The author is familiar to me, but I've never picked up her bestselling novel 'The Silent Companions'. But when this book was presented to me by the publisher, I thought it was a good opportunity to give her writing a try! And this, even though it's historical fiction - not my favourite genre. But it's a gothic ghost story, and I do rather like that! So I leapt in and very much enjoyed it.

A family move in to the grand house, full of hope and expectations for their new life together, and their independence.

Belinda has been born a merchant's daughter but now she is the lady of the manor with Wilfred, her husband, and their two young children.

But very quickly it's clear their new home has its challenges. The garden is overgrown, the estate is struggling financially, there are stories about a servant's mysterious death many years previously and their little boy, Freddy, is behaving very oddly. He seems to see people who aren't there, and follows instructions he believes they're giving him. And he's obsessed with the strange wooden figures - the 'silent companions' - all around the house.

Then to compound Belinda's worries, Wilfred's brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, and not only tells a different account of the family's past, but threatens her future in the house.  

It's a dark tale, with sinister goings on and tragic events. A classic, gripping, atmospheric, ghost story.