Harrington, the children, and Rita are sent to Foxcote Manor for the summer to recuperate far from prying eyes. We follow the past history alongside a more modern storyline with the Applecote Manor taking a central role.

The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde: Chase, Eve: 9780718180096 The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde: Chase, Eve: 9780718180096

I was captivated by each story, because both narratives had the ring of truth as they spoke in their different ways of evolving family relationships, of the ways that the past can haunt the present, and the complications the come with growing up. The tension is palpable, almost too much at times and I think the reason the author has been so successful in creating it is the way the book has been structured. Jessie struggles with the death of her husband’s first wife, feeling the ghost of her wherever she goes.Jessie can see Bella finally finding some peace here, and her own daughter, Romy, freed from rubber-matted city playgrounds, climbing trees, those strawberry-blonde curls catkin-fuzzed. The mystery itself was secondary to the story and yet very compelling, just as the story told of innocence lost and the coming of age of the sisters. I was slightly let down on that front, however, the story was very compelling, with dual timelines, and a very atmospheric and absorbing mystery to uncover. During her first visit to Black Rabbit Hall, Lorna discovers a horse’s skull displayed in the library. Despite her unexplained disappearance five years earlier, Audrey is a constant, silent, almost ghostly, presence in the story set in the past.

The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde - Penguin Books UK

It was unsettling for all four sisters, and because the summer was warm they were able to spend much of their time outside, That was how they came to meet Tom and Harry Gore, whose family spent their summers at the neighbouring Coniston Place. Affectionately known as the Wildings, they are staying with their Aunt Sybil and Uncle Perry, who are devastated about the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years previously. I'm finding books such as this utterly absorbing, with the rich and lavish descriptions really involving the reader more thoroughly in the story.She wonders about the other thing lying dormant at Applecote, waiting for the right conditions to come alive. The present day is more driven by the relationship between step families and attempting to start afresh. However I needn’t have worried as I thought this book was fantastic and well deserved the comparison.

Loading interface - Goodreads

I enjoyed the mystery which had a few twists and turns, however story this felt a bit more character driven.Applecote Manor and the area were deftly described and I felt the presence of the house in the writing. In the present, Jessie and Will move into Applecote Manor hoping that it proves to be a balm to the spirits for their emotionally troubled family. That she might never be forgiven for invading Bella’s private world with her father and bringing forth the joy, noise and disruption that was Romy, a rival for her father’s affections, and embarrassing proof of his new sex life.