When she meets Viscount Simon Mordenhyrst, Grace Sutcliffe finds herself smitten. When he proposes marriage, she is surprised and pleased. Her own family has earned their money and place through hard work not because they are landed nobility as the Mordenhyrst family is. Instead of having a village to control and a vast number of servants who all know their place, the Sutcliffes have a large home and grounds in Yorkshire. If she goes through with the marriage, Grace will be leaving her station, something her father Acton Sutcliffe frowns upon. But she is young and in love and eager to be swept away by romance. It is 1928, after all, a time for women to throw aside the expectations and stuff traditions …

However, when Grace arrives in Mordenhyrst Hall, she discovers herself well and truly a fish out of water. The servants have their roles and dislike being asked to perform tasks assigned to others. She is assigned an Aide, Nell, to help with her dressing, bedtime turndowns, and whatnot … And she’s been assigned a room that no one would want: The Lemon Room is aptly named, and pretty, and quite possibly haunted by Simon’s mother. Who thought it would be a good idea for the nouveau-riche girl to sleep there? Why Simon’s own sister, Lady Cecilia Mordenhyrst. If Simon is a dear away from the house, he becomes someone quite different when he is in proximity to his catty, chilly, and meanspirited sibling. Cecilia dislikes Grace on sight and seems eager to do everything in her power to force her away from Simon. Her passion for doing so is more than a sister concerned for her brother or even a noble concerned about those of lower standing staying in their place. What could her agenda be? Surely not something … unwholesome.

While staying in the strange hall, Grace finds herself caught up in mystery. Ghostly presences, a lusty patriarch, strange encounters with unusual birds, a history of turmoil, nightmares, drastic behavior changes, Cecilia and Simon’s even cattier friends, a resentful village whose populace all bear similar features to the aforementioned patriarch …

Grace is not completely isolated, however. She makes a few friends, including Sykes, landlord of the village pub, and Coralie, an American medium from New Orleans. Both of these allies will be necessary if Grace is to get to the bottom of the mysteries surrounding Mordenhyrst Hall and the ones who call it home. She will need answers because her life is at stake, and more than that, the lives of her friends and family.

Catherine Cavendish delivers another fine blend of gothic and creature horrors with the evocatively titled Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall. The author’s craft is as solid as we’ve come to expect. The prose engages, the plotting is swift, and there is atmosphere aplenty. One of the nicer touches this time around is the 1920s period, which is evoked well through a nice blend of character elements and period details/description. Cavendish’s fiction is often fascinated with history, and this latest volume is no different However, it is history with a cinematic edge, a sort of Hammer Horror Film for the mind’s eye with terrific, creepy locations and an engaging mystery that shifts gears into a morality play of good versus evil.

Cavendish’s text bakes the period into its storytelling marrow. Sure, we get the occasional quip about the era (this is 1928, not 1828, Dad!). However, this is a time when the world is trying to recover from the damages of World War I, when so many young men needlessly lost their lives in the trenches on the Continent. Grace lost her own brother, and the specter of his lost life haunts the opening half and pretty well drives her to oppose the evils she finds. It’s a clever use of history to appeal to character.

Regular readers of Cavendish’s fiction will find some sly nods to elements from previous books. The author’s fiction might not be taking place in the same shared universe, but they certainly have commonalities between them, both from a thematic as well as a literal sense. There are creepy foliage as we may recall from The Garden of Bewitchment and a perfectly lovely visage hiding a monstrous heritage as we found in Dark Observation. Ghosts and ancient evils that comingle with humanity stand alongside psychic danger and paranormal powers.

While some of the author’s previous books have amped up the doom and gloom, building to an atmosphere of despair, we seldom lose all hope for our plucky heroine here. Grace is initially overwhelmed, but with a little help she might actually succeed against these dangers. This dose of optimism and hope may not play well with all readers, but it’s a welcome switch from the oppressive darkness of stories like “The Oubliette of Elie Loyd,” novels like Dark Observation, or novel cycles like Nemesis of the Gods.

Those Who Dwell at Mordenhyrst Hall is an entertaining shocker. Though the ending may not appeal to fans of horror that veers into the darkest abyss possible and never quite comes out, it’s got enough punch to satisfy readers looking for a little sunshine along with their gloom-shrouded narratives. This is yet another enjoyable read from the Queen of Gothic Horror.
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A special thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for supplying an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars!

Catherine Cavendish has become my favorite gothic horror writers in recent years. Gothic horror can be difficult to write at times as it depends on a heavy atmosphere and a sense of dread rather than action to keep the story going. The writer must draw the reader into the dark world and immerse them in the darkness that dwells within. Cavendish returns in Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall for another foray into the darkest corners of the human mind.



They say that you cannot control who you fall in love with. This was the predicament that Grace found herself in. She had fallen in love with Simon Mordenhyrst despite her family’s warnings that there was something wrong with Simon and his family. The rumors and warnings she heard just did not match up at all with the kind and caring man she knew. He seemed distant in some ways, especially physically, but she quickly wrote that off to his desire to remain the proper gentleman befitting of his station and title. Simon came from an ancient and titled family which led him to act in a way that was expected of one in his position. Putting the warnings aside, Grace finalized her engagement to Simon and travelled to Mordenhyrst Hall to see where she was destined to take her place beside her beloved husband.



When Grace arrives at Mordenhyrst Hall, though, everything starts to go wrong. She has a sense that she is not wanted here. This not only comes from Simon’s sister, Cecelia, who goes out of her way to make her uncomfortable and the strange people in the neighboring village, but also seems to come from the Hall itself. Even Simon grows distant and does not seem the man he had been before. There is an evil that dwells in Mordenhyrst Hall. it is not just the ghost of Simon’s mother that dwells in the room in which she committed suicide. There is something much darker than a haunting. There is something evil that thirsts to be released upon the wider world and Grace soon learns that she may be the only thing standing in its way.



Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall is a very strong work of Gothic horror and my be Cavendish’s best book so far. The sense of dread that hangs over the novel is almost palpable from the very first page and the reader knows that they are in for a descent into darkness. Grace seems doomed from the start so the reader wants to cry out for her to run away from Simon as quickly as she can but, given human nature, she insists on focusing on the light even as it grows dimmer as the story progresses. It is easy to sympathize with her as the only fully formed character in this novel who must stand alone against growing evil. When Coralie, a woman with the ability to commune with spirits and bring her paranormal gifts to the battle, enters the story, there is a ray of light and a sense that everything may be ok in the end, but it is a dim hope. Everyone but Grace and Coralie are painted in strong shades of right and wrong, mostly wrong, so it is easy to cheer for two heroines. This makes it easy to cheer for them even as things grow progressively worse. The atmosphere is heavy and Cavendish seems to be slowly burying them in despair like shovels full of dirt slowly being dropped into an open grave.



Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall is one of the best works of Gothic horror that I have read in a long time. While it is light on action, the intrigue that Cavendish infuses the story with keeps the story entertaining and almost impossible to put down. While there is not a whole lot of shock value to the story, and the ending seemed almost preordained, the slow journey of discovery draws the reader into its icy clutches and does not let go. Reading this novel is much like watching a destructive storm approach: the reader knows how it is going to end, if not exactly how it will unfold, and is helpless to look away. There is a strange humanity and beauty in the darkness. The true strength of a novel is how it can affect the reader and I still find myself thinking about it even days after I finished reading it. Those who seek the thrills of nonstop action may not enjoy this book, but those who want their horror brewed on a slow simmer by the deft touch of a master, this novel is the perfect book for you. Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall is highly recommended even though it is sure to haunt your dreams for days to come.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall was released today.

Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall by Catherine Cavendish is an unsettling tale of love, secrets, and monsters set in a sprawling estate that holds power over a small, isolated town.

Content Warnings:
Sexual Assault and Suicide.

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall by Catherine Cavendish –
It’s no secret that everyone but the couple themselves disapprove of their plans to wed. The two are of separate classes, but they focus only on their love rather than social expectations.

Traveling to stay in her husband to bed’s family estate to get to know her future in-laws, Grace finds that her future sister-in-law is openly and calculatedly hostile toward her while her future father-in-law gives her the creeps. That bothers her, but she can put on a smile and cope with it. But what she will not put up with is the way her fiancé begins to treat her. It’s as if the house has a strange influence on him.

She points out how she has been treated one morning when she has had enough and then announces that she will return to London. Her fiancé begs her to stay just a bit longer, showing little glimpses of the version of him she loves. While she agrees to stay through the week, during that time she unlocks a second sight with the help of one of the women staying at the estate for the weekend.

Soon, Grace learns that there is a great darkness that only she can help eliminate in hopes of freeing the townspeople that have been sucked into the toxic influence of Mordenhyrst Hall. But can she do it?

I was so anxious for Grace right from the start. The focus on her new relationship made me nervous that a trick was about to be played with each scene that went by. But oh my gosh, I did not see what was coming next! The little supernatural bits are sprinkled in wonderfully once Grace crosses the property line to Mordenhyrst Hall and it only gets darker and more haunting from there!

My Favorite Passages from Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall –
He squeezed my free hand and winked at me. I squeezed back and winked at him. It was as if a chunk of ice fell off the massive iceberg that had come between us.

I stared at her, more in pity than anger. So much physical beauty wasted on such lamentable soul.

“It’s that obvious, is it?’
“Let’s put it this way, don’t audition for any leading roles until you’ve perfected your acting skills a bit more.”

The women’s murmuring became a chant and grew louder, more urgent. I moved my hands to cover my face against their penetrating stares, which stabbed at me, sending daggers of pain through my body.

“We can never know the reason for the riddles the universe presents us with.”

Below us, the river flowed as it had for thousands of years, oblivious to the three pairs of eyes that now gazed down into its dark depths.

My Final Thoughts on Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall –
Another amazingly mysterious and thrilling tale from Catherine Cavendish! I had an absolute blast reading this!

Horror fans, this gothic horror story will have you ready to leave an extra light on while reading as you may just hear footsteps when no one else is around or see ghostly figures lurking… And watch out for any birds of prey!