Fyneshade

by Kate Griffin

On the day of her beloved grandmother's funeral, Marta discovers that she is to become governess to the young daughter of Sir William Pritchard. Separated from her lover and discarded by her family, Marta has no choice but to journey to Pritchard's ancient and crumbling house, Fyneshade, in the wilds of Derbyshire.

All is not well at Fyneshade. Marta's pupil, little Grace, can be taught nothing, and Marta takes no comfort from the silent servants who will not meet her eye. More intriguing is that Sir William is mysteriously absent, and his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house. Marta finds herself drawn to Vaughan, despite the warnings of the housekeeper that he is a danger to all around him. But Marta is no innocent to be preyed upon. Guided by the dark gift taught to her by her grandmother, she has made her own plans. And it will take more than a family riven by murderous secrets to stop her...

Genres: Gothic, Horror, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Historical, Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2023

About the author

I've always loved getting lost in a good book. It's why I studied English Literature at university.
What a luxury to read novels for three years!
After a few false starts, I was taken on as a trainee reporter by a local newspaper where I worked very happily for several years.
I love old buildings and the stories they tell. I'm very lucky that my current work as press officer for a heritage charity allows me to visit and explore some amazing, inspiring places, including the wonderful Wiltons Music Hall in the East End.
Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders (published by Faber and Faber) is partly based on that building. 'Kitty' is my first book and later this year Templar will publish my first first book for children The Jade Boy , written under my maiden name Cate Cain
As I hope you can tell, I am passionate about history and about London in particular.
I was born in the City at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, within the sound of Bow Bells - so I really am a true-born cockney!
One of my earliest memories is being taken to the top of The Monument by my father when I was about four years old. Clearly, the story of the Great Fire made an impact on me as that's what The Jade Boy is all about...

Reviews

[Dab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

I highly recommend reading The Turn of the Screw, or at least a summary of it before starting this book. It’s an homage to the classic and you will understand it better and enjoy it more after you’ve read the original story.

After the death of her Grandmere Marta has no choice but to become a governess. Her charge turns out to be a mentally disabled girl who can barely communicate, and the servants of the house are mostly hostile towards the new governess. Marta is not bothered much, she is not looking for friends. However she could use a powerful ally, like the estranged heir to Fyneshade. It’s a bonus that she is attracted to him.

Marta was one of the least likable MCs I’ve ever read. But that was the point. She was calculating and ruthless and I kept wondering until the very end who was the real villain of this story. There were moments when I caught myself rooting for her (I feel low-key guilty about it) but generally she was not a character you want to relate to.

The writing was easy to follow and the story captivating. It’s a gothic horror so there were a few creepy scenes, but generally it was less scary than I had expected.

TW: child abuse, abortion (one before safe abortions were invented), murder

Thank you Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Priskah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,0 ✨✨✨

( Audiobook)

What a clever story!
Loved it.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fyneshade is the first stand-alone novel by British author, Kate Griffin. When her beloved Grandmere dies, Marta is sent to be a governess at Fyneshade in Derbyshire. It’s an imposing place, but she is well-equipped with Grandmere’s teaching about herbs and remedies, knowledge that saw her referred to as a witch.

When she meets her ten-year-old charge, Marta is surprised at Grace’s appearance (she has encountered the moonface features before) and that she is virtually non-verbal. She’s meant to teach this girl French, to transform her into a lady? Marta, it turns out, is not what the housekeeper, Mrs Gurney expected either: young and attractive is a concern.

It’s quickly clear that the staff at Fyneshade all love and care for Grace, that she’s a talented sketch artist, wilful, definitely not dumb, and possessed of a certain guile. And she knows every inch of the house like the back of her hand.

But Fyneshade is filled with mysteries: the master, Sir William Pritchard, seems to be absent; excepting the groom, all the staff are freakishly unattractive women whose dislike of Marta is soon plain; and the north wing is kept locked.

To Mrs Gurney’s consternation, Marta accidentally encounters Grace’s older brother Vaughan and his hawk. Marta realises that the housekeeper had acted to avoid this, and she now warns Marta off: Vaughan Pritchard may be the heir to Fyneshade, but he is barred from the house, and Marta should not trust him, he is a devil. Marta has her own ideas about that…

As she gets to know Fyneshade and its people better, Marta realises that deceit typifies every encounter, that everyone has secrets and none of what is said can be trusted. But Marta, too, is practiced at deception and coercion, and protecting her own interests above all.

Griffin gives the reader an enthralling gothic horror tale that might just be a prequel to a certain Henry James novella. If the reader is initially sympathetic of Marta’s plight, her emerging nastiness and cruelty might alter that a little, but by then it’s hard to look away. Clever, twisty and quite dark.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail/Viper.

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliciously gothic and exquisitely atmospheric, Kate Griffin’s new brilliantly inventive historical thriller was a veritable feast for the senses—with secrets, lies and morally ambiguous characters I couldn’t get enough of!

Firstly, I’m a huge sucker for anything even remotely gothic, so I knew I had to read this as soon as I heard it compared to one of my all time fave novels, Jane Eyre—If Jane had been a witchy, calculating social climber eager to get her hands on the grand (but crumbling) manor.

And I’m glad to report that not only did it live up to my expectations, it actually surpassed them! The lush, mysteriously suspenseful descriptions were to die for and really wouldn’t be out of place in a Brontë novel.

Likewise, the hauntingly uncanny sense of dread that seems to encompass our protagonist, Marta as soon as she arrives at Fyneshade had me practically glued to my seat in anticipation.

For the most part, I did like Marta, but she’s probably the least likeable protagonist I’ve ever encountered—with her fiendish, unfriendly demeanour on show to virtually everyone around her (barring the handsome and soon to be wealthy Vaughan) it was pretty difficult to decide whether to root for or against her at times, especially when considering her pretty abysmal treatment of Grace.

Still in mourning for her grandmother, and smarting from her banishment to a life of servitude (after her dalliance with a wealthy heir she was forbidden from marrying), Marta comes across as quite mercenary in her pursuit of fortune and refuses to socialise with any of the staff beyond Mrs. Gurney (the housekeeper) and Old Maggie (the nursemaid.) And yet, I still found myself inextricably drawn to her, eager to see how far her unapologetically manipulative nature would carry her.

This is a bit of a slow-burn, but the gorgeously atmospheric and tantalisingly psychological buildup will more than make up for it. Personally, I absolutely love a good, gothic slow-burn particularly when it’s as detailed, emotional and full of twists as this was.

Henry James fans will also love the literary nod to his most influential supernatural tale, The Turn of The Screw-I don’t want to spoil the surprise on that front so I’ll leave things there, but trust me the payoff is definitely worth it!

And if like me, you love flawed morally ambiguous characters then you need to add this to your TBRs immediately, as pretty much every character is suspect in some way; their secrets and lies muddying every single action —it’s absolutely glorious!

Also, a huge thank you to Viper Books for the finished copy and for my spot on the blog tour.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fyneshade by Kate Griffin was released in the UK in 2023 with the pitch, Jane Eyre meets Amy Dunne. And since Jane Eyre and Gone Girl are two favorite books and I had to have this hardcover...I bought it from Blackwell's last year. The paperback is now available in the US. My library doesn't carry it but the ebook is only $5.99
This is a Gothic, historical fiction, thriller with witchcraft, a dark romance, and creepy horror elements. The main character, Marta, is unlike any protagonist I've encountered in a long time--she's self-serving, manipulative, extremely clever, and I kind of love her. After her witchy grandmother passes away, she shipped off to this huge estate to be the governess to a young girl named, Grace who is "different"--from her behaviors and characteristics, it seems like she has Down Syndrome.
5 enticing reasons why you would want to read it:
-The Gothic vibes and atmosphere (Fyneshade (the estate) is dark and mysterious
-The main protagonist is unlikable but at the same time, hard not to like
-The pace is perfect, the pages fly by
-The dark romance is so absorbing (I pictured Adam Driver as Vaughn)
-The story is wildly unpredictable
5 reasons I personally loved it
-Inspired by The Turn of the Screw by henry James but it's a better story
-The main protagonist is scandalous and unpredictable (Amy Dunne is a great comp)
-The witchcraft element
-It's a Gothic thriller leaning into Horror vibes, I would comp it to Wakenhyrst by Michele Paver
-Kept me entirely entertained and invested, never a dull moment

*content warning/child abuse

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm surprised so many reviews mention The Turn of the Screw (well, yes, of course I know why...) but none of the ones I've read mention Jane Eyre, the debt to which was far more overt to my eyes: the governess, the housekeeper, the pupil, the sort of master, the dog, the secret in the locked wing. I was also reminded of Wideacre, a historical novel with a far more successful scheming narrator.

What I liked about this is Griffin's writing on the sentence level: this oozes lavish Gothic atmosphere with dark and baroque interiors and that ominous sense of corruption just out of sight. The very air of the book exudes hints of opium and decadence.

Sadly, though, not much seems to happen. Our narrator sets herself up with witchy family credentials and a history of wickedness but that doesn't really get acted out for us - and I could see the end coming whereas her prediction skills are shown to be useless. It seemed very obvious that she was being played rather than being the manipulative player she rather stupidly considers herself. And then... turns out she's Miss Jessell from The Turn of the Screw and this book ends as she's about to enter that second literary adventure!

Overall, then, great writing but a disappointing plotline that collapses in on itself - but I did skim-read to the end to find out what happens.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me”
Another slice of Victorian gothic, set in the 1840s. This has a large crumbling mansion with secret passages, locked rooms and possibly a ghost. There is, of course, a governess at the centre of it, some surly servants, a missing master, a wayward and dangerous son, some herbal shenanigans, dodgy narrators, a mysterious child (in this incarnation with a learning disability), seduction, twists and turns, betrayal, loveable dog and plenty of architecture. There are definite shades of Jane Eyre, The Secret Garden and The Turn of the Screw. In actuality it much more Vanity Fair than Jane Eyre and the narrator/governess is no shrinking violet. Griffin does a good job of trying to make a rather evil antagonist into a likeable protagonist. Most of the gothic tropes are here, but there’s also a touch of Hammer Horror as well
There is a significant twist at the end: it is an easy one to spot, but the second twist is a little more hidden. It is all very atmospheric and it does make a change to have the main female character not being the put upon heroine. The child is used by everyone. There is an afterword which is best not read at the beginning. As gothic goes this is ok and there’s plenty of tropes to spot.

[Sarah Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adjacent to good, but only just. (<—to borrow a turn of phrase from my GR buddy Kristina 😗)

The story showed promise, but it was squandered by glacial pacing & a truly repulsive narrator. (Sidenote: some of you may recall my semi-recent griping about annoying Jael in SWEET JAEL—another lead who murdered & lied & was a generally unpleasant person. Well, this heroine makes Jael look like good company you’d invite to a holiday meal. 🫣) I’m fine with morally gray heroines who have dark edges, but Marta wasn’t gray. She was just a bitch. There was absolutely nothing redeeming about her—all she did was whine about her entitlement, complain how stupid and/or ugly everyone was, moan about how horny she was, & outline why every person or creature she encountered was totally inferior to her greatness…all of which makes me wonder why the author thought we’d enjoy following her tale. She’s not sympathetic or endearing. She’s gross, & a bully to boot. The scene where Vaughan reveals how badly she was duped (which her Superior Brain should’ve realized, because it was really fucking obvious) was my fave by far—not because I liked Vaughan (who was also a gross bully), but because I lol’d to see bitch Marta being taken down several pegs.

2.5 stars. Rounding up is generous, but the premise is clever, the writing itself is good, & the atmosphere is well done. Unfortunately the pacing sucks, the major characters are awful, & Lancer the dog dies at the end. (Offscreen, but still. Fuck that noise.)

…And I’m not giving a spoiler warning. Let me say it again: THE DOG DIES. Sorry, not sorry—because those who care about avoiding dog demises always want to know ahead. RIP, poor Lancer. 🐶

[Willow Heath]

With Fyneshade, Kate Griffin has crafted not only a true dedication to the legacy of gothic fiction, but also a modern addition to that great canon. This is a novel that demonstrates the power of the grand house, of secrets and legacies and shame, and of the governess. It walks in the footsteps of Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw and it looks great doing it.

Our protagonist, Marta, was raised as an orphan by her grandmother, a cunning woman versed in ancient and secretive occult knowledge. When the novel begins, she is invited to work as a governess at the titular Fyneshade: an old house full of dark corners and secret passageways. Though the house’s master is suspiciously absent, Marta is a companion to his daughter, Grace, and soon becomes intrigued by Grace’s older brother, Vaughan.

My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/essential-got...

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. It was twisty and took me unawares in places. What was different to me about this one: the main character was quite unlikeable. I’ve read many gothic Victorian novels and over the years it will have become harder to surprise me, but this one did a good job of entertaining me throughout.

[Mary Virginia · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I liked the idea of our heroine being villainous, this book was really painful to read. I am giving it only one star because she was horrible to her student with special needs. I was ready to root for Marta until she physically mistreated and repeatedly manipulated Grace. This book just sets my teeth on edge. Huge fail.

[ThatBookish_deviant · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

The more I thought upon this one, I decided to bump the rating up to 4.5. It’s unusual an author creates a protagonist who’s simultaneously despicable and relatable. While my inner monologue isn’t as hateful as Marta’s, most of us ponder inappropriate things we’d never dare say out loud.

Marta’s honesty, shocking and distasteful tho it may be, endears her to me as a reader.
She’s dealt a shitty hand, born into a time and of a financial status that limit her opportunities so I grant her some grace for that. Despite all that I was still surprised by the length she’s willing to go for retribution.

Marta enacts reprehensible vengeance upon those who wrong her and the unfortunates who get in her way. The ending Griffin wrote is shockingly awful, daring, brilliant and I loved it! I’m glad I purchased a physical copy because this is one I’ll read again and recommend to others.

[Angelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad, because really wanted to like this more than I did and I dislike giving negative reviews. It's fine, but it's not great. I'd probably put it more at a 2.5 than 3, but it's definitely more a 3 than a 2.

The first half is incredibly slow, to the point where I almost gave up on it multiple times. Marta is unpleasant, but that is fine. That could even be fun. The challenge is that she's not very interesting and is pretty one note. She hates pretty much everyone else in the book, including all of the women in the house and in her past, the disabled child she's been hired to care for, and that child's dog. She does like rich men that she could possibly seduce, take advantage of, and maybe marry for their money. She is above everyone else and above having feelings, except when her plans get thwarted and then she needs to take the ULTIMATE revenge with her witch powers that don't seem to be very present or relevant through most of the novel. It was just kind of ehh...and the first half felt like a really long slog for one of our characters to basically obsess over getting laid and then laying their plans to become wealthy. There also seemed to be multiple story lines that had the potential to develop into something more interesting than the actual story, and then they just didn't develop.

The writing was pretty good. I didn't hate this book. But I also didn't really like it. I would maybe check the author out again, but with perhaps less enthusiasm than I had before. (I don't mind a promiscuous, conniving, mean Jane Eyre...but if I am going to get that, she needs to be more interesting and fun.)

Also, I've never read Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, so I didn't understand the afterword telling me that I would understand what comes next for Marta if I had read that book. I am contemplating reading that to understand, but so much of his writing is just unreadable, so it may end up staying a mystery to me. I did read the synopsis and wonder if maybe Griffin can give Marta a sequel that might be more interesting than this.

[Ana Lopes Miura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deliciously cruel, creepy and clever Gothic. A modern classic and a great homage to…you’ll find out.

4.5

[Indieflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently bereaved of her beloved grandmother, Marta has been packed off by her remaining family to serve as a governess in a remote, crumbling house.
Similarly begins many a gothic novel, but Marta is shall we say, somewhat different.

"Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade's dark and crumbling corridors, it's unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me"

Bring it on.

Dark and wonderfully gothic with a deliciously unlikeable main character, this was right up my alley, apparently marketed as a cross between Jane Eyre and Amy Dunne I think that comparison is pretty much on the money, I loved it, 5 stars.
Oh and what a gorgeous cover too!

[TheMadLep · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@40%.

If this book were an advert in a dating column, it might read as follows:

Cruel, bullying, trollopy wannabe witch seeks bodice-ripping, similarly-minded alpha male for late night fornications, and manipulative degradations of special needs child.

I stopped at 40% because despite the gothic writing, which was good, everyone in this book is utterly vile. It's been a while since I've read such a cheerless, depressing load of crap, so I guess I was due for some.
What other people see in this trash to give it 5 stars I'll never know.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gothic masterpiece.
A gothic masterpiece.

We meet Marta, who is in mourning after the death of her grandmere. Scourned by her aunt and deemed undesireable by the family of the man she loves, Marta is placed at Fyneshade as governess to Grace.  

What starts as a familiar storyline with a character you’d expect to be sympathetic towards soon twists as governess, Marta reveals a real nasty side. Arrogant and selfish, she is quick to make enemies and instead of nurturing young Grace, she under-estimates and manipulates her to suit Marta’s scheming plans. An anti-heroine twist in what is generally a classic Victorian gothic setting. I was so curious to see how Marta’s cunning plan to rise above her station unfold.

A lonely mansion house, secret passage ways, witchy folklore, forbidden love affairs. This was a slow burner but the secrets and the gothic atmosphere made this a compelling read.  The pace picked up half way through, drawing all the elements together for an explosive ending that had me rereading it several times to come to terms with it all.

A gloriously gothic and creepy novel. A must read for fans of Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw.

[Kayleigh | Welsh Book Fairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Fyneshade
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Kate Griffin
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Historical Horror
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 18th May 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 21st April 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.25/5

”A heart cannot break–that is a tale for cow-eyed virgins–but it can rot.”

Fyneshade is inspired by The Turn of The Screw by Henry James. I’ve never read it myself, but that didn’t matter to me, I was immersed regardless.

This historical gothic horror ticked all my boxes: creepy, involved a huge manor, held more secrets and shadows than sun and smiles.

Fyneshade follows a governess, Marta, who is our main character. We soon learn that she is incredibly manipulative and is also half-witch, half-kleptomaniac. Whilst Marta is certainly questionable, it’s her strange little charge, Grace, who I wondered about the most. I was equally horrified at how Marta treated Grace and yet mystified enough to want to get the answers out of her myself. Thankfully, Marta doesn’t have to rely on the unpredictable girl since she has her witchcraft to fall back on.

This truly interesting, entertaining, and slightly sickening novel is told through an usually aloof tone which is one of the most compelling reasons I was captivated in the first place.

I wish the ending was more impactful, the main character really brought out the bloodthirsty part of me and whilst the resolution fanned the flames of that bloodthirstiness, I was hoping for something more explosive.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

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[Sandra Vdplaats · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exceptionally beautifully written book. Wow. Just wow.
And that last word at the end (I must have missed something at the front of the book).

It read through the night. as I simply could not put the book down and kept reading until the end.
The power, emotion and intensity of this novel, where all the classic elements of a gothic novel are present, are overwhelming; : Fyneshade, the remote manor where Marta is appointed as governess to her pupil Grace, the supernatural elements (the influence of the moon, 'moon spells', rituals), the weather and environment, isolation (the nearest inn is 6 miles away, and due to the heavy snowfall, the residents of Fyneshade are trapped in the old, chilly manor ).
The north side of the manor has long been closed off, although Marta occasionally sees a servant entering a room. On enquiry, she encounters silence, though she eventually strikes up something of a friendship with the housekeeper, Mrs Gurney.
The pupil Marta has to teach turns out to be 'different'. Grace is a treasure, and she can draw beautifully, albeit Marta will not be able to contribute much to teach Grace anything. As a reward for ‘good behaviour’, Grace is taken to a room where there is an automaton of a monkey. The girl is completely mesmerised by it.

Marta experiences the house as a ‘maze of stone'; the house exudes an unusually hushed, and suffocating atmosphere. Everywhere are crows, hawks, hares ( the hare was believed to have mystical links with the female cycle and with the moon that ruled her. Mamy of the animals mentioned are referring to magic, the moon, or the supernatural).
Marta's days are brightened by the arrival of Vaughan Pritchard the heir to Fyneshade, who spends his days as a falconer until his inheritance is released.

The author keeps the reader hooked for a long time, working agonisingly slowly towards the climax of the story, the viscous tension is really wonderful and should be digested just slowly.
Apparently, I read over the book's motto, which for a while made me think I had entered Brönte 'territory'.
The Brönte sisters were one of the reasons I went to study English, and to this day Jane Eyre is among one of my favourite books.
This gothic novel is also about a governess who ends up having a questionable relationship with the heir to a large house. At first I thought I was reading a remake of Jane Eyre - until....

Eventually, I was regularly tossed back and forth between emotions of disgust and of admiration. Initially, I admired Marta's strength and the way she dealt with Grace, and how she managed to hold her own in that chilly, cold house with all its secrets. I thought the supernatural elements fitted perfectly into the story. Halfway through the novel, however, my attitude towards Marta changed as I noticed how evil and manipulative she acted.
She was also downright cruel towards Grace at times, who was only allowed to go to the automaton if she did what Marta wanted. From a victim, she suddenly became for me a woman with a particularly unpleasant edge, lusting after status and power, ultimately committing the ultimate act. When Marta finally finds a new appointment at Bly Manor, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

The author has written a prequel to Henry James' The Turn of the Screw with this incredibly ingenious and exceptionally beautifully written gothic tale. A classic gothic horror story that lingers long after the book is closed.
Stunning cover with an even greater story inside. Highly recommended.
A wonderful read for me, 5 stars.

**Publication date: May 18, 2023**

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this arc. I leave this review voluntarily.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discover the locations in the novel here

Now I love stories about strong, independant women back in time. I loved Jane Eyre for example. Now the woman in this novel is Jane Eyre if Jane Eyre had joined forces with the mad wife in the attic.

This is a line from the novel:

“Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. But not I. For they have far more to fear from me…”

I mean…can you imagine???

Oh the setting is divine! Gothic and then gothic some more. There’s an old house stuffed with secrets and darkness, there’s eerie plinky plock music floating down the corridors, a governess named Marta, the woman of the house who is not who she seems and some weyward children to boot.

Marta is the one we follow as she enters the house. She’s there to look after the young daughter of the owner, Sir William Pritchard. He’s never around and his heir is mysteriously very present indeed. You might think that Marta could be in danger but oh my word – Marta is not to be messed with.

I loved Marta and was scared of her at the same time. She is a woman ahead of her time in many ways as she does all she can to improve her lot in life. Very Jane Eyre. However, she uses none of the finess of Jane and more of the unpredictable actions of Bertha to get what she wants. You do not want to be in this gothic mansion in real life!

The setting and story were very immersive and it ‘s all very visual. Brilliant in some ways, but not so much in others. Visual yes but visceral too. There were moments when I felt a bit ill to be honest. Always with the notion that something weird was just around the corner! Nothing in this house was what I thought and no one was who they seemed.

I am now nervous about meeting Kate Griffin to be honest. Scandal and shocking events must dance around in her head whilst she sleeps. I am in awe of this amazing and shocking read and I am still dancing in the darkness of it all.

Dare not light a fire – I’ve played enough with that with Marta in the novel….

[bookishcharli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gothic horror? Yes please thank you. There’s nothing I love more than a book filled to the brim with secrets, creepy isolated house and shady characters you aren’t entirely sure of and don’t particularly like. This book really had me questioning a lot of things about Marta’s character and I had no idea whether or not I should be rooting for any of the characters in this one.

If you like messed up, spine tingling gothic horrors then definitely pick up a copy of this book.


Thank you to Viper for sending me a proof of this awesome book.

[The Pastel Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marta has lived with her grandmother for as long as she can remember, & the old woman has educated her in the ways of using magic. Following her grandmother's death, Marta discovers that she is to be sent away to be a governess at Fyneshade Hall, & she suspects that this is a plot cooked up between her aunt & the mother of Marta's lover, Nathaniel. When Marta arrives at Fyneshade she discovers that her charge, Grace, has developmental & learning delays (the description seems to suggest Down Syndrome).

The house & its environment is distinctly odd: not only is the Master (Sir William Pritchard) never at home, but all of the maids & staff are homely & 99% are female. Not only that, but one of the few males, young Master Vaughan Pritchard is forbidden to enter the house whilst his father lives. This is not a pleasing situation for Marta but she uses her time to learn about the secrets of those around her & how best to use them to her advantage. Marta believes she is destined for something much greater than being just the governess but her conceit might be her undoing.

This is a dark gothic read, a genre which I love. Usually the audience empathises with the main character & wants to see them succeed, but here the main character, Marta, is easy to dislike. She's manipulative, cunning, physically abusive to Grace, mercenary, & what we would now term fatphobic with how she describes others. She thinks herself above everyone else, so what kept me reading above it being an engrossing tale, was hoping to see she gets her comeuppance. The author has crafted Marta so convincingly that the character raises antipathy from most readers judging by the reviews. That's not quite the end of the story though, & there's a nod to Henry James in the final scenes. Verdict: liked it but not sure I'd re-read it due to the main character. If you like books by authors such as Laura Purcell, you'd probably enjoy this one too.

TWs: witchcraft, sexual content, murder, abortion.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ghost story. A gothic one - drenched rich in atmosphere and mood, it's a finely crafted drama perfect for fans of the classics, there's a final reveal for this one that Griffin takes delight in dropping on the reader. As befitting of a gothic book set in a location; Fyneshade itself almost feels like a character - living and breathing as much as Marta, its protagonist. Each character has their own story to tell, their own secrets - and Fyneshade revels in that.

I really like how Griffin makes you doubt your need to get behind the lead character of Marta, she's just a complex creation that is brought to life brilliantly. Three-dimensional and then some, the unlikability of her character is key to giving this much of an edge that separates it from the rest of the genre - usually the protagonist is likeable, not so here. The addition of Vaughan Pritchard to the book really presents him as a fascinating counterpart to Marta, too - and spinning the narrative from the place being the main antagonist in gothic fiction, it almost feels like the character is - and positioning her in the lead role; gives the book a crueller, darker edge that it needs.

This is a NetGalley review copy.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preordered this and wanted to love it. I was drawn in by the dark gothic atmosphere of the novel - my kind of read - but the main character was so deplorable and unlikeable - as was basically every other character in the book, I couldn’t stomach it. Instead of a dark gothic novel, it was a trite romance with nothing spooky about the story, which was disappointing. Just despicable characters.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dog dies.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I have just finished reading Fyneshade by Kate Griffin. It's a book that has left me divided in my review to be honest. I feel like the book started really well as you meet Marta.
We meet Marta on the day that she is saying her last farewell to her grandmother, she discovers on that day that she is to become the governess to the young daughter of Sir William Pritchard. She moves to Fyneshade , in the wilds of Derbyshire.
Fyneshade is a ancient and crumbling home that most people will be frightened of, with its dark corridors but Marta feels that it has more to fear from her.
When she gets to Fyneshade , she discovers that not everything is as it seems. Her young pupil Grace is difficult to teach anything too . The child hardly talks and is used by her brother to bring messages to Marta and seems to hold secrets to the house.
The servants that are there also are full of intrigue as they won't meet Marta's eyes and seem to work with many secrets to hide.
Marta is intrigued that the head of the household , Sir William is absent and that his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house.
When Marta finally meets Vaughan, she finds herself drawn to him as he has a edge of darkness and mysteriousness to his character. She is warned about him by the housekeeper however she decides to get involved with him and to be honest both of the characters are as manipulative as each other.
I found this to be a really slow read and at first that was okay, but after getting midway into the story, I found that it was irritating me. I wanted the story to be more atmospheric, as I thought it was going to be more menacing or scary but unfortunately it was neither.
I have found the main characters rather unlikable, and maybe that's what the author wanted and with Vaughan it was to be expected as he used Marta and even his sister Grace to achieve what he wanted.
Marta showed her true colours in the way that she manipulated Grace, a young child that's supposed to be in a care and her manipulation was of the emotional kind as she wheedled her way into her affections . Like Vaughan, she also used Grace , just in a different way . Whereas Vaughan used Grace to pass on messages and keep secrets , Marta use manipulative bribery to get what she wanted with young Grace and to try and change her position in the household. When her plan didn't work and Vaughan took over the ownership of Fyneshade on the death of his father, her expectations of joining him as mistress, all fell to pieces on his arrival with his new wife , who had a fortune. And then we got to see the side of Marta that I expected.
I am a little disappointed with this book, as I was looking forward to reading it and I've come away with the exact opposite feelings. I found it too slow a story with characters that I have not liked at all.
I do think that Kate Griffin has a good way of storytelling and she writes beautifully and descriptively and I will read her books again despite me finding this one to be a very different to what I expected.
The characters are well written by the author and that gives a good basis to the story and I found it to be an interesting twist of it being portrayed as a ghost story but whereas I loved The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James , unfortunately U can't see any comparison in such a haunting story that I enjoyed immensely.
It's still a story that I would recommend to people if they do like this type of dark storytelling by Kate Griffin , I just wish that it had affected me more in a haunting way.

[Marguerite Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars
Marta has been brought up by her French Grandmere, a woman who ‘died too soon to complete my education’. A woman whom the villagers called a witch. Witches, Marta says, in the first chapter of this book, ‘exist only in stories for children’. Grandmere is not a witch and neither is Marta but she should remember, says Grandmere, that stories often have great power. They hide the truth. So the reader is warned from the very beginning of this dark, Gothic tale, that nothing is as it seems.

***Major Spoiler Alert - in all that follows!!!***
Marta’s Grandmere dies, and Marta’s relations want the bewitching young woman out of the way, as do the parents of the wealthy young man who is in thrall to her, so they send her off to a remote house to look after a troublesome young girl. Of course it’s winter and dark when she arrives. Her employer is a widower who is AWOL and not expected back. Beautiful Marta finds herself in a house full of very unlovely servants, a housekeeper who clearly has a few guilty secrets of her own, an ancient crone of a nanny, and a child who may possibly have Down Syndrome. So far, so deliciously Gothic.

Grace, the little girl she is sent to look after is, in Marta’s eyes, a pathetic, unlikeable soul she makes very little effort to get to know. Marta is there for one purpose only – because her destiny is linked, she believes, with the missing Sir William Pritchard, so she makes no effort with the servants, she doesn’t care if she isn’t liked. She makes an effort with Grace when she discovers that Grace can be of help to her, but Grace, from the very beginning, seems to understand that Marta is not to be trusted. It’s Grace who reminds us that Marta isn’t what she seems when we get so embroiled in the story (which is most of the time) and wanting to find out what happens next, that we forget to question the nature of the narrator. It’s Grace, in her own way as ‘uncanny’ as Marta, who thwarts her and impedes her progress with the gorgeous heir, Grace’s brother Vaughan. Yes of course there’s a gorgeous heir. And of course Vaughan is so attractive to Marta because he’s wicked, wicked, wicked.

Like the intrepid Gothic heroine she purports to be, Marta is a match for every locked door and secret passageway, but this is the only way she resembles such milk and water scaredy-cats. Marta is scared of nothing. She is arrogant, she’s devious, she’s a liar and a thief. Not even the harp-playing ghost of Grace’s mother can frighten Marta. She is so supremely confident that she makes no effort to please. And yet…

And yet I loved her. She has no redeeming features, save for one – the fact that she’s utterly oblivious of her vulnerability. She’s doomed to fail by the conventions of the Gothic novel in which she exists – or is she?

Here’s another thing that keeps you turning the pages. There’s nothing certain, not even the literary conventions. Fyneshade messes with your head. Is Martha a heroine or is she simply a nasty piece of work who’s going to get her come-uppance? Towards the end, that’s precisely what it looks like is going to happen – and oh, how I didn’t want it to.

The denouement was filmic, spectacular and OTT Gothic. Then came the ‘real’ ending, and the questions I should have been asking myself from the start finally started making themselves heard. Most importantly, the one that I should have asked from the beginning. If Marta isn’t a witch, who – or what – is she?

I read on, waiting for an answer. I got to the end, and there it was, one final little note from the author pointing me at Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. I’d read it years ago and finished it, as so many do, utterly confused. I re-read it, with Fyneshade in mind. So many parallels that I’d missed. So many clues. Marta rarely eats. She’s forever pinching her cheeks to bring colour back into them. The dog and Grace both sense that there’s something very wrong with her. How did I miss it?

But what is it, exactly, that I missed? The Turn of the Screw is one of those ghost stories that might not be about a ghost. It’s often suggested that everything that happens is a figment of the governess’s imagination. Is this what Kate Griffin is suggesting here, with her cryptic end note? In the final chapter, we have Marta reading a newspaper clipping describing the terrible end that she (may have) brought about at Fyneshade, a story that ‘in moments of darkness’ she feeds from. Feeds from? When she arrives at her new posting, finally we are given the key in the man she meets ‘a mature and thrillingly dangerous version’ of the man she left behind at the beginning of the book, ‘plucked from the face of the earth and finished by an unholy hand’. There's more, but I am not going to spoil it. Is he a ghost? Like Marta is, or has become, or always was?

So many questions. Was Fyneshade one act in a play that they star in over and over again? Are we simply about to get another tale from Marta’s highly colourful imagination? Or is there something even darker at the heart of this story? Marta has had at least two miscarriages. She tells us they were induced – abortions in fact. But were they? Is she tragically unable to carry a child? Or tragically unable to conceive? At the heart of the Victorian world, a woman was defined by her ability to have a family.

Questions, questions. Could Marta, rather than being a beautiful, alluring, bewitching and unique woman, really be a little brown mouse of a governess trying to glamorise her postings? Or is she the woman she tells us she is, a powerful, gifted woman who is the victim of an even more powerful man? Was she ever real? Is she actually a ghost?

I don’t have answers, and that is where the real genius of this story lies, in my view. The ending is what you make it. I suspect some readers won’t like this sort of ending, but I loved it. I was confused by it, it made me think and rethink. ’m sure when I reread it then I’ll have changed my mind about the ending, and then I’m pretty sure I’ll change my mind again.

Fyneshade is a spine-chilling and darkly funny story. At times it reminded me of the film, Southern Comfort – you have no idea who the goodies or the baddies are, you simply have this horrible sense of dread. It had echoes of The Others too, with some truly creepy moments, and some so totally and utterly revolting that they were funny (the odd machine in the black bedroom, for example, or the dismembered doll).

One thing I’m sure about, and it’s this: I loved it.

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

“On the day of her beloved grandmother’s funeral, Marta discovers that she is to become governess to the young daughter of Sir William Pritchard”. Thus begins Fyneshade, a cold, imaginative gothic tale of a black-hearted Jane Eyre-esque character plotting her future. To what lengths will Marta go to become the next Mistress of Fyneshade? An evil web of murder, lies, schemes, madness, hidden agendas, machinations and ghostly visions ensues, resulting in a novel that succeeds on every level and is hard to put down. Make no mistake, this is a brutal story with an anti-heroine that makes one’s flesh crawl. A very successful, different take on the familiar gothic story. That being said, we could have done without the somewhat silly postscript.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
A fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended 👌