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The Thirty-One Doors
If these walls could talk . . .
Scarpside House is famed for its beauty, its isolation, and its legendary parties.
Tonight, it hosts the Penny Club soiree. An annual gathering of lucky men and women from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate their survival against the odds.
But this year their luck is running thin.
Accidents do happen, after all . . .
And some are long overdue . . .
Scarpside House is famed for its beauty, its isolation, and its legendary parties.
Tonight, it hosts the Penny Club soiree. An annual gathering of lucky men and women from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate their survival against the odds.
But this year their luck is running thin.
Accidents do happen, after all . . .
And some are long overdue . . .
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2022
12 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
December 7, 2024
Reading this directly after And Then There Were None was probably a mistake.
In short, The Thirty-One Doors was far too complicated. Everything from the plot to the house lay-out needed simplifying.
It was atmospheric, with decent writing and lots of good ideas, but it needed a fair amount of smoothing out, because now I have a headache from trying to keep up with everything.
The quirky house locked door murder mystery with a creep factor genre is my thing. With expert tweaking: some sanding down, better foreshadowing, and a map (because I swear these rooms were moving around!) this could have been a gem.
Unfortunately these problems made it hard work to read, so I can't go higher than 3 stars.
In short, The Thirty-One Doors was far too complicated. Everything from the plot to the house lay-out needed simplifying.
It was atmospheric, with decent writing and lots of good ideas, but it needed a fair amount of smoothing out, because now I have a headache from trying to keep up with everything.
The quirky house locked door murder mystery with a creep factor genre is my thing. With expert tweaking: some sanding down, better foreshadowing, and a map (because I swear these rooms were moving around!) this could have been a gem.
Unfortunately these problems made it hard work to read, so I can't go higher than 3 stars.
December 3, 2023
An atmospheric country house thriller with echoes of "And Then There Was None" but sadly let down by its rather clichéd and muddled ending 😫
A late-night call for help one snowy night means Frank must head up to Scarpaide House to investigate and is not prepared for the murder and mystery that awaits him.
Side note (I am assuming Scarpside is based on Cragside a National Trust house that's a phenomenal place to visit)
A late-night call for help one snowy night means Frank must head up to Scarpaide House to investigate and is not prepared for the murder and mystery that awaits him.
Side note (I am assuming Scarpside is based on Cragside a National Trust house that's a phenomenal place to visit)
October 18, 2022
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I rounded up my rating to a 3 star because I feel the first quarter of the book was a waste and very nearly had me giving up. It started slow, too slow and I found it hard to follow. It just seemed to be filler.
Fortunately, the story and the characters improve and it becomes a tale of whodunnit and takes on the premise of a live action game of cluedo.
There were entertaining chapters but sometimes the drama felt flat. It almost seemed as if the author was trying to create an air of mystery coupled with glamour of the characters and the time period but didn’t quite meet it. It was dialogue heavy, which at times, interrupted the flow of the story.
Overall I enjoyed it, I just feel it could have been a little more polished.
I rounded up my rating to a 3 star because I feel the first quarter of the book was a waste and very nearly had me giving up. It started slow, too slow and I found it hard to follow. It just seemed to be filler.
Fortunately, the story and the characters improve and it becomes a tale of whodunnit and takes on the premise of a live action game of cluedo.
There were entertaining chapters but sometimes the drama felt flat. It almost seemed as if the author was trying to create an air of mystery coupled with glamour of the characters and the time period but didn’t quite meet it. It was dialogue heavy, which at times, interrupted the flow of the story.
Overall I enjoyed it, I just feel it could have been a little more polished.
October 13, 2022
Frank, alone in the village police station, receives a fractured phone call requesting assistance at Scarpside House, the isolated home to Lord Forester. It is the 12th of December 1924, and Frank, a newly minted Detective Sergeant, is disgruntled that the promotion had taken him away from Manchester, where he had cracked a major criminal enterprise. The repercussions of that success, and the ensuing events, will form a backdrop to all of his subsequent actions, particularly his decision to allow “Mary” to elude any aspect of the prosecution and disappear. Mounting his trusty bike, he cycles out to the house, which he discovers is perched on the edge of a cliff and reachable only by a clap-trap funicular operated from the house. Arriving at the house he is met by Dottie, a Lady’s Maid, panicking and telling him that Lord and Lady Forester and all their guests have vanished. This turns out to be an exaggeration, since most of them are hiding in one of the rooms, but some are definitely missing. Frank, with Dottie’s assistance, begins to search the house – which has been massively altered by one of the missing guests, Professor Webber, and has electric lights, phones in every room, secret passages, and an intercom system of speaking tubes. Despite the large party of guests, there are only three staff, the aforementioned Dottie, Jessop the butler and a scullery maid – who turns out to be Mary! As bodies and cryptic clues start to turn up, Frank struggles through the night to solve the mystery of the deaths and his concern that Mary might somehow be involved.
In principle, this is a fairly standard “House of Horrors” mystery, at the “And Then There Were None” or “They All Fall Down” end of the genre, rather than “The Shining” or Friday the Thirteenth” end. However, this story is riddled with problems. Giving Frank a troubled background is not an unusual trope but we never really get a sense of why Mary is important to him (he’s unmarried from choice but perhaps had an affair?), or why he was moved to this backwater after his success. He clearly has “mother” issues in his past which keep popping into his head, but don’t seem to contribute to the plot. The people in the house have various backgrounds but are connected by being a club composed of survivors of various, possibly life threatening, events – some of which are based on reality and one is based on a story by Conan Doyle. The plot is obscure, but there are clues to what is going on, just not very solid, and some ends are still left loose. The rationale for the murders, and the way they happen, are hard to accept (at least one is, I think, mechanically impossible). It’s all a bit rambling, and by rambling I don’t just mean the writing. Frank’s investigation is basically just him (and Dottie) rambling around the house (they go through a lot of doors, but not all thirty-one), mostly to little effect. The ending is not satisfactory, unlikely and mostly unresolved.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
In principle, this is a fairly standard “House of Horrors” mystery, at the “And Then There Were None” or “They All Fall Down” end of the genre, rather than “The Shining” or Friday the Thirteenth” end. However, this story is riddled with problems. Giving Frank a troubled background is not an unusual trope but we never really get a sense of why Mary is important to him (he’s unmarried from choice but perhaps had an affair?), or why he was moved to this backwater after his success. He clearly has “mother” issues in his past which keep popping into his head, but don’t seem to contribute to the plot. The people in the house have various backgrounds but are connected by being a club composed of survivors of various, possibly life threatening, events – some of which are based on reality and one is based on a story by Conan Doyle. The plot is obscure, but there are clues to what is going on, just not very solid, and some ends are still left loose. The rationale for the murders, and the way they happen, are hard to accept (at least one is, I think, mechanically impossible). It’s all a bit rambling, and by rambling I don’t just mean the writing. Frank’s investigation is basically just him (and Dottie) rambling around the house (they go through a lot of doors, but not all thirty-one), mostly to little effect. The ending is not satisfactory, unlikely and mostly unresolved.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
December 20, 2023
December 1924 and Detective Sergeant Frank Glover receives a plea for help from an isolated mansion. He finds servants in distress and missing party guests. And then he finds the first body. As he investigates the case gets stranger. Having the house cut off makes the tension rocket and this becomes a claustrophobic thriller. It does feel like you're trapped in the house alongside Frank and the others, just waiting for the killer to do something else. Good book to curl up with on a dark winter's evening.
October 19, 2022
Set 6 years after World War One, this whodunnit takes place in an isolated country house. A village policeman receives a call requesting assistance, he makes his way through a snowstorm to then find himself not just looking into a disappearance but murder. I must admit this felt slightly plodding at times, the characters didn't quite leap off the page.
November 4, 2022
I guess I was mostly attracted to this one by the cover and the title - a mysterious big house hosting a party, a snow storm cutting it off for the night, and murder… this is a locked room mystery, or a locked ‘mansion’ mystery, if you like. There wasn’t much of a blurb so I didn’t really know what I was going to read when it began. The setting is 1924, and the mansion is eccentric for its time - connected to town only by a funicular and with innovative modern electricity and a duct heating system, it is way ahead of its time, courtesy of eccentric owners and one of the guests, a friend who is an inventor and engineer. Our protagonist, Frank, is a policeman who is called by a breathless voice requesting his help, but when he arrives he’s told by the maid that all of guests at the party have disappeared- the house is mysteriously silent. What is more, it soon transpires that he was called for help before any trouble began. Soon Frank and maid Dottie find the guests hiding because they had received a threatening note and some blood. Guests are disappearing one by one and winding up dead. It’s not clear who is a victim and who is a suspect. Frank and Dottie begin a mad dash around the house which in part seems like a staged set…
The beginning was underwhelming, and I never really became enamoured with any characters leaving me a bit a cold to what was happening. There are more than a few interesting ideas but I sometimes had some problems with the writing - feeling like I’d skipped over something accidentally - there often seemed to be strange leaps or cryptic sentences that I couldn’t make head nor tail of. The house is probably the most interesting character in this book - often portrayed as feeling almost like a sentient being, it is a sinister stage set with its quirky hidden pipes, engineering systems and telephones.
My thanks to #NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
The beginning was underwhelming, and I never really became enamoured with any characters leaving me a bit a cold to what was happening. There are more than a few interesting ideas but I sometimes had some problems with the writing - feeling like I’d skipped over something accidentally - there often seemed to be strange leaps or cryptic sentences that I couldn’t make head nor tail of. The house is probably the most interesting character in this book - often portrayed as feeling almost like a sentient being, it is a sinister stage set with its quirky hidden pipes, engineering systems and telephones.
My thanks to #NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 4, 2024
A late night calls leads Frank to investigate a mystery in an isolated Manor House on a snowy December evening.
The idea of this book borrows heavily from And Then There Were None<\i>, and I don’t mind that. With a couple odd moments aside, I enjoyed the first half of the book. It was very atmospheric and quite creepy as Frank and maid Dottie move from room initially looking for house guests then looking for clues. I also enjoyed them as lead characters.
Ultimately though, this book is quite a let down. First and foremost by the ending, which is a bit of a ‘throw everything at it’ mess that left me simultaneously underwhelmed, slightly confused and wondering what happened to most of the characters.
It’s not a tightly plotted book, in fact at times it almost feels made up as it was written. Characters don’t always act the way they should, the detective doesn’t ask questions you would expect him to and overall the outcome is weak.
4 for atmosphere, 2 for plot.
The idea of this book borrows heavily from And Then There Were None<\i>, and I don’t mind that. With a couple odd moments aside, I enjoyed the first half of the book. It was very atmospheric and quite creepy as Frank and maid Dottie move from room initially looking for house guests then looking for clues. I also enjoyed them as lead characters.
Ultimately though, this book is quite a let down. First and foremost by the ending, which is a bit of a ‘throw everything at it’ mess that left me simultaneously underwhelmed, slightly confused and wondering what happened to most of the characters.
It’s not a tightly plotted book, in fact at times it almost feels made up as it was written. Characters don’t always act the way they should, the detective doesn’t ask questions you would expect him to and overall the outcome is weak.
4 for atmosphere, 2 for plot.
November 21, 2022
The premise is a very familiar one – there’s a country house full of guests with murky pasts which make them either liable to murder their fellow party-goers, or be murdered due to something they’ve done. And no… when it becomes obvious that there’s a serial murderer on the loose, they can’t just rush to the front door and summon their chauffeur, because this house can only be accessed by a funicular ride. And someone sabotages it after our plucky detective arrives.
I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. Hulme’s prose is lush and highly descriptive, both of her characters and Scarpside House, evidently going for a gothic vibe. However this sub-genre demands loads of tension and fraught sense of wrongness, tipping into horror at times. That means that the reader needs to be invested in at least the main character, so that when Detective Sergeant Frank Glover is in peril, or at least struggling with the investigation – we need to care. Despite David Morley Hale’s excellent narration, I never really bonded with Glover. I found his initial aloofness towards the recently bereaved guests rather off-putting. We spent a great deal of time in his head as he roamed around Scarpside House on a ceaseless hunt for clues, when he mused about the loss of his mother as a small boy and his feelings for a young woman who was caught up in a previous case he was working on. I thought him rather self-absorbed and didn’t like him all that much. This was a problem as we are clearly supposed to care about him when he gets into several dangerous situations. Whereas I worried more about poor Dotty.
The other issue is the constant over-description of the house. Hulme clearly has a vivid visual imagination, but I really didn’t need an intricate description of the colour of the walls in every single bedroom or the curtains, cushions and carpets. It defuses much of the tension built up by the growing body count. The creepy atmosphere caused by the snowstorm and the knowledge that there is at least one highly dangerous person roaming around the building is also compromised by the over-long descriptions as it slows the pace far too much and took my attention away from what really matters.
I wasn’t convinced that Glover would have co-opted Dotty, the servant in quite the way he did – but I was prepared to suspend my disbelief on that score as she is the only person in the book I really liked. The tone of murder mystery did seem rather overblown at the beginning, instead of building up that sense of dark wrongness that permeates a gothic thriller, so I wondered if Hulme would pull off a successful denouement that adequately explained all the rather elaborate and varied styles of killing. I think she manages it, just about.
I’m aware that writing a classic murder mystery these days, with a nod to those who went before, takes a great deal of technical skill. While I was never tempted to DNF this one, as I was invested sufficiently to stick to the end to discover whodunit, I do think Hulme’s editor should have been more rigorous with the red pen and murdered a few more of her descriptive passages along with the various victims. While I obtained an audiobook arc of The Thirty-One Doors from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10
I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. Hulme’s prose is lush and highly descriptive, both of her characters and Scarpside House, evidently going for a gothic vibe. However this sub-genre demands loads of tension and fraught sense of wrongness, tipping into horror at times. That means that the reader needs to be invested in at least the main character, so that when Detective Sergeant Frank Glover is in peril, or at least struggling with the investigation – we need to care. Despite David Morley Hale’s excellent narration, I never really bonded with Glover. I found his initial aloofness towards the recently bereaved guests rather off-putting. We spent a great deal of time in his head as he roamed around Scarpside House on a ceaseless hunt for clues, when he mused about the loss of his mother as a small boy and his feelings for a young woman who was caught up in a previous case he was working on. I thought him rather self-absorbed and didn’t like him all that much. This was a problem as we are clearly supposed to care about him when he gets into several dangerous situations. Whereas I worried more about poor Dotty.
The other issue is the constant over-description of the house. Hulme clearly has a vivid visual imagination, but I really didn’t need an intricate description of the colour of the walls in every single bedroom or the curtains, cushions and carpets. It defuses much of the tension built up by the growing body count. The creepy atmosphere caused by the snowstorm and the knowledge that there is at least one highly dangerous person roaming around the building is also compromised by the over-long descriptions as it slows the pace far too much and took my attention away from what really matters.
I wasn’t convinced that Glover would have co-opted Dotty, the servant in quite the way he did – but I was prepared to suspend my disbelief on that score as she is the only person in the book I really liked. The tone of murder mystery did seem rather overblown at the beginning, instead of building up that sense of dark wrongness that permeates a gothic thriller, so I wondered if Hulme would pull off a successful denouement that adequately explained all the rather elaborate and varied styles of killing. I think she manages it, just about.
I’m aware that writing a classic murder mystery these days, with a nod to those who went before, takes a great deal of technical skill. While I was never tempted to DNF this one, as I was invested sufficiently to stick to the end to discover whodunit, I do think Hulme’s editor should have been more rigorous with the red pen and murdered a few more of her descriptive passages along with the various victims. While I obtained an audiobook arc of The Thirty-One Doors from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10
November 7, 2022
All of my reviews can be found at https://damppebbles.com/
When Detective Sergeant Frank Glover receives a strange call for help from Scarpside House just as he’s clocking off for the night, he feels it’s his duty to check it out. Bidding a goodnight to his colleague, he grabs his bike and starts a slow trek to the secluded manor house on the edge of a cliff. As the snowstorm worsens, Frank begins to doubt how sensible his decision was. Even more so when he realises the house cannot be reached without the use of a funicular, delaying his journey even more. On arrival Frank is greeted by Dottie, the Lady’s Maid, who informs him a party was in full swing but all of the guests, along with the butler, have vanished. Searching the house for answers, Frank and Dottie make some unnerving discoveries, including what looks like a large puddle of blood. Something is amiss at Scarpside House and it’s down to Frank to discover what…
The Thirty-One Doors is an interesting historical murder mystery novel with well-drawn gothic aspects and a beautifully written sense of claustrophobia which pulls the reader into the story. As the snowstorm worsens and all methods of communication, along with any chance of escape from the house are removed, Frank and Dottie begin to realise that they’re trapped with a killer. Someone who seems intent on picking off the members of the Penny Club one by one. There is a large cast of characters in the novel. Many are unlikeable, oozing privilege and power. Disrespecting one another and making the reader question exactly who could be behind the dastardly dealings at Scarpside House. Well, let’s face it, any of them could be the killer! They’re all pretty loathsome people, all hiding secrets they’d do anything to keep. But to counteract the nastiness of the family and the guests, the author has created two great characters in the form of DS Glover and Dottie. I found myself cheering them on. I wanted them to succeed in their quest. They both really made the story for me. However, I did feel that there were unanswered questions about Frank’s past which were referred to often but not really explained. Perhaps DS Frank Glover is set to make a return in the future and the gaps will be plugged then.
Would I recommend this book? If you’re looking for a slow burn mystery and you’re a fan of the golden age of crime fiction then yes, I feel you will enjoy The Thirty-One Doors. The characters are interesting and the setting is vividly drawn. I found the plot a little too predictable at points and was able to spot one aspect from very early on. But I try to not let things like that pull me out of the story, so I was pleased when my suspicions were confirmed. I also found the plot a little too slow at times and I would have liked those gaps I mentioned above covered in a little more detail but otherwise, I did enjoy The Thirty-One Doors and will be on the lookout for more from this author in the future. Recommended.
When Detective Sergeant Frank Glover receives a strange call for help from Scarpside House just as he’s clocking off for the night, he feels it’s his duty to check it out. Bidding a goodnight to his colleague, he grabs his bike and starts a slow trek to the secluded manor house on the edge of a cliff. As the snowstorm worsens, Frank begins to doubt how sensible his decision was. Even more so when he realises the house cannot be reached without the use of a funicular, delaying his journey even more. On arrival Frank is greeted by Dottie, the Lady’s Maid, who informs him a party was in full swing but all of the guests, along with the butler, have vanished. Searching the house for answers, Frank and Dottie make some unnerving discoveries, including what looks like a large puddle of blood. Something is amiss at Scarpside House and it’s down to Frank to discover what…
The Thirty-One Doors is an interesting historical murder mystery novel with well-drawn gothic aspects and a beautifully written sense of claustrophobia which pulls the reader into the story. As the snowstorm worsens and all methods of communication, along with any chance of escape from the house are removed, Frank and Dottie begin to realise that they’re trapped with a killer. Someone who seems intent on picking off the members of the Penny Club one by one. There is a large cast of characters in the novel. Many are unlikeable, oozing privilege and power. Disrespecting one another and making the reader question exactly who could be behind the dastardly dealings at Scarpside House. Well, let’s face it, any of them could be the killer! They’re all pretty loathsome people, all hiding secrets they’d do anything to keep. But to counteract the nastiness of the family and the guests, the author has created two great characters in the form of DS Glover and Dottie. I found myself cheering them on. I wanted them to succeed in their quest. They both really made the story for me. However, I did feel that there were unanswered questions about Frank’s past which were referred to often but not really explained. Perhaps DS Frank Glover is set to make a return in the future and the gaps will be plugged then.
Would I recommend this book? If you’re looking for a slow burn mystery and you’re a fan of the golden age of crime fiction then yes, I feel you will enjoy The Thirty-One Doors. The characters are interesting and the setting is vividly drawn. I found the plot a little too predictable at points and was able to spot one aspect from very early on. But I try to not let things like that pull me out of the story, so I was pleased when my suspicions were confirmed. I also found the plot a little too slow at times and I would have liked those gaps I mentioned above covered in a little more detail but otherwise, I did enjoy The Thirty-One Doors and will be on the lookout for more from this author in the future. Recommended.
November 4, 2022
I guess I was mostly attracted to this one by the cover and the title - a mysterious big house hosting a party, a snow storm cutting it off for the night, and murder… this is a locked room mystery, or a locked ‘mansion’ mystery, if you like. There wasn’t much of a blurb so I didn’t really know what I was going to read when it began. The setting is 1924, and the mansion is eccentric for its time - connected to town only by a funicular and with innovative modern electricity and a duct heating system, it is way ahead of its time, courtesy of eccentric owners and one of the guests, a friend who is an inventor and engineer. Our protagonist, Frank, is a policeman who is called by a breathless voice requesting his help, but when he arrives he’s told by the maid that all of guests at the party have disappeared- the house is mysteriously silent. What is more, it soon transpires that he was called for help before any trouble began. Soon Frank and maid Dottie find the guests hiding because they had received a threatening note and some blood. Guests are disappearing one by one and winding up dead. It’s not clear who is a victim and who is a suspect. Frank and Dottie begin a mad dash around the house which in part seems like a staged set…
The beginning was underwhelming, and I never really became enamoured with any characters leaving me a bit a cold to what was happening. There are more than a few interesting ideas but I sometimes had some problems with the writing - feeling like I’d skipped over something accidentally - there often seemed to be strange leaps or cryptic sentences that I couldn’t make head nor tail of. One of the supposed plot twists was entirely too obvious right from the beginning while other things remained strangely vague even after all was wrapped up. This still felt unfinished to me, some of the characters and plot points weren’t fully fleshed out. The house is probably the most interesting character in this book - often portrayed as feeling almost like a sentient being, it is a sinister stage set with its quirky hidden pipes, engineering systems and telephones.
My thanks to #NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
The beginning was underwhelming, and I never really became enamoured with any characters leaving me a bit a cold to what was happening. There are more than a few interesting ideas but I sometimes had some problems with the writing - feeling like I’d skipped over something accidentally - there often seemed to be strange leaps or cryptic sentences that I couldn’t make head nor tail of. One of the supposed plot twists was entirely too obvious right from the beginning while other things remained strangely vague even after all was wrapped up. This still felt unfinished to me, some of the characters and plot points weren’t fully fleshed out. The house is probably the most interesting character in this book - often portrayed as feeling almost like a sentient being, it is a sinister stage set with its quirky hidden pipes, engineering systems and telephones.
My thanks to #NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 14, 2022
I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Thirty-One Doors, a stand-alone novel set in Lancashire in 1924.
Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call to go to Scarpside House, a remote house only reachable by a funicular. He isn’t told what’s wrong, but the fear in the caller’s voice makes him brave the weather to attend.
I’m not quite sure what The Thirty-One Doors wants to be and I think that it comes across in the read. It starts as a standard cosy, country house locked room mystery with a remote house, a limited cast list, snow and some murders, but then it tries for something more sophisticated with an extremely convoluted solution, the politics of the time and Frank’s issues. It’s a strange mixture.
I liked the way the characters’ secrets were gradually revealed (and they all have them in spades), although the big rush at the end felt slightly forced and I also liked the sense of unease evoked in much of the novel. On the other hand I found it repetitive in parts, including the dialogue, as much of the novel consisted of Frank and ladies’ maid, Dottie wandering from room to room discovering random clues, which even they have the grace to admit seem planted. I will leave it up to the individual reader to decide what they think about the solution, which is imaginative but not remotely plausible.
I understand that this is a debut novel and as such it has a few teething problems. There is a good story in there with some nice touches, but the execution needs tightening.
Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call to go to Scarpside House, a remote house only reachable by a funicular. He isn’t told what’s wrong, but the fear in the caller’s voice makes him brave the weather to attend.
I’m not quite sure what The Thirty-One Doors wants to be and I think that it comes across in the read. It starts as a standard cosy, country house locked room mystery with a remote house, a limited cast list, snow and some murders, but then it tries for something more sophisticated with an extremely convoluted solution, the politics of the time and Frank’s issues. It’s a strange mixture.
I liked the way the characters’ secrets were gradually revealed (and they all have them in spades), although the big rush at the end felt slightly forced and I also liked the sense of unease evoked in much of the novel. On the other hand I found it repetitive in parts, including the dialogue, as much of the novel consisted of Frank and ladies’ maid, Dottie wandering from room to room discovering random clues, which even they have the grace to admit seem planted. I will leave it up to the individual reader to decide what they think about the solution, which is imaginative but not remotely plausible.
I understand that this is a debut novel and as such it has a few teething problems. There is a good story in there with some nice touches, but the execution needs tightening.
December 26, 2024
12th December 1924 and Detective Sergeant Frank Glover is on duty in Gothbury Police Station when a call is received from Scarpside, a looming mansion on the outskirts of the village. Before the line crackles and goes dead Glover hears a woman's voice shouting for help and asking for the police to attend. With the snow falling heavily Glover calls into the local pub to get help from Marsh and Riley the other two police officers who refuse to leave and Glover sets alone. When he arrives at Scarpside he's met by Dotty, the maid, who informs him that tonight there are guests for dinner at the house but that they have all disappeared. Glover and Dotty begin to explore the house to try and find the rest of the party.
As the investigation continues Glover learns that all those present as part of a "Survivors Club" having all suffered and survived traumatic events yet now someone is picking off the survivors one by one as more and more bodies are discovered scattered around the house.
This story started with great potential until Glover reached the house Scarpside, which must have been based on the National Trust property of Cragside in Northumberland. From then on the novel reads more as a guide tour book to the property than the murder investigation and this might have been helped had a map of the property and grounds been provided. I do love a good map in a murder mystery but this book really needed it. The plot line became more confused than the way around the house and grounds but I ploughed on to a very unsatisfactory end.
As the investigation continues Glover learns that all those present as part of a "Survivors Club" having all suffered and survived traumatic events yet now someone is picking off the survivors one by one as more and more bodies are discovered scattered around the house.
This story started with great potential until Glover reached the house Scarpside, which must have been based on the National Trust property of Cragside in Northumberland. From then on the novel reads more as a guide tour book to the property than the murder investigation and this might have been helped had a map of the property and grounds been provided. I do love a good map in a murder mystery but this book really needed it. The plot line became more confused than the way around the house and grounds but I ploughed on to a very unsatisfactory end.
March 16, 2023
Full disclosure- I read this in one night from about 9-11:30 so my opinions might have been skewed slightly by lack of sleep. However, the overall impression was that the idea was a fun one but it was poorly executed. In order to do justice to all of the plot twists, reveals and character villain arcs, the book should have been longer by about 100 pages- alternatively, the writer could have left some out. The beginning was a bit slow- fine, some books take a while to warm up- but by the last fifty pages everything was happening left right and centre. I found myself flicking through the book several times trying to understand who was actually who, and the "Murder on the Orient Express" style ending was just confusing. To me, it didn't make sense. Additionally, to keep the ending short it felt like the characters had no time to react to the reveals, which again made the book less believable. I don't think I would recommend it.
November 10, 2023
Scarpside house looms over Gothbury village and has an eccentric layout and is isolated.
The penny club meets there every year-a gathering of lucky men and women, who survived the odds and lived.
A telephone call is taken by Det Sergeant Glover with a frantic voice urging him to go to the house.
When he arrives he’s told by the maid that all of guests at the party have disappeared- the house is mysteriously silent. Soon Frank and maid Dottie find the guests hiding because they had received a threatening note and some blood. Guests are disappearing one by one and winding up dead.
I got confused with this story as it rambled on and Frank and Dottie rambled through the house.
It was a bit vague. Lots of potential but fell short of a an exciting, well plotted book.
Some good ideas but just couldn't immerse myself in this book.
I read the paperback and would have been even more confused on a kindle.
The penny club meets there every year-a gathering of lucky men and women, who survived the odds and lived.
A telephone call is taken by Det Sergeant Glover with a frantic voice urging him to go to the house.
When he arrives he’s told by the maid that all of guests at the party have disappeared- the house is mysteriously silent. Soon Frank and maid Dottie find the guests hiding because they had received a threatening note and some blood. Guests are disappearing one by one and winding up dead.
I got confused with this story as it rambled on and Frank and Dottie rambled through the house.
It was a bit vague. Lots of potential but fell short of a an exciting, well plotted book.
Some good ideas but just couldn't immerse myself in this book.
I read the paperback and would have been even more confused on a kindle.
October 11, 2022
Detective Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call from a local stately home asking for urgent help. When he arrives he realises the house can only be reached by funicular. He reluctantly ascends to find a house in uproar. An annual party for the Penny Club, has been disrupted by a threatening message and now several members of the group or missing.
The Thirty-One Doors is an enjoyable “locked room” mystery. Set in the 1920’s, Kate Hulme is excellent on setting the scene and describing the grand house. I enjoyed the interplay between Frank and Dottie, a maid who becomes his side kick. I did guess some of the twists but not all and it was all cleverly tied up at the end. A strong debut and I look forward to further novels from this author. Thank you #netgalley and #hodderbooks for the ARC.
The Thirty-One Doors is an enjoyable “locked room” mystery. Set in the 1920’s, Kate Hulme is excellent on setting the scene and describing the grand house. I enjoyed the interplay between Frank and Dottie, a maid who becomes his side kick. I did guess some of the twists but not all and it was all cleverly tied up at the end. A strong debut and I look forward to further novels from this author. Thank you #netgalley and #hodderbooks for the ARC.
November 27, 2022
3.5 upped to 4
The Thirty-One Doors is a mix of Golden Age tropes with some gothic novel tropes. It's a slow burning and gripping novel featuring complex characters and an intriguing setting.
There're secrets, murders, an isolated mansion with plenty of very modern features and a trouble investigators.
It's not an action packed or fast paced story, it's one that ask you to concentrate on the puzzle and follows the clues.
I found it a bit too slow at the beginning and some parts requires a bit of suspension of belief. Once I was involved in the story I enjoyed it and try to identify the clues and solve the puzzle.
There's plenty of potential and i would be curious to read the next mystery by this author.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
The Thirty-One Doors is a mix of Golden Age tropes with some gothic novel tropes. It's a slow burning and gripping novel featuring complex characters and an intriguing setting.
There're secrets, murders, an isolated mansion with plenty of very modern features and a trouble investigators.
It's not an action packed or fast paced story, it's one that ask you to concentrate on the puzzle and follows the clues.
I found it a bit too slow at the beginning and some parts requires a bit of suspension of belief. Once I was involved in the story I enjoyed it and try to identify the clues and solve the puzzle.
There's plenty of potential and i would be curious to read the next mystery by this author.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
December 27, 2024
It was good. I wanted to finish it to know all that happened. The ending wasn’t obvious but all the pieces fit together when you look back at what happened.
I liked all of the characters and the connections between them.
The setting and layout of the house was SO CONFUSING though, I was barely able to picture the rooms and hallways and the village and the house and the snow and the hill in relation to each other.
But the characters and plot made up for it.
It honestly felt like reading the board game Clue just with more confusing layouts and old-timey dialogue.
There were tons of words and references that were used back in the 1920s (which was a teeny-weeny bit confusing but not hard to figure out), but it still had a modern feel to it, which I appreciated.
Shoutout DOTTIE!!!!!!!!! <3
I liked all of the characters and the connections between them.
The setting and layout of the house was SO CONFUSING though, I was barely able to picture the rooms and hallways and the village and the house and the snow and the hill in relation to each other.
But the characters and plot made up for it.
It honestly felt like reading the board game Clue just with more confusing layouts and old-timey dialogue.
There were tons of words and references that were used back in the 1920s (which was a teeny-weeny bit confusing but not hard to figure out), but it still had a modern feel to it, which I appreciated.
Shoutout DOTTIE!!!!!!!!! <3
March 31, 2025
Got this when I went to London last summer and it was exactly what you'd expect, but perhaps a little more slow paced then I was anticipating. Honestly the whole thing felt like an homage to Clue, what with every chapter being in a new section of the house. Frank was a fine main character, though in all honesty I thought Dottie was more compelling. It's slow to begin with but those last 75 pages were super good. I liked all the big twists and reveals, and although I am notoriously bad at seeing big things coming, I truthfully did not expect the ending. Took me way longer to read than I thought but that's more on me than it. Still searching for that high of knives out, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.
October 20, 2022
When Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call from the big house on the cliff begging for his help towards the end of his shift, he responds. His colleagues are already ensconced in the pub so he attends by himself.. When he gets to the house nearly an hour later he finds a house that appears deserted.
So follows a Christie like mystery which weaves a very tangled web indeed. The occupants of the house are not what they appear and have interwoven fates. But who is the puppetmaster?
This is a book that builds, it has a slow start, but this ups the tension. Everyone is a suspect.
I enjoyed this immensely
So follows a Christie like mystery which weaves a very tangled web indeed. The occupants of the house are not what they appear and have interwoven fates. But who is the puppetmaster?
This is a book that builds, it has a slow start, but this ups the tension. Everyone is a suspect.
I enjoyed this immensely
November 11, 2022
When Detective Sergeant Frank Glover gets a phone call from spooky Scarpside House pleading for help he rushes there through the bleak, wintery night.
Windows are ablaze with light for the annual gathering of the Penny Club, a group of lucky men and women celebrating their survival against the odds in disasters including the sinking of Titanic. But Lord and Lady Forester and their terrified partygoers have barricaded themselves in.
With resourceful housemaid Dottie, Frank searches Scarpside room by room, discovering sinister secrets of the posh guests and mysterious house.
A quirky and compelling who, how and why dunnit.
Windows are ablaze with light for the annual gathering of the Penny Club, a group of lucky men and women celebrating their survival against the odds in disasters including the sinking of Titanic. But Lord and Lady Forester and their terrified partygoers have barricaded themselves in.
With resourceful housemaid Dottie, Frank searches Scarpside room by room, discovering sinister secrets of the posh guests and mysterious house.
A quirky and compelling who, how and why dunnit.
October 20, 2022
The Thirty One Doors is a gothic murder mystery set in a large house, cut off from the world by a snowstorm. There’s a large cast of unpleasant rich folk who seem to have abandoned their dinner party in favour of murdering, being murdered or hiding from a murderer. Policeman Frank has arrived in response to a mysterious phone call asking for help and is trying to find out what’s going on.
I found the story quite chillingly atmospheric, but slow to get going. I also found the various characters difficult to keep straight and wasn’t really convinced by their actions and motivations. A well written book, but slightly unsatisfying for me. I’d definitely read another book by this author in case it was a book/reader mismatch on this occasion.
I found the story quite chillingly atmospheric, but slow to get going. I also found the various characters difficult to keep straight and wasn’t really convinced by their actions and motivations. A well written book, but slightly unsatisfying for me. I’d definitely read another book by this author in case it was a book/reader mismatch on this occasion.
October 3, 2022
From the first few words you feel the tension in this murder mystery thriller. A private party at a big house for the ‘Lucky Club’, closed off by a storm, murder is surely not far away. Plenty of suspects twists, turns and red herrings thrown into the mix. This inventive murder mystery interestingly mixes a lot of that era’s history into the character’s back stories. Thank you to Coronet and Netgalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
October 20, 2022
The Thirty-One Doors by Kate Hulme.
Scarpside House is famed for its beauty, its isolation, and its legendary parties. Tonight, it hosts the Penny Club soiree. An annual gathering of lucky men and women from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate their survival against the odds. But this year their luck is running thin. Accidents do happen, after all . . .
And some are long overdue . . .
A good read with good characters. I did like the story. 4*.
Scarpside House is famed for its beauty, its isolation, and its legendary parties. Tonight, it hosts the Penny Club soiree. An annual gathering of lucky men and women from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate their survival against the odds. But this year their luck is running thin. Accidents do happen, after all . . .
And some are long overdue . . .
A good read with good characters. I did like the story. 4*.
October 21, 2022
If you like a good whodunnit read then this is the book for you.
When nearing the end of his shift and looking forward to joining his colleagues in the pub Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call asking for urgent assistance to an isolated house on the cliff top.
It takes him over an hour to reach the house and by the look of it, it seems completely deserted.
But the guests in the house are not what they seem.
If you love Agatha Christie then The Thirty-One Doors is definitely for you.
When nearing the end of his shift and looking forward to joining his colleagues in the pub Sergeant Frank Glover receives a call asking for urgent assistance to an isolated house on the cliff top.
It takes him over an hour to reach the house and by the look of it, it seems completely deserted.
But the guests in the house are not what they seem.
If you love Agatha Christie then The Thirty-One Doors is definitely for you.
October 8, 2022
There are the bare bones of a good story here but the execution (pun intended!) is so poor it's impossible to recommend. I hope the finished copy is significantly polished because it honestly read like more of a first draft. It's disjointed and slightly rambling, the characterisation is weak, and there are few surprises for anyone with even a passing interest in the genre.
October 19, 2022
Set 6 years after World War One, this whodunnit takes place in an isolated country house. A village policeman receives a call requesting assistance, he makes his way through a snowstorm to then find himself not just looking into a disappearance but murder. I must admit this felt slightly plodding at times, the characters didn't quite leap off the page.
January 7, 2023
I enjoyed this, however the first half of the book was very slow. I
struggled a little with keeping track of which character was who. Maybe that's because I read very linear and not think outside the box at times. It was a challenge to keep going, I'm glad I did. I was really looking forward to reading this.not one I would go back to. But pleased I read it
struggled a little with keeping track of which character was who. Maybe that's because I read very linear and not think outside the box at times. It was a challenge to keep going, I'm glad I did. I was really looking forward to reading this.not one I would go back to. But pleased I read it
August 22, 2023
Haunting and absolutely terrifying. A truly gripping golden age mystery. Hulme's debut novel, The Thirty One Doors, is absolutely phenomenal. I haven't read a mystery like this since my first Agatha Christie. I was invested the entire time. It was complex and extremely suspenseful. Absolutely loved it. Don't miss out. Kate Hulme is an author to watch. I will definitely pick up her next book.
June 1, 2025
I won’t lie i feel that this could be a little slow at times, it’s not the action packed thriller some might hope it to be. Though i was gripped by the story the puzzle got extremely longwinded and confusing at moments.
Overall i think this is a great novel to curl up on a cold winters night with
Overall i think this is a great novel to curl up on a cold winters night with
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