Synopsis:

Edmund and Mary Wilder are very much in love. But the death of their young son, Tommy, has shattered their family. Edmund is determined to bring them back together, drawing on the only bit of strength he has left—his love for Mary and their daughter, Stephanie. But Mary sinks deeper into depression while little Stephanie’s anger grows. Edmund flounders in his attempts to rescue his family from the brink of collapse and doesn’t know where to turn.

Then Mary receives an invitation for the family to become guests at Manor House, a seemingly quaint Bed and Breakfast. This, she assures her husband, is the answer to all their troubles.

Edmund arrives ahead of his family to spend a couple days working on his long-delayed novel. But his growing curiosity about the old house leads Edmund to an encounter that will change him forever.

What will you sacrifice for love?

An old fashioned psychological thriller with a nod to Stephen King, Manor House will keep you guessing and compel you to turn the page to the very end.

A mother will sacrifice anything for her children. A husband will risk everything to save his wife. Manor House will take them all.

I love me a haunted house story  that knows how to tug on the heartstrings! Manor House itself is probably a distant cousin of the Outlook Hotel, so you can guess the general gist of the story.

Following the death of one of their children, Mary and Edmund decide to take a break and go stay at the Manor House B&B for a while with their surviving daughter and try to recover some peace. While there, Edmund, who is an aspiring author, takes the time to finally start writing his book and collects the stories of the old house to share with the world.

Though this story is very much a nod to The Shining, but on a smaller and more intimate scale, it’s still a very enjoyable read even if you know what’s going to happen. The differences are in the characterisation – most of the story is told from the perspective of Edmund, a man who genuinely and totally loves his family, he never wavers on this and everything he does is to try to do what’s best for all of them.

What I particularly enjoyed was the very short stories of the history of the house scattered throughout the book, as Edmund writes them down for posterity. They add to the overall atmosphere of the story and give you chills.

At 186 pages, it’s a nice short read to plough through in one sitting. I feel like it wouldn’t have suffered from being a little bit longer and developing some of the secondary characters a little bit more, for example, I don’t think I ever even read how old the surviving child was or any specific details about her life. It feels like there’s something missing in that area.

If you’re a Stephen King or haunted house fan, I would recommend giving this book a go.

**Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review**