelation" in the book was far too rushed. Kate is the main character in this and she is described well but there was a lot of pointless conversations that didn't need to be there.
This is a quick read so I don't really want to expand on the authors write up as this will definately make this book not worth reading.
I did find my mind straying as I read this as there wasn't enough of interest going on to keep my full attention, but the ending was rushed and rather laughable as if it had to be finished within a certain amount of words. A shame really as it could have been so much better.
I had high hopes for this book but the major "revelation" in the book was far too rushed. Kate is the main character in this and she is described well but there was a lot of pointless conversations that didn't need to be there.
This is a quick read so I don't really want to expand on the authors write up as this will definately make this book not worth reading.
I did find my mind straying as I read this as there wasn't enough of interest going on to keep my full attention, but the ending was rushed and rather laughable as if it had to be finished within a certain amount of words. A shame really as it could have been so much better.
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September 11, 2016Dnf at 18%
I disliked the stereotypes - the reference to 'old dears who were too reluctant to turn the heating up when it got cold.' ... 'too stubborn to reach for the thermostat.' The slightly unsavoury mention of Thai brides, the :(
And WTF? She dials 999 to report a possible trespasser even though she has no proof at all that the man is not the actual owner and in fact SHE was the one trespassing? That beggared belief and I gave up.
To be honest, Kate sounded more like a bitter, nosey woman hell bent on making life difficult for the owner of the house.
I disliked the stereotypes - the reference to 'old dears who were too reluctant to turn the heating up when it got cold.' ... 'too stubborn to reach for the thermostat.' The slightly unsavoury mention of Thai brides, the :(
And WTF? She dials 999 to report a possible trespasser even though she has no proof at all that the man is not the actual owner and in fact SHE was the one trespassing? That beggared belief and I gave up.
To be honest, Kate sounded more like a bitter, nosey woman hell bent on making life difficult for the owner of the house.
August 21, 2016
This is the first book from Miranda Barnes that I've read but I was not disappointed the story was filled with twists and turns that kept me on the edge if my seat so much so I read it not stop to find out what happened at the end. I loved this book from start to finish. I can't wait to read more of her books. I would recommend this book to others.
September 5, 2016
Easy reading, delightful story.
A quick read and enough mystery to hold your attention. The characters are believable and human, they make mistakes but they also own up to the mistakes
A quick read and enough mystery to hold your attention. The characters are believable and human, they make mistakes but they also own up to the mistakes
January 28, 2017
The story line kept me interested right to the end, to find out the mystery about the house on the hill. I received a copy from net galley for an honest review.
July 30, 2017
Satisfactory story
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews