An an unique mystery, The Small House does not disappoint!

The book is a riveting mystery which demonstrates that marriages don't always work out, especially when they happen quickly and things at home are not what they seem. And as the storyline progresses, we find our main character, Caroline, seeing various things about her husband and servants that just don't jive and they try to convince the world that happenings were her fault when that's far from the truth. And all this and more create a situation that's unthinkable leading to a conclusion you can't see coming!

The Small Museum is a must read for people who love mysteries with twists and turns that's unique in its storyline! And as stated, things aren't always how they appear

I am so thankful for receiving an ARC of this book. It was so very true historically on the gruesome treatment of women in the Victorian age. Some of the chapters just gave me shivers and some made me claustrophobic in the way women were treated by not just their husband's, but society as a whole.

I would have liked Lucius and Grace fleshed out a bit more and maybe a bit more on their father. But all in all, I would definitely recommend this book. I was hooked from chapter one. Really well designed story.

Set in 1873 between London and Dorset this tells the story of Maddie who is recently married to Dr Everley and, whilst not in love with him, Maddie hopes they will at least be good companions and she may be able to help with his research. Dr Everley is obsessed with finding the missing link between fish and mammals, working long hours and frequently away from home giving lectures or on fossil hunting trips.

When Maddie falls pregnant this seems to be a great opportunity for the newly weds to grow closer but Dr Everley's sister makes this difficult with unscheduled visits with her unruly children and the whole household starts to call Maddie's sanity into question when she hears babies crying and voices in the night.

The book is cleverly set in alternating chapters between Maddie's time with Dr Everley and a future court case which we don't understand the full details of until later on in the story. The implications of this are shocking once we near the conclusion - I was gripped right to the end! Highly recommend for all the dark gothic historical fiction lovers 🖤

"'Nasty, dirty things.'" It was hard to tell if she spoke of the trains or my family."

#thesmallmuseum is a delightfully creepy (and a bit queer!) gothic set in the best place, Victorian London. We feel for Maddie as she's married off to stoic Lucius (!) to save her family's reputation. When we find out what Lucius, his nasty sister and servants are really up to, the book takes a devastating turn. Highly recommend.

P.S. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this one. The setting and atmosphere were spot on. It’s deliciously dark and creepy, and the members of this household make the Manson Family look well-adjusted.

This is a good book, full of twists and suspense. There's something that made me think of Rebecca (young naif wife, nasty housekeeper) and there's some horror side and trying to save Maddy, the young wife.
There's a lot of twists, some unexpected and some a bit predictable. I appreciated the story and it's a good one if you like gothic novels mixing mystery and horror.
Well done, vivid historical background.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Small Museum by Jody Cooksley is a truly brilliant Victorian Gothic Mystery that was right up my alley!

Madeline Brewster is to be married to Dr Lucius Everley to restore her families reputation. However, when she moves in with Dr Lucius and his sister, things are not going as planned and the marriage is not exactly as she was hoping, or dreading, but much, much worse.

The writing is dark, atmospheric, chilling. You can almost smell the gaslamps and damp stone due to the very well described environments, let alone the utterly terrifying coldness of the siblings. A fantastic novel for lovers of the Gothic Noir genre

Thank you to Netgalley, Allison & Busby and the hugely talented Jody Cooksley for this fantastic ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

The Small Museum by Jody Cooksley

Thanks to Helen Richardson and Allison & Busby publishing for my gifted copy of the book.

This book is told from two perspectives, the before and the after. The before is from Madeleine’s (Maddy’s) position and the after is from her friend Caroline’s position as part of the trial of Maddy. I really enjoyed this. I really came to love both Maddy and Caroline and hoped so much that Caroline could help her friend at such a desperate time.

On the other hand I did not like Grace, Maddy’s husband Lucius’ sister from the minute she sauntered onto the page. Nor did I like Lucius and his cold indifference nor the calculated manner he started to display that Maddy didn’t see coming until it was too late.

Whilst some of what happened I could predict I still really liked the book and definitely enjoyed the gothic elements of the story.

This book reminded me how terrifying and isolating it is when you are telling the truth but no one believes you. There is no fear like it, especially when your life is on the line.

What drew me to this book was that it was inspired by The Hunterian Museum in London and after looking into it online thought it sounded fascinating! This book has only made me want to visit even more. I also signed up before I saw the final cover and shall now be buying the finished copy for my shelves because it is STUNNING 🤩

Madeleine Brewster who in trying to save her family's reputation marries renowned Dr. Lucius Everly, a serious older man who is collector of human oddities in the medical world. Hoping to make the best effort of a happy marriage, Madeleine seeks to understand her husband's work and offers to assist him in his various endeavors but is thwarted by his dominant sister who never fails to interfere in her plans. When Maddie begins to suspect there are some sinister things going on behind closed doors she will find herself accused of insanity and murder. This read had dark undertones and great suspense that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to author Jody Cooksley and NetGalley for a digital copy of this read in exchange for my review.

Took a few days to put my thoughts into words for this book.. At first I thought this book would be for me because of the title and summary. Set in victorian London during the Gothic era with museum relics and historical references. As I started reading, it took a while for me to get into the book and a while to get through it. I had to constantly go back and reread chapters because it was a bit confusing jumping from dual POVs and time.

The book was well written and enjoyable for people interested in this content. The historical knowledge laced throughout the story includes advancements in science and natural history in the victorian age. Overall this was a wonderful book, full of knowledge and a bit of mystery, however, it fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of Allison and Busby for this digital ARC!

This book takes place in London in 1873. Madeleine Brewster's family has lost their status in society ever since her older sister ran away to elope, so they decide to marry Maddie off to Dr Lucius Everley, in the hopes that it will restore their good name. Dr Everley is not only a physician but also a collector of natural curiosities. His 'Small Museum' of bones and specimens in jars is his pride and joy, Dr. Everley's sister Grace runs a home for fallen women, which was also laudable. However, once they are wed, Maddie soon realizes all is not how it seems. Everything is a facade. Lucius wants nothing to do with Maddie, and they do not spend any time together. Grace is the only one he seems to find time for. Grace seems to be controlling everything, and Maddie is unable to make any decisions for herself. The housekeeper hates Maddie from the start, and seems to go out of her way to make her as miserable as possible. Any time something gets moved in Maddie's room, or she questions a sound she heard, Lucius starts acting as if she is suffering from "hysteria". When the baby Maddie gives birth to dies, and she is accused of killing it, she only has the one friend she was able to make that might be able to save her from the gallows.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell flat for me. It was a slow burn for the entire book. I found it depressing, disturbing, and at times boring.... which I know that time period and that subject matter is not a cheerful one, so there you go. I didn't feel any sort of connection with any of the characters. I was hoping Maddie would be someone I could root for, but she just felt a little too one-dimensional. Maybe this was a case of "it's not you, it's me'.

The Small Museum by Jody Cooksley took my breath away. Set in Victorian London, the gorgeous writing and gothic atmosphere remind me of Daphne du Maurier, though the theme is darker and more unsettling.

Mrs. Madeleine Everley barely knows her new husband but Lucius is an important medical man and quiet. Maybe they will grow to love each other. But his sinister and slithery sister Grace rules the home, though it's not hers. Madeleine is desperate to connect with her husband and uses her skillful artistry. Madeleine's words are twisted and manipulated, she is isolated and lonely, and she is sentenced to be hung for a crime. Her friends Caro and Tizzy are her supporters. She needs all the help she can get.

Topics include "mad" women, deceased children, marriages, fallen women and ghastly science experiments in Dr. Lucius Everley's small museum. Sounds disturbing, right? It is. But in a sensitively explored and fascinating way. This type of novel wouldn't be easy to pull off without loads of forethought and cunning. Cooksley yanked me in and captivated me with every page. The story is compelling but the writing also won my heart.

If you are intrigued by the macabre and are keen to learn more about the dark side of medicine in the Victorian era, this book has your name on it. I'm thrilled to have read it.

My sincere thank you to Allison & Busby for providing me with a digital copy of this magnificent novel, one which will stick with me for a very long time.

London in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Madeleine, a young woman from rural Cheshire, is newly married to Dr Lucius Everley and goes to live in his gloomy London townhouse. The rushed marriage, her husband’s distance, unwelcoming servants and all sorts of whispered secrets and unconventionalities in the house provide the ingredients for a traditional Gothic story. Madeleine’s own father was a medical doctor and she has an interest in the subject and is a skilled draughtswoman. The extent of Dr Everley’s obsessive medical interests, supported by his possessed sister and the invidious position that Madeleine finds herself in the hostile household becomes slowly clear to the reader and a hideous secret is revealed at the conclusion of the story. From the beginning of the narrative, some chapters delineate the path of subsequent events; the proceedings against Madeleine Everley who is on trial for her life for murder and seems to be the subject of some foul plot from her husband and sister-in-law.
The story is very capably narrated and is engaging and entertaining enough, but given the subject matter it is highly melodramatic and lacks any real sense of credibility or indeed reality. The historical setting is not substantial, with an emphasis on the vibrant scientific atmosphere surrounding the debate on evolution. Madeleine’s trial for murder continues for several days, which would have been exceedingly unlikely with the conventions of criminal proceedings in nineteenth century England. Nonetheless an enjoyable novel.

Victorian London was not kind to women- and that's especially true for Maddie, who finds herself married off into a horrid situation to Lucius, whose sister Grace runs her life. This Gothic is told by Maddie and then by her friend Caroline after Maddie is accused of a horrible crime. Thie museum (based on a real institution) is creepy but Maddie does her best, which is none too good, to live within Grace's rules, This is dark but it's also engrossing- and more than I expected. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

The Small Museum is an interesting take on the gothic horror genre. It's the story of Madelyne who is forced to marry a friend of her doctor father's when her older sister runs away with a man she's not married to and is disgraced.

Maddy's husband is neither kind nor warm and spends almost no time with her as he's too busy attending scientific societies, trying to prove himself and overcome a scandal that attached to the family name in his father's time. The housekeeper is rude and domineering, refusing to let Maddy have any hand in hiring servants or organizing parties or meals. And Maddy's sister-in-law is overbearing and behaves as if she is mistress of the house.

Any complaints Maddy makes or anything she says she hears or sees is chalked up to "nervousness" as her husband and everyone else in the house does their best to gaslight her into believing she's completely mad. Will Maddy be able to overcome the frightening and oppressive atmosphere of the house, or will she be swallowed up by it? And just what is her husband hiding in the secret rooms in his part of the house - rooms that are always kept locked, and that no one is ever allowed into?

Overall, I enjoyed the book's writing style and the pacing. I did feel that Maddy ultimately figuring out Lucius' and his sister's plot towards the end of the book felt a bit rushed and convenient, especially given the long and careful setup.

I also didn't understand why it was necessary for Maddy to fall in love with her maid. Given that she had so little experience with love and was basically a child when she was married off, it would make more sense to me for her to form a group of very close knit female friends, like sisters. But it seems that as usual, women can't have best friends in movies or books anymore, whether they be of the same or opposite sex. I'm always thoroughly disappointed when I see authors giving in to this lazy modern trope, especially in a day and age when it would have been illegal and resulted in one or both women going to prison, or worse. Modern authors seem to like to pretend that these strictures and dangers toward those who loved the same sex did not exist, and I do find it an overly convenient plot development that there's always some colony of "bohemian women" where they can go live and nothing bad will happen.

Other than that, I found the book to be all right as a gothic horror piece, and a work that shows just what women had to suffer in an era that believed the husband instead of the wife - an era when the diagnosis of "hysteria" covered everything when you wanted to get rid of an inconvenient woman. 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for the free advanced reader copy. This is my voluntary review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

"The Small Museum" by Jody Cooksley is an excellent Gothic mystery set in Victorian London, perfect for fans of dark and strange historical novels. The story follows Madeleine "Maddie" Brewster, who marries Dr. Lucius Everley in an effort to restore her family's reputation. Lucius, a collector of eerie curiosities, keeps his unusual specimens in his own personal museum. Maddie, isolated and undermined by Lucius's dreadful sister Grace, finds solace in her art, drawing inspiration from her husband's strange collection.

As Maddie gets more involved in her new husband's world, she uncovers unsettling secrets, ultimately leading to her being accused of murder. The narrative alternates between Maddie's perspective during her marriage and her friend Caroline's viewpoint during Maddie's trial, enhancing the tension and allowing the story to unfold in a unique, nonlinear fashion. The novel highlights the era's growing scientific curiosity, oppressive gender roles, and themes of power and control.

Cooksley does a great job of maintaining tension and unease throughout, making it hard to put it down once you get into it. We don't recommend it for readers who prefer "cozier" stories that avoid dark themes and feelings of unease. If you enjoy leaning into all that's tense and horrifying, however, this is one for your "to be read" list.

Victorian Gothic? Yes please!

This book was captivating - frustrating and terrifying at times - but an excellent read. Maddie was a sympathetic character from the start, forced into a marriage to better her family's situation and largely unprepared for all it entains. Her abusive family and household continually manipulate and gaslight her but it is rewarding to watch her expand her circle of trust and see them come for her at the end.

The author clearly took great time and care to create her heroine and the world around her, and that passion shows. The story is fast-paced and compelling with a rewarding resolution. Will definitely be looking forward to more by this author.

Thank you to NetGally, Jody Cooksley, and Allison & Busby for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Madeline weds Dr. Lucius Everley in 1873, her family is hopeful it will bring about a positive change in their social circumstances. Little do they and Madeline know that her experience in her new London home will be anything but positive.

This was a delightfully wicked and fascinating gothic horror story. The characters jumped off the page. Thanks to the reserved, standoffish, “mad scientist” Lucius and his overbearing b*tch of a sister Grace, Madeline feels most unwelcome in her new home. There’s just something not quite right about this family and this house, and the slow reveal was as eerily suspenseful as I hoped it would be.

When Madeline is framed for a horrific crime, she is put on trial and must fight for her life or risk the gallows.

Scientific societies, a museum of curiosities, voices in the night, and a ruthless household staff all add to the mystery and the bizarreness of this story.

Fans of Mexican Gothic, Rebecca, and The Hacienda will relish this novel. Truly horrifying in all the best ways ways!

Thank you to @netgalley and @allisonandbusby for this eArc.

An enjoyable gothic read set in Victorian London about a young woman who believes her marriage will help improve her situation, but the truth is anything but.

Reminiscent of Mexican Gothic, I really enjoyed the book and felt like I was really in Victorian London, which is always a plus.

A great book set n Gothic England. As is always the case, things are not as they appear to Maddie as she enters a marriage in which her thoughts of improving her station in life prove most different than she originally thought!

Thanks for this ARC. It was a great ride!