This is the perfect spooky read to curl up in a blanket and get lost in this fall. The story line had my jaw dropping multiple times. Once I got into this book I did not want to put it down. And the ending!! So crazy!

Life has always been Alice and her father. When he suddenly dies Alice is left piecing together her past with to many holes to count.

From a picture out of her dream, Alice creates a sculpture and sells it out of her art store. The buyer invites Alice to visit a hotel looking exactly like the sculpture. Mysterious situations pop up during her stay and Alice realizes that not everyone or everything is as it seems.

The point of view jumps around a lot from past to present and from person to person. At first it was a bit confusing keeping every thing straight. As the story went on and things were unfolding I loved this aspect and insight it brought.

This was an odd read for me. The book took quite awhile to pick up and the start is laden with misery as the heroine mourns her father. I will say while some of the plot was predictable there were a few times I was taken by surprise particularly in the end. The storyline never really ramped up to thrilling levels but it was a decent read and I was pretty sucked into the story. I really felt invested in the heroine getting to the bottom of what was going on at this mysterious island home to find peace. There was also the many mysteries with her fathers past and his death that took a constant toll on her. It was odd from the start that she was able to describe the home perfectly and did so in her artwork but had no memories having ever been there. Then again there were quite a few childhood memories the heroine unfortunately had to face and this is where things got a bit crazy. Her past and present collided with a whole lot of people caught in the crossfire. I do wish the book was a bit more exciting especially after that depressing start but it certainly worked as a Sunday afternoon cozy mystery.

3.5 stars
In this thriller with, I would say, kind of a gothic atmosphere we meet Alice. Her father was killed in a hit and run incident and the driver has never been found. This of course leaves open a lot of questions for Alice.
When she follows an invitation to a Gothic Hotel on a remote Island she instantly recognises it as place she had been to at some point in her life.
With Alice's arrival at the hotel things start to get creepy and eveb bizarre. There are a lot of twist and turns.
I like to be surprised by endings but I guessed that one right half way through so I wouldn't give it all the stars. Nethertheless a very readable and spooky thriller to enjoy.
Thank # Netgalley and # HQ for this ARC

I loved the creepy vibes of this one. The isolated gothic hotel was so atmospheric and spooky. I also loved the protagonist and trying to figure out things alongside her due to her memory. It was fast paced and truly grabbed me from page one. The only thing I didn't like was that some of it was a little predictable (including the perpetrator) but I still think I would recommend this to a friend.

This is my first novel by Amanda Brittany and I found that it was an interesting read. We meet the main character Alice, who is a sculptor/artist. Unfortunately her father was killed in a hit and run and the murdered never found, Alice is struggling with this and appears to be extremely vulnerable. She has had an unusual background and has mysterious dreams. She gets an invitation to stay at a newly refurbished guest house and the image stirs something up inside of Alice and she seems to recognise this building.

Alice takes up the offer of a stay and then the story really hits the ground running. Some guests are murdered and the owner of the hotel has gone AWOL - very far fetched but a good read nonetheless. The details in the book by the author is great - it really sets the scene of this gothic house on the backdrop of a remote island. I loved how Amanda Brittany painted these scenes in the book.

For me this book was a slow burner, normally I quite like a fast paced thriller to capture my attention and keep me there but for me this did not do that.

Thanks to Amanda Brittany, NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I don't like to give bad reviews because I feel that there's always an audience for every book. So I'll simply say that this was not a book for me. The story did keep me entertained and I was interested enough to want to solve the mystery. I just expected something different than this story offered.. I did like the writing and the authors style. I'm sure others will like it more than I did.

Alice can't remember anything before she was 6 years old, and her father refuses to tell her anything. When he is killed in a hit-and-run and she has an opportunity to visit a house, now a hotel, that she has seen in her dreams, she takes the opportunity, hoping it will give her some answers about the past. Then the other guests start dying. Mixed feelings about this one. I wasn't that into it but some parts of the ending did surprise me a bit. 3.5 rounded to 3 stars.

I love a good trapped murder mystery that is a quick read. This book is not drawn out and it kept me guessing the whole time. I had an inkling near the end, but was still surprised.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book ticks all the boxes for me right now - locked-room mystery, gothic old house, and a whodunnit with Clue vibes. I'm all for it. Locked-room mysteries are red hot at the moment, and I'm reading every one I can get my hands on. This one definitely did not disappoint, and I'm looking forward to reading whatever else Brittany writes in the future.

Enjoyed it and would give it 3.5 stars. From the start I had a suspicion on who could be behind all the craziness. There were a bunch of likely suspects, pretty much everyone stranded in the creepy hotel. I ended up being right but would have never guessed the reasons behind everything. Although, it's not that shocking why this person was missing a few (a ton) of marbles. They really didn't have a chance with the troubling upbringing. Verity and Hugh's relationship was so strange. Her obsession and possessiveness of him was beyond creepy. I hate puppets and the puppets in this book would have scared me. I never expected what was revealed about the Rosie puppet. There was definitely something wrong with this family. If Alice's dad wouldn't have kept so many secrets and told Alice the truth, she would have never went to Flynn House and would have known to be on the lookout for psychopaths.

Definitely recommend the book. It was a great mystery/thriller. Enjoyed the story, characters and writing style. I would have never accepted the invitation to Flynn House. It was creepy and terrifying, plus you could get stranded when the tide cover the causeway. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from HQ through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the Dark and gothic vibes. A really good mystery that amazed me.

To be honest the cover of the book and the promised setting is what drew me to reading it. I was a little disappointed at the beginning that it took almost a quarter of the book for the character to actually get to the Island House but it was worth the wait. Once there the plot picked up and did not stop. With the flashbacks to Verity's childhood is was like a fun puzzle of figuring out just how everything fit. And I have to say the big reveal was a good one that I didn't figure out until the moment it happened. The author does a great job of giving you unreliable narrators through the third person point of view. This book would have been five stars if not for the pacing issue in the beginning. We just spent too much time getting to the Flynn Hotel and not enough there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

When Alice Hadley is invited to the mysterious Island House, creepy memories begin to stir in her mind. How is the place connected to her past? Why is she there, on the island, and who are the other guests?

A gothic house, a storm, an island cut off from the mainland, and disturbing puppets – this book has all the ingredients needed to create an eerie atmosphere, a strong sense of place… and an intriguing mystery which is unravelled with plenty of clever twists.

Island House starts out as a charming boutique hotel, but quickly emerges as the last place anyone would choose to stay.

The Island House by Amanda Brittany is a hard to put down, intriguing book with nice little twists.

Both exciting and a little creepy at times and a book you have to pay attention to as it flicks backwards and forwards in time to 2 or is that 3 generations?

It's well written and I liked the gothic vibe. Unfortunately I didn't care for the characters and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Island House by Amanda Brittany.
The characters in the book are all stranded in an Island. One of which is Alice. Alice's father has just died in a tragic hit and run. She is dealing with the grief as well as wanting to learn about his past. Alice is drawn to the gothic manor Flynn House where she feels as if there is a connection with her past. I loved the tone of the book and there was a very big twist in end.
I recommend!

4,5 ⭐️

Locked room mystery, isolated setting, gothic vibes…was The Island House written thinking of me? It has all the elements I love in a mystery!

After her father dies in a hit and run seems like Alice’s questions about her childhood and her father’s past will go forever unanswered until she receives an invitation to visit an old gothic house turned hotel which she’s sure played a part in her childhood. And you know what happens to guests who check into gothic houses in isolated islands… exactly! They start dying one (or two) at a time.

With such an engaging premise it’s no surprising I flew through it. The atmosphere was fantastic and the creepiness was present from the first page. All the hints about what was going on in the attic and the puppets added to the sense of unease. Those puppets! They were so ghoulish. Loved them!

The story is told through dual timelines, one in 2019 and one starting in the 70s and moving forward. I found both equally engaging and loved how the past timeline developed. That weird relationship was another thing that added to the frightening feel that permeated the whole story.

When I thought I had it all figured out there was a twist that made me re-read some lines because at first I thought it was a typo, but NO, it was real and it made me gasp. I did not see that coming at all! From there everything unraveled and, although absolutely bonkers, it made perfect sense in a crazy kind of way.

Great atmospheric mystery that will delight all locked room mystery lovers. I’ve now read three of Ms. Brittuany’s books and loved all three so I will be reading all her old ones and will wait anxiously her next release.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Alice makes gothic sculptures & sells them in her shop in Whitby. When her father, a reclusive but successful novelist, is killed in a 'hit & run' she finds it hard to carry on. There is so much about her early life she doesn't remember & her last chance to find out has now gone. When she receives a Halloween invitation to go & stay at a gothic looking house on an island in Suffolk she dismisses it at first but the fact the house is exactly the same as one of her sculptures piques her curiosity & with her once boyfriend she takes up the offer. Naturally there is a storm & everyone is stuck on the island. Then people start to die. As well as Alice's story there are other voices from other times woven in to the narrative.

The author does capture the claustrophobia the characters feel although at times it seemed a bit over the top- however that's what fiction is all about. It was an enjoyable read with a few unexpected twists. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

A spooky, eerie story that will keep you flipping the pages!

What could be better than a gothic mansion, turned into a hotel, located on an island with an odd assortment of guests that all seem to have something in common. Throw in a rogue storm that cuts off all contact with the outside world, a couple of dead bodies, and you have all the makings of a non stop thriller!

Unfortunately this one was a miss for me. There really was not a lot happening until 50% into the book and it really didn't keep my focus. I found the main character a bit bland and it increased my annoyance with her that she doesn't actually do anything in this book. She really doesn't figure out anything that quickly and doesn't even save herself.