I enjoyed this book! Was it the perfect thriller? No, but it was definitely a solid read. I saw most of the twists coming, but that didn't make me want to stop reading. I'd definitely recommend to other readers.

I was confused through out this whole book but in the best way possible. Trying to piece together each timeline to make it all make sense was so much fun! I really enjoyed this book and the narrator was incredible.

This was an interesting premise but the execution was a bit of a mess. The multi POVs did not sound distinct enough as characters (nothing to do with narration) and often motives seemed spurious. I think this was supposed to be a mystery driven by family secrets and obsessive friendship but it fell flat. Christie is an interesting character and at times there's a real sense of atmosphere. Overall this just didn't deliver on its promise for me.

This book has potential to be good but I felt the initial slow start will have people putting it down and not picking it back up. To be honest, I had no idea what was going on in the beginning. I stuck with it and it got better.

Spannende und sehr fesselnde Familiengeschichte um eine adlige Familie und ein englisches Herrenhaus,
in dem angeblich Geister umgehen.
Aus drei verschiedenen Sichtweisen auf drei verschiedenen Zeitebenen erzählt.
Gut und passend gesprochen von Colleen Prendergast.
Da die Geschichte jedoch aus der Perspektiver dreier unterschiedlicher Personen erzählt wird, wäre es noch schöner gewesen, auch drei verschiedene Sprecher zu haben!


Super, dass bei NetGalley die Möglichkeit besteht, auch englischsprachige Hörbücher zu hören!
Vielen Dank dafür!

An exciting read with amazing plot that keep you guessing till the end! Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This is a review of the audiobook.

A patient at a psychiatric hospital forms a friendship with the nurse treating her. Neither patient nor nurse could have expected that the similarities in their lives was going to bring them closer together. With a story leaping from the 50's through to present day, the narrative centres around Rutherford house and it's inhabitants. What is the curse of the men of Rutherford house? What happened to some of the ladies who lived there? Some mysteries should be kept hidden but the story provides opportunity for us to uncover the truth that's been hidden within Rutherford house for many many years. A great book with easy to read and follow narrative, quite enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and CE Rose for this ARC audio.

This had me from the very beginning!! This is such a good mystery thriller. It’s dual POV. It had a great plot. It was hard to put down. Tons of twist and turns. Love heartbreak and MURDER!

The Shadows of Rutherford House by CE Rose
Narrated by Colleen Prendergast

This multi timeline, many charactered story was a challenge for me at first since I was listening to the audiobook but once I got into it I had no problem keeping track of everyone, at least no more trouble than the main character (Christie) and we sorted things out more or less, in the end. This is one dark, dysfunctional family, gothic story and just when you think it can't get darker, it does! The narration of the audiobook is very good and made it worth the brain power to keep the timelines and characters straight.

The story starts in 1959 with sixteen year old Milly beginning her life as a housemaid at Rutherford House, a job she never wanted but slides into like a second skin, once she becomes mistress to the new lady of the house, Vivienne. The house already has so many dastardly rumors about it and its people and so many more are to come in the future. Milly, as she ages, becomes one of the more dreaded faces of the household, even being labeled a witch for all her creepy ways.

We follow other timelines as people connected to the house make their ill fated ways through the years. The present day timeline gives us the POV of Christie, a nurse to Lillian, granddaughter of Vivienne. Lillian is mentally disturbed for good reason, having the Rutherford/Percy blood in flowing through her veins. Both Christie and Lillian's mothers disappeared/died many years ago. Christie is still haunted by the fact that her mother seemed to just walk away from her and her father. Lillian had a breakdown after her beloved father died the year before but seems to care nothing for her dead mother. Christie becomes obsessed with Lillian's family and has a chance to dig in way too deeply for peace of mind when Lillian goes back home. Now Christie sees Lillian as a friend, rather than a patient and that gives her an excuse to snoop around into the past.

This is a very dark story with disgusting behavior by many of the characters. Even a favorite of mine gets himself in deep trouble and loses my respect. But there are a few good folks in this story and that helps to give it a hopeful slant. Still, the secrets we learn make this even a present day gothic horror story, showing us that monsters still exist, even if they are human.

Thank you to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Secrets of Rutherford House is a tense, multilayered mystery surround the Rutherford-Percy family. The story is told mainly from the point of view of Milly and Christie. In 1959, Milly starts a new life as a housemaid at Rutherford House working for Vivienne, the new mistress of the house. Milly quickly gets caught up in the family's tangled web of secrets and lies. In the present, Christie is a nurse at a psychiatric hospital where she takes care of Vivienne's granddaughter, Lillien. As Christy learns more about Lillien and her family she uncovers surprising connections to the disappearance of her own mother.

I enjoyed this twisty and foreboding novel. The mystery is very complex and the final secrets aren’t revealed until the very end. The story covers themes such as loss and examines complicated family dynamics, especially between female relatives. The old house and English countryside provided a great creepy setting. The characters in the novel were memorable and reminded me of the characters in a Lisa Jewell or Ruth Ware novel. Mystery and thriller fans will love this chilling, gothic tale!

EXCERPT: Prologue

Present Day

It’s heavily raining tonight, the wind whipping the windows behind the closed shutters. As ever, the midnight darkness is inky black, but that makes no odds to me. I know every inch, nook and cranny of this old manor like the back of my hand; even with my eyes closed, I could find each remnant of its former glory in seconds, the oil paintings depicting the haughty Percy line, the exquisitely shaped standard lamps, the Romanesque pillars and busts, the ornate marble hearths, brass grates and antique fire tools.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to be seen wandering Rutherford House as though I owned it, so I like this quiet time to explore the ancient corridors and chambers, to take in the aromas, the textures and vibrations, and tonight is no exception. I trace my fingers along the walls and feel the nap of velvet wallpaper, ridges of stucco trim and knots in fine hardwood. The panelling hasn’t been polished for years, and yet I know each room’s distinctive, waxy smell. I know which floorboards creak, which chairs have broken springs, which handsome tables have woodworm, the crystals missing from the showy chandeliers, the locks and latches which no longer work.

Remembering a spring ball I once watched from the wings, I dance across the marbled floor of the domed hallway. The worn carpet of the sweeping staircase is rough beneath my toes, yet it still has the elegance, the grandeur of the past, especially when I pause to listen to the rock ’n’ roll echoing from the dance floor below. Humming at the memory, I sashay up the steps, and when I reach the open landing, I stop again to new noises which pierce the silence. Babies, of course, the joyful bleats and shuffles of all the newborns brought into the world under this very roof. I brush by the balustrade and make my way through the shadows towards the warmth and the sound, but as ever, a hand slips into mine, insubstantial but undoubtedly there. And though I long to turn back the clock and wipe out my one and only guilt, history can’t be changed, so I pull away and cover my ears to block out the inevitable.

Yet I still hear it. A thud and the crack of broken bones.

ABOUT 'THE SHADOWS OF RUTHERFORD HOUSE': Darkness lies at the heart of this family…

Christie is still coming to terms with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of her mother, over twenty years ago, leaving her unable to move on. Through her work as a psychiatric nurse, she becomes drawn to a troubled patient, Lillian, similarly haunted by the loss of her own mother.

As she tries to help Lillian leave the hospital and return to her stately childhood home, Christie finds herself fascinated by the mysterious Rutherford-Percy clan. Why is Lillian so terrified of Rutherford House? Why is she so reluctant to embrace her aristocratic legacy?

The more Christie learns about the family and their dark, ancestral past, the deeper the secrets seem to run - until she finds a clue that could help uncover what happened to her own mother. Desperate for answers, Christie puts her job, her family and even her very life on the line. But how much of the truth does she really want to know?

MY THOUGHTS: It took me a little to settle into The Shadows of Rutherford House with its dual timelines and plethora of characters. I spent the first few chapters going, 'Wait - who's that again?' But gradually I got them sorted and began to enjoy the multi-layered storyline.

The Rutherford-Percys collect secrets like some people do fine bone china. And over four generations, that's a lot of secrets. They keep secrets for each other, from each other, and from everyone else in general. But all it takes for them to start to unravel is one outsider who sees something that shouldn't be there . . .

The story is told from three points of view: Milly the housekeeper; Duncan the acting estate manager; and Christie, Lillian's nurse and friend. The characters, while largely definitely not likeable, are engaging and the plot well-crafted. The chapters are short and to the point. But, the reader does need to pay attention. A few times I had to flick back and reread a chapter because I had lost track of a part of the plot or thought I was in a different time period.

The final twist was a good one, and one I didn't see coming.

This is a read that I am going to say I enjoyed, but . . . and there are a few buts. Christie's character is one I should have felt some connection with, even sympathy for, but I found her erratic and, frankly, annoying. The love angle felt contrived and honestly, in real life OJ would have run for the hills after the way she treated him. And Duncan's mother . . . one minute she's all 'Don't worry, son. I'm here for you and the little one,' and the next she's on the plane for Spain!

The love angle wasn't the only thing that felt contrived, but to say more would be to give away a major plot spoiler. Despite these gripes, the author did keep my interest throughout.

The audiobook of The Shadows of Rutherford House was adequately narrated by Colleen Prendergast.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#TheShadowsofRutherfordHouse #NetGalley

I: @cazengland1 @sagaegmont

X: @CazEngland @sagaegmont

The audiobook of The Shadows of Rutherford House is due for release 28th September 2023.

THE AUTHOR: C.E. Rose is the pen name of novelist Caroline England.

Born in Sheffield, Caroline studied Law at the University of Manchester and stayed over the border. Caroline was a divorce and professional indemnity lawyer. She turned to writing when she deserted the law to bring up her three lovely daughters.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Saga Egmont Audio for providing an audio ARC of The Shadows of Rutherford House by C.E. Rose for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

The Shadows of Rutherford House is an engaging new gothic suspense novel by C E Rose. C E Rose does a brilliant job of drawing you into her writing by her characters, who inhabit Rutherford House, and the house itself. C E Rose brings her setting to life very well. You often hear the phrase “if walls could talk,” and I was certainly thinking that as I was reading this book. I think this is definitely more of a slow burner, but the suspense builds as we begin to understand more about what has happened in the past and how this links to the present. The chapters are also short, which is what I also quite liked about this book.

We follow three separate timelines. In the present Christie has arrived at Rutherford House, following the recent disappearance of her mother. C E Rose brilliantly intertwines Christie’s story with stories of people who have previously lived at the house. As the plot develops and as we get to know the character’s further, it darkens, and makes you turn the pages even faster to get to the end.

The plot is quite a complex one, particularly with the different narrations and the timelines, but C E Rose handles this very well, and it’s part of what made me even more invested in the lives of the characters. One of C E Rose’s most brilliant skills, I think, as a writer, is her characterization. She really delves into their emotions and makes them feel like real people. In the present I could feel Christie’s determination to get to the bottom of what happened to her mother, but she is also doing this at her own personal cost which adds to the tension in the book.

One of the characters who I found really intriguing was Imogen. C E Rose creates a real sense of darkness about Imogen and this made me eager to find out more about her. This is what helps to create a sinister atmosphere in the book. There are some chilling moments throughout the history of Rutherford House in recent decades that really did put me on the edge of my seat.

3.5 stars. This twisty tale of family secrets and haunted mansions is a fun ride! At first, I found it tough to follow the different POVs and timeline switches, but it did get easier as the story progressed and I was more firmly aware of what was happening and who each character was. You definitely have to pay attention to the year listed at the start of each chapter, or you'll be a bit lost!

Missing mothers bond present-day Christie and Lillian, and though I could somewhat predict where the story was going to end up, I definitely enjoyed the book overall. As they dig into the past of the families surrounding Rutherford House, things start to get dangerous, and Christie will have to decide who to trust and whether or not the answers she's looking for are really worth the risk.

Thank you to CE Rose, Saga Egmont, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy!

I received a free audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book is a gothic suspense novel that I really enjoyed the majority of. The story follows multiple viewpoints through a family's history, culminating in a a meeting of timelines and people.

The characters were interesting and engaging, and the plot moved slowly but steadily, building up to the final few chapters. For me, this is where it went off the rails. There were several "reveals" near the end that just seemed too far-fetched, yet convenient in order to nicely close up the mystery. I'd still recommend reading this book, as it was generally pretty good, but the end was just a little unsatisfying to me.

I rounded up to 4 stars, but this sits firmly at 3.5 for me.

This was an engrossing mystery thriller told from several different perspectives. The writing and plot were well thought-out, and I was unable to put it down. I think it's a credit to writers when they can make a reader feel like they have it figured out, and while they do get some of it right, there are twists and turns that surprise you anyway. Following Christie trying to come to terms, no matter how many years it's been since she "lost" her mother was heart-wrenching. Other characters were misunderstood and others yet were the kind that you love to hate. Mental health struggles were discussed, love was found and lost, and heartbreak was had. Oh, and murder...don't forget the murder!

This book had a huge cast of characters, but the audiobook did not do a very good job of differentiating between the voices and the folks in the story. There was not enough dimension to each of the characters to make me really care what had happened at all, especially in addition to the fact that the separation of characters/timelines doesn't seem to happen until a few chapters in, leaving the reader feeling wrong-footed in the worst of ways from the start.

The story itself really wasn’t that interesting or believable when it all boils down. It was too many tangled wires to have happen all at once, which made it wholly unbelievable.

Any story where the last chapter is the narrator breaking everything down and explaining everything that happened is a story that is not very well written, in my opinion. The author should be telling that story through actions and dialogue as the book goes on, instead of throwing a bunch of spaghetti at the wall, and leaving it up to the very last chapter to have it all explained.

Overall, this is not a book that I would recommend spending time with.

C.E. Rose's novel, 'The Shadows of Rutherford House', is a work of fiction that expertly weaves together the intricate and haunting tales of Milly, Duncan, and Christie, all inextricably linked by the faded splendour of Rutherford House. As the former home of the aristocratic Rutherford-Percy clan, the estate is steeped in a dark history. It continues to be riddled with the family's secrets, even in its current state of disrepair.
I struggled to keep up with the plot due to a lack of concentration, and the narrator, Colleen Prendergast, didn't help read every POV in the story the same. The good thing was she had a pleasant voice. I also feel slightly overwhelmed by the enormous number of chapters. The good thing was that they were short and shifted seamlessly between different characters.
One of the book's most impressive features is the author's attention to detail in creating the setting of Rutherford House, which is both uncanny and complex. The plot twists and turns unexpectedly, keeping the reader on edge, and the uncovered revelations are both shocking and satisfying.
Overall, 'The Shadows of Rutherford House' is an enthralling and chilling page-turner that explores the depths of family secrets in a captivating and engaging way. This is the perfect story if someone is looking for a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Book Title: The Shadows of Rutherford House
Author: C.E, Rose AKA Caroline England
Narrator: Colleen Prendergast
Publisher: Saga Egmont Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Audiobook Pub Date: September 28, 2023 ~ Original Pub Date was November 10, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 340
The story follows four generations of the Percy family who live in the Rutherford House.
Story is told from the POV of Christie, Milly, and Duncan- in three timelines.

Christie is a psychiatric nurse, who has been helping Lillian so that she may leave the hospital and return to Rutherford House her childhood home. However she is terrified to do so.

Christie finds herself fascinated by the mysterious Rutherford-Percy clan. Why is Lillian so terrified of Rutherford House? Why is she so reluctant to embrace her aristocratic legacy?

Story is a gothic family drama with interesting characters. Story seems longer than it really is as there are 88 chapters but the chapters are short but at times very slow.
I am a big thriller fan and love twists and turns. This wasn’t the thriller I was hoping. I have no doubt that many readers will enjoy this however I didn’t love it.


About the Author: C.E. Rose is the pen name for Caroline England.
Both CE and Caroline write multi-layered, dark and edgy ‘domestic suspense’ stories that delve into
complicated relationships, secrets and the moral grey area.
Drawing on her days as a lawyer, she loves to create ordinary characters who get caught up in
extraordinary situations. She admits to a slight obsession with the human psyche, what goes on behind
closed doors.. She is hopeful of surprising her readers!

Want to thank NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for granting me this audiobook.
Audiobook re-Release Publishing Date scheduled for September 28, 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I really enjoyed this book. I even liked all of the characters which is rare when there are so many of them. I liked how the story was told in the past and present and how it all focused on the family line of those who lived in Rutherford House. Christy is a psych nurse who forms a friendship with Lillian a patient of hers, as they both try to come to terms with the death of their mothers. All the answers seem to be hidden behind the doors of Rutherford House. As Christy tries to help Lilian figure out the answers she discovers some answers of her own. I must admit that I did have to write down my own little family tree so I could keep track of who was the mother and father etc. Just when I had it all figured out of course there was a twist to it and what a twist it was. Well done!!!! Enjoy!!

This started out being a little hard to follow. There were a lot of narrators and varying timelines within each narrator. Once you get into the story a bit, everyone’s timelines and narratives start to come together.

I did expect this to be a suspense/thriller from the description but the story was more a story about one family and the messed up complicated lives they lived. Overall I did enjoy this more than I thought I would when I started it. The narration of the audiobook was great.