Member Review

The House of Hidden Letters by Izzy Broom (an author who also publishes under the name Isabelle Broom) is a dual timeline novel set on the beautiful Greek island of Folegandros. When Skye sees a lottery for €1 derelict Greek cottages, she sees a chance to escape her life. However, even in the quaint village with her new neighbours and community around her, her past is still circling, as she works with contractor Andreas to turn the long-abandoned house into a home.

When Skye finds a bundle of letters from war-time Greece hidden in the fireplace, she begins to learn more about the island’s history and the lives of the people who inhabited this area long before her.

Flitting from the past to present, Broom’s dual timelines not only build great suspense and pace but also draw her slightly away from her usual writing style, weaving the romantic, escapist writing she is known for with further depths of history, and furious female resilience. What does carry from Broom’s other works, though, is her incredible ability to bring these beautiful locations to life, the depth of her characters, and her ability to fill the pages with twists, turns and revelations that keep a reader gripped.

Exploring some quite dark and difficult topics including: war, grief, domestic violence, sexual assault and pregnancy loss, this is a novel that could potentially benefit from content warnings for some readers. These topics though, are written with a gentleness and compassion that make for a deeply emotional story.

The House of Hidden Letters is an intense, mysterious, and captivating read that is perfect for fans of Louis de Bernières’ Captain Correlli’s Mandolin, with its threads of love and loss.