The Beloved Girls by Harriet Evans is a lengthy story about the Vane family and a young girl, Janey who stayed the summer of the Vane twins 18th birthday.
The Vane estate is the site of an old bee keeping tradition and it is the bees that colours most of the storytelling. The story is told in sections covering the past, the present and different people who are the mainspring of the story. It is a very sad and uncomfortable story of family life and how the bees who live in the old rectory are part of the story.
I enjoyed reading this book although at times I felt it was very lengthy but at the conclusion everything fits together and makes some sort of sense.
Recommended

This is a long book so there’s quite a bit of time investment needed to read it.It’s set in three different periods ,starting in the present and moving back and forth from 1989 and 1959.It tells of a very dysfunctional family, the Hunters, who live in a mysterious old house, Vanes, where a strange ritual is carried out every year involving a colony of bees which live in the ruined chapel attached to the house.
Janey ,the daughter of a family friend ,arrives to spend the summer with the family following the sudden death of her father ,and becomes involved with the ceremony and with the twins,Joss and Kitty, who are all going to be eighteen around the time of the event. When things go wrong it leads to many repercussions which affect the whole family right up to the present day.
I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, but it’s very slow paced and I got a bit tired of reading about the ceremony and the song that went along with it.I couldn’t like any of the characters-they’re all damaged and unlikeable.
I’ve read other books by Harriet Evans which I liked better than this one.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

The Beloved Girls by Harriet Evans
Published by Headline
Publication Date 19/8/21

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
No Spoilers

Unpredictable, immersive and absorbing read. I raced to the (satisfying) end. Wonderful writing and authentic characters.
I had not read any of Harriet Evans previous work but I will definitely be seeking it out now.
Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

What a fantastic read. A story with many perspectives with each being just as important. Cracking pace, a storyline which never falters. Highly recommend for the perfect holiday read. Binge in two days, promise!

This is a great read and i would recommend you read this! This was a really fun read which I read so so quickly. I was kindly gifted an e-book in return a honest review.

The writing in this book was completely stunning, felt transported right there between the pages to the scenes that were being played out in your mind as you read. I really enjoyed this

Harriet Evans is an author I had never come across before however the premise of this book drew me in immediately. Isolated landscapes, family secrets and the past continually haunting the present are all concepts that can create fascinating reads.
This book did not disappoint. From the very opening where the reader is introduced to the character of Catherine, who very early on in the text vanishes at a train station due to events from from her past catching up with her and refusing to go away. The reader is transported across time and landscape in a compelling and unputdownable journey.
Evans’ depiction of characters was realistically and empathetically drawn. One of the most successful characters for me was the figure of Hester. A woman desperately trying to hold on to life despite her tyrannical ex-husband threatening to take away their only daughter felt poignant and heart wrenching. The switching to the past to inform the storyline of the present worked effectively, particularly in Hester’s case and I did feel that I would have liked to have read more from her perspective. She was a character that was both touching in her fragility and strength as were a number of the female characters throughout the text.
Parts of the novel set in the past at the country house felt eerily gothic and unsettling. The family of the eccentric Hunters, the keepers of secrets were intriguing also. It felt that there was always a hint of potential violence or threat bubbling under their positive exteriors with their behaviours often inexplicable. The languid nature of the days and characters reminded me of Sarah Waters’ ‘The Little Stranger’ a novel that explores the notion of haunting and being haunted.
Evans’ book attempts something similar. It is certainly a book that compelled me to want to continue to read to the very end and it felt particularly suited to autumns imminent arrival. I would be keen to read more of Harriet Evans’ work and feel lucky to have discovered a new author whose backlist awaits.

Unfortunately I couldn't gel with this book. The characters did seem interesting and at first the plot drew me in....but I just felt there was too much filler pages and this meant the pace slowed down.

I got half way through and ended up skipping pages to get to the end, just to see if it did get better. For me it didn't.

I have read previous books of hers and will continue to read future ones.

The Beloved Girls has all the best elements of a Gothic-tinged suspenseful novel: slow burn, twisty, psychological suspense, possible hauntings, a creepy old house, and possibly unreliable narrators! The book slides easily between present-day and the summer of 1989, and the author does a wonderful job describing the lives of British teenagers in the late 1980s--their angst and desire to fit in, their need to act out, even the specific clothing and dance/pop music that was popular during that era is mentioned. As a teenager myself during that time period, I really appreciated the attention to detail. The book had a very satisfying ending and I will definitely be reading more of Harriet Evans' work.

‘The Beloved Girls’ is the latest book by Harriet Evans.

Catherine, a successful barrister, vanishes from a train station on the eve of her anniversary. Is it because she saw a figure – someone she believed long dead? Or was it a shadow cast by her troubled, fractured mind? The answer lies buried in the past. It lies in the events of the hot, seismic summer of 1989, at Vanes – a mysterious West Country manor house – where a young girl, Jane Lestrange, arrives to stay with the gilded, grand Hunter family, and where a devastating tragedy will unfold. Over the summer, as an ancient family ritual looms closer, Janey falls for each member of the family in turn. She and Kitty, the eldest daughter of the house, will forge a bond that decades later, is still shaping the present.

When it comes to twisted stories about family secrets and betrayals, Harriet is up there with delivering some of the best.

Her latest book, is a rollercoaster of drama set over many decades after a terrible tragedy occurs leaving a small town in shock. And many years later Catherine, one of the people left behind suddenly disappears when old memories start to resurface.

When Harriet writes a book, she really writes a book! At 448 pages, it’s long but it’s engaging with regular twists and shocks that keeps the reader pulled in.

The characters are a fascinating mix, as we meet Catherine, a successful barrister, who’s lost a big case she feels an immense pressure on herself but is distracted by the upcoming anniversary of the tragedy.

The story is written in the past and present tense through the perspectives of Catherine, Janey and Simon. Catherine is the present whilst Janey and Simon are from the past. The past moments make for fascinating reading as Janey is introduced to a strange family with an obsession with rituals and bees which all makes for sinister but completely compelling reading. Simon’s narrative is from, during the 1950’s as he tries to overcome the horrors that he witnessed at the end of the WW2.

This story instantly pulled me in, from the ritualistic wordings that had such creepy undertones to them to the Hunter family, all flawed, fascinating and Janey was drawn to all of them.

Harriet has written an intoxicating story that is cleverly crafted with deceit, love and drama weaved through each page. A book that grabbed my attention throughout ‘The Beloved Girls’ is a dark and observational story about female relationships and is such an addictive story, that once you’re in, you’ll never get out!

You can buy ‘The Beloved Girls’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

I love atmospheric stories with houses steeped in history and secrets. However I just couldn't love the Beloved Girls as much as I wanted to.

I felt an emotional disconnect from the characters and I found it hard to care about what happened to them. It's quite a long read and I did find myself hoping we would get to the ceremony soon, the climax of the novel. It's hard to explain why I felt that way. It was well written but it just didn't connect with me the way I had hoped.

There was a menacing atmosphere throughout, leaving the reader in no doubt something terrible happened, without fully revealing any details until later in the book. There are also some disturbing themes throughout the book which added to the foreboding atmosphere. I found myself impatient to know what happened! I did enjoy the last few chapters more than the rest of the book once we finally realised what happened that fateful day. I also enjoyed the ambiguity, particularly at the end of the novel. I like being able to use my own imagination or thoughts to determine what is truth,

There's quite a large cast of characters but I never became confused who they were which is a testament to the writing and character development. The time switches were also done well and explained the background of Vanes and how the older characters were all connected.

All in all, it wasn't a book I disliked. I think I just went in expecting such amazing things and it just didn't connect with me as I'd hoped.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This dark atmospheric tale had me gripped from the start. When Catherine, a successful and happily married barrister disappears, there are more questions than answers. But her story begins long before she leaves her husband on a busy train station concourse…

Jane Le Strange goes to stay with family friends for a summer following the death of her father. She is transfixed by the family and their strange traditions which revolve around an old chapel of bees.

I really enjoyed the drama as the story unfolded, and the relationship between Jane and all the family members. Although I guessed the ‘twist’ it was a good read and I would thoroughly recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just too weird and strange for my taste, I’m sorry to say. So many dislikeable characters and unpleasant themes, I find myself resisting picking it up again, this was not a good choice for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

There were parts of this book that I loved and other parts that I found too long, too contrived. With the exception of Simon, Janey's father and Davide, the husband of Catherine, all of the men were awful - ranging from insufferable idiots to child sex abusers and murderers. The women were all - understandably - very damaged and likely to break at any moment. I was intrigued by the Hunter family rituals of the ceremony of taking the honey from the bees and the lonely, bereaved girl spending the summer with an aristocratic family in a big house with lots of secrets appealed. I think this is a bit of a marmite book as it didn't quite work for me but others have loved it. There were elements that I found jarring in all of the storylines and I needed the plot to move on quicker. Most of all I didn't like the characters enough to really engage.

Another book that’s gone straight to my top books of the year. This book is so unique, amazing, heartfelt, sad and at times quite creepy. It revolves around the annual bee ceremony where the Hunter family and the whole community must follow the path to the old Chapel at Vanes to open the combs and taste the honey.

‘Half for us and half for them, else the Devil take us all’

It all sounds highly risky and even more so this hot summer of 1989. August 31st is the 18th birthday of Joss and his twin sister Kitty and the bees have had to wait an extra two weeks and this had made them crosser than ever. We discover there have been accidents in the past. But it’s an obsession for Charles Hunter and his sister Ros – why is the ceremony so important to them?

‘We need the bees to survive, and they need us to survive. Once you understand that, you understand the history of Vanes, you understand our family.’

Each year members of the family must play their parts including The Outsider and The Beloved Girls. There is a song that is sung during the procession. It is chanted to the tune of ‘Green grow the rushes O….’

‘Three, three, the rivals,
Two, two, the beloved girls’
Clothed all in green, O…
One is one and all alone, and ever more shall be so.‘

There are so many elements to this book that it’s hard to give a resume. In 1984, 17-year-old Janey Lestrange goes to stay with the Hunters – Joss, Kitty, little sister Merry, mum Sylvia and dad Charles. She has a great time and bonds with Kitty but does not return until 1989, the year of a devastating tragedy.

Many years later, Cambridge graduate and successful barrister Catherine, married to Davide, and with two children Carys and Tom, vanishes from the train station on the eve of her anniversary. A number of things have happened in her life and these are revealed at stages throughout the book. To tie them all together and discover the truth, we must examine the lives of young Janey, her father Simon, Sylvia Hunter and Kitty.

I can’t praise this book highly enough. This is a story to be savoured, not rushed and then read again. I am certain it will become a classic – it’s so sad and beautiful and full of emotion.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Opening in 2018 and then going back in time to 1989 and 1959, before returning in reverse to 2018, The Beloved Girls has a cast of damaged individuals; the male characters, with a few exceptions, are particularly unpleasant.

Janey is struggling to manage her grief following a traumatic event that came out of the blue, and is in search of somewhere she feels she can belong. She thinks she has found that at Vanes, the country house of the Hunter family that she once visited as a child.

Ah yes, the Hunter family. I have to say they’re not a group of people I’d be keen to spend time with, much less be a member of. The creation of this dysfunctional family and the sense of menace, of suppressed rage and discontent that threatens to spill over into violence, was probably the strongest part of the book for me.

Charles Hunter, referred to as pater familias by his children, is irascible, petty and often cruel towards those around him. He is in thrall to his family’s history and the traditions associated with it, especially the annual ritual known as The Collecting. His wife, Sylvia, is a talented designer whose time has been diverted to running the household in accordance with the whims of her husband, and to protecting her children – the twins Kitty and Joss, and Melissa (known as Merry) their younger sister – from the malign influences that seem to hover around them. The sense of unease is heightened by the presence of the bees, housed in an old, rundown chapel, whose humming is a constant backdrop to life at Vanes.

For me, the chapters set in 2018 felt very different in tone from those of the earlier timelines. The run-up to Catherine’s disappearance conforms to everything you might expect from a modern day thriller. On the other hand, the sections set in 1989 had a rather timeless quality despite the frequent references to 1980s music. Part three of the book, set in 1959, filled in the back stories of key characters but for others represented their sole appearance.

I wasn’t quite sure how the author would manage to bring together the three timelines to form a coherent whole but I think this was largely achieved, although for the observant reader the direction the story will take won’t be a great surprise. On the other hand, the book leaves a few unanswered questions for readers to ponder.

At just under 450 pages, The Beloved Girls represents quite an investment in reading time but will reward the reader who is prepared for a slow increase in tension and is happy to inhabit the strange, unsettling world the author has created.

The Beloved Girls had rave reviews on NetGalley and from authors I enjoy reading – and so I requested and was granted an advance review copy (it came out on 19 August 2021 for Kindle and in hard copy – paperback is out in April 2022). Here’s the blurb:

“‘It’s a funny old house. They have this ceremony every summer . . . There’s an old chapel, in the grounds of the house. Half-derelict. The Hunters keep bees in there. Every year, on the same day, the family processes to the chapel. They open the combs, taste the honey. Take it back to the house. Half for them -‘ my father winced, as though he had bitten down on a sore tooth. ‘And half for us.’
Catherine, a successful barrister, vanishes from a train station on the eve of her anniversary. Is it because she saw a figure – someone she believed long dead? Or was it a shadow cast by her troubled, fractured mind?
The answer lies buried in the past. It lies in the events of the hot, seismic summer of 1989, at Vanes – a mysterious West Country manor house – where a young girl, Jane Lestrange, arrives to stay with the gilded, grand Hunter family, and where a devastating tragedy will unfold. Over the summer, as an ancient family ritual looms closer, Janey falls for each member of the family in turn. She and Kitty, the eldest daughter of the house, will forge a bond that decades later, is still shaping the present . . .”

Apart from the weird poem at the start – the book starts in the present day with Catherine and her family in central London. She’s a successful barrister who has just lost a case and is clearly struggling with the aftermath. Then – she disappears when she’s supposed to be heading off on an anniversary trip with her husband to France. At the end of this section there is then a twist based on on old photo – but it’s exactly the same twist as in another book I read recently #weird

It then flashes back – and is told from different points of view – to teenagers in the late1980s (lots of this was incredibly familiar having been a teenager in the same era!) and then even further back to the parents of the teenagers in their youth.

You know that the storyline is going to build up to a big tragedy in 1989 – although you don’t know exactly what it’s going to be.

The main problem was, I didn’t really give a toss about any of the characters – and the whole bee b*llocks, was just plain weird,

I pushed through, hoping to find what was missing and what everyone else had loved – and because I hate letting a book beat me (The Goldfinch anyone?!?) but it just didn’t click with me at all. Others appear to have loved it – but it just didn’t do it for me. It felt too long, too boring, too simplistic language – it wasn’t badly written or offensive – just a bit of a waste of a few hours of reading.

I do love a story set in and around an old manor house and this is the perfect one!

The mystery of Catherine, a successful barrister was set up well and this really started things well for me. She disappears from the station and then the police find out that there had been strange things happening prior to her disappearance.

Heading back to 1989 we meet Jane and so begins the sewing of seeds that reveals the puzzle of Catherine's story and the house of Vanes, a manor house in the West Country. What a house! So atmospheric and mysterious. Harriet knows how to weave a story and keep you enthralled. There are some very dark moments and story threads of abuse and mental health come to the fore, but they fit well with the narrative and the story as a whole is very well done.

When we first meet Catherine Christophe it is 2018 and she is a successful barrister working in London, where she lives with her husband, Davide and her two teenage children. On the surface life is good, but there are undercurrents in Catherine's life which seem to be affecting her state of mind. Bothered by the events of a troubled past Catherine, not the most reliable of narrators, leads us slowly towards what happened at the family home in the late summer of 1989.

With hints of menace, the gradual air of suspicion gradually reveals a story which is buried in the events at Vanes, a West Country manor house where the eccentric Hunter family live, and the house where Catherine spent her childhood. The arrival into their lives of Janey Lestrange, a young teenager, with more than her own share of mental health problems, only adds to the sense of intrigue which surrounds this unusual family.

The story flits effortlessly between three time frames and it pays to keep focused as there is much to learn about the Hunter family, and many secrets need to come to light before the whole of this rather sad, and decidedly, creepy story is revealed. I found the many complexities intriguing, especially the weaving of the story around an old English folk song which highlights the danger of keeping some old traditions alive. The author, with her trademark skill for storytelling, fires the imagination right from the start of the intriguing prologue which gives a fascinating insight into Catherine's troubled state of mind.

Beautifully written, The Beloved Girls is a multi-layered, and intriguing, family drama which looks at the unreliability of memory, the dangerous association of keeping hidden secrets and a past which would rather remain locked away forever.

'It's a funny old house. They have this ceremony every summer . . . There's an old chapel, in the grounds of the house. Half-derelict. The Hunters keep bees in there. Every year, on the same day, the family processes to the chapel. They open the combs, taste the honey. Take it back to the house. Half for them -' my father winced, as though he had bitten down on a sore tooth. 'And half for us.' 'We need the bees to survive, and they need us to survive. Once you understand that, you understand the history of Vanes, you understand our family.'

I loved this book, a sweeping family saga, told through the decades and transporting the reader from London in the 1950's through the 1980's and up to the modern day. We discover the families whose lives intersect, overlap and also clash, with terrible consequences over the course of one long, hot summer.. I love a country manor house setting, and the description of Vanes really took me there; the green-tinged outdoor swimming pool, the ruined chapel, the standing stones and the heat of those summer months. There was an air of menace, dark secrets and lies. The chanting of the rhyme, the characters in the procession, the parts played by the 'Beloved Girls'. The characters were very vivid and it played out beautifully. I haven't read Harriet Evans before but I'm very glad to have found her, I would highly recommend this book and will be seeking out more of her work.