Emma Rous writes an enjoyable atmospheric, gothic flavoured debut, a psychological thriller set in the stunningly beautiful Norfolk coast, where the large Mayes family estate, Summerbourne House, is located and where twins, Seraphine and Danny were born. The Mayes family has a history of tragedy, and shortly after Ruth gave birth to the twins, she proceeds to commit suicide. Amidst the locals, rumours, gossip and supernatural explanations swirl around the 'cursed' family. Seraphine is now 25, grieving over the recent death of her father, Dominic, a result of a tragic accident. She is going through things at the house, when she discovers a strange photograph, featuring her parents and her older brother, Edwin, Ruth looks happy, but is holding only one baby. Which twin is it? Where is the other baby? What on earth made her mother kill herself so soon after?

These questions pierce Seraphine to the core, part of her has felt like an outsider in the family, she wants answers to these mysteries and clarity as to what happened on the fateful day she and her twin were born. Her grandmother, Vera, is unwilling to open up about past history, and only one other person knows what happened, Laura, the au pair looking after Edwin, who disappeared at the time. However, not everyone is happy that Seraphine is digging into the past as she faces warnings and threats. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, we are given the perspectives of Seraphine and Laura. Twins figure large in the story, Edwin's twin, Theo, died earlier, and Ruth's mother lost a twin in utero. What is skilfully revealed is that Summerbourne House harbours a troubled dysfunctional family history, with plenty of intrigue, family secrets, lies and deception, and mental health issues.

Rous's novel is an intricate construction and well plotted, with plenty of suspense and tension, as I raced to find out what happened in the past. In a story of twists and surprises, the narrative does at times boil over into over the top melodrama. I found myself more drawn into Laura's part of the story than Seraphine's, I was more captivated by her character and story. The location itself is intrinsic to the book, serving as a chilling background and framework to the family drama that unfolds. Providing you are prepared to suspend your sense of disbelief at times, this is an entertaining and immersive read, for those who enjoy a dark and gothic twisted yarn with great characterisation. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

I was sadly disappointed in this book. I really wanted to get into it however for me it failed to grab my attention.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Littlebrownbookgroupuk for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Thank yiu to netgalley for letting me read and review this book.
Excellent read, full of mystery from oage 1.
All through i was constantly trying to figure out the story, but it is so well written, it is impossible to unravel.
I would highly recommend this book when it is out in June

A wonderfully eloquent style of writing, coupled with a totally engrossing storyline. This novel had all the elements of a Daphne du Maurier classic - suspense and atmosphere by the bucketful. Captivating and hugely compulsive. A near perfect read!

This is a pretty intriguing mystery centered around some good old fashioned family drama, family dramas are generally my favorite types of mystery and i did really enjoy parts of this story.

The plot flowed really well at first but i did find toward the ends it felt a little like too much was being done at once and many of the tense plot points suffered.
I loved the flashbacks and was really invested in that part of the story, but the present day portions was not nearly as captivating for me personally.

Overall a pretty good story and a debut the author should be proud of.

The concept of this book is an interesting one and I enjoyed it for the most part, particularly Laura's experience as an au pair. Many of the characters were not terribly likeable though and I found the number of twins a bit too coincidental and the murders in the book unnecessary.


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The mystery that is the core of Rous' novel unfolds with rivaling chapters, Seraphine -present day- and Laura -twenty-five years earlier, as the young au pair- taking turns at the wheel; the absence of distinction between the two voices is unfortunately notable - only throught the context can the reader figure out the narrator. The page-turning quality of the story is definitely not enough to overcome the resurfacing of memories at the most convenient of times in conjunction with the convoluted climax and the identity crisis faced by many of the characters or the blurred familial lines the reader is left to make sense of in the end. Confusing and overdone; all of Rous' messiness is however still wrapped up with a neat bow.

Actual rating 3.5.

I was intrigued by the idea behind this and was looking forward to reading this story. As much as I wanted to love it, however, I found myself having to suspend reality a bit too much. The part of the story dealing with twins is brilliantly done, as is the mystery of which character is whose child. It sounds confusing, and it is. I feel that the final reveal became a bit too much with all the twists and turns.

All in all a decent read which will keep the reader guessing throughout.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

This was an intriguing idea and I did read it with interest. However, I thought the multiple twins mystery was dramatic enough to stand on its own without the threats and accusations of murder. The format of past / present chapters worked quite well. Some of the characters were inconsistent and some were superfluous, so 5* idea, 3* execution.

Well! How many twins does one book need? This novel is brimful with them and it makes things quite confusing.
Edwin and twins Seraphina and Danny are in mourning for their father Dominic who has recently died. The twins never knew their mother who killed herself the day they were born. Seraphina finds a photo of the day they were born and it piques her interest because only one baby is in it. She decides to investigate deciding to find Laura who had been the au pair at the time. But when she does, she is warned off and soon she starts to get threatening messages.

The story goes between the present day and the time when Laura was au pair. Laura, a young girl who has 'unfortunate home circumstances' goes to be an au pair in a beautiful old house by the sea, Summerbourne. She is quite entranced by Ruth the mistress of the house and delights in looking after her little boy Edwin. Dominic the husband is often away working but male company is provided by his friend Alex. Laura lusts after him but it is Ruth who catches his eye. She soon discovers that Edwin's twin Theo died in an accident two years before and that Ruth's own mother lost a twin in utero.

Gradually the story unravels and we find out what happened on the day Danny and Seraphina was born.

This was readable enough but really quite unrealistic and by the end a bit too melodramatic for my taste. I also had difficulty in keeping up with who was who and how they all related to each other. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

A great debut novel. Each chapter is told from the perspective of different characters both in 1995 and present day. An engrossing book with lots of twists. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

3.5 stars. It was an easy read but felt like nothing new, no big shocks and had to keep trying to work out which baby went where at the end. It was ok.

Once I started reading, I found it very easy to get into and looked forward to the time I could sit down and read it. I found the format of the book with flashback chapters and then present day compelling and helped give the book pace and intrigue and it definitely hooked me in and drove me on to read and complete the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists which the book revealed as it went along. I was constantly trying to work out what the final ending would be and kept thinking about the event when I wasn’t reading! I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family to read.