On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the new thriller by Erin Kelly, The House of Mirrors.
BLURB
One of them has killed before.
One of them will kill again.
In the sweltering summer of 1997, straight-laced, straight-A student Karen met Biba – a bohemian and impossibly glamorous aspiring actress. A few months later, two people were dead and another had been sent to prison.
Having stood by Rex as he served his sentence, Karen is now married to him with a daughter, Alice, who runs a vintage clothing company in London. They’re a normal family, as long as they don’t talk about the past, never mention the name Biba, and ignore Alice’s flashes of dark, dangerous fury.
Karen has kept what really happened that summer of ’97 hidden deep inside her. Alice is keeping secrets of her own. But when anonymous notes begin to arrive at Alice’s shop, it seems the past is about to catch up with them all …
MY THOUGHTS
Ever since I read Erin Kelly’s debut novel, The Poison Tree, I’ve wondered about what happened to the characters, so I was so excited to hear that she would be returning to them in her new novel, The House of Mirrors. It jumped straight to the top of my TBR pile. The story begins several years after the events that took place in The Poison Tree. Alice is now a grown-up and living with her boyfriend, Gabe. Her mother Karen and father Rex are still together. Karen is still living with what she did all those years ago, and her fear is that Alice and Rex will uncover the truth, which will destroy them.
I really was hungry to find out what Alice might find as she begins to look into her parent’s past and Biba’s. You can see why she wants to make contact with her aunt, Biba, and find out more about her. She believes that her father, Rex, was wrongly convicted for the crime he was sent to prison for. He received a ten year sentence for murder and this still continues to have an impact on their lives, even though he’s served his sentence. People know who Rex is, and there are times when he is recognised with Karen out in public, and he isn’t made to feel welcome. To Alice this isn’t fair. She begins to suspect that her dad may be innocent and that someone else might be to blame for the crimes he committed.
I loved that Erin Kelly alternated telling the story from Alice and Karen’s perspectives. This really adds to the tension, particularly as Karen worries about her daughter living away with her partner, who she thinks is too controlling and isn’t good enough for her daughter. The darkness gradually creeps back into Alice and Rex’s lives and this is what keeps the tension simmering away. I was desperate to find out if the truth about what happened to Biba was going to come to light, and what Alice would do if this happened. It is clear to see what sort of impact this would have on all them, so this made me also wonder what Karen would do to make sure her secret stays a secret.
The House of Mirrors is an utterly gripping psychological thriller by Erin Kelly. Erin Kelly has a real talent for drawing you into the story and keeping you invested in the lives of her characters. This book was so good. I did not want it to end. I highly, recommend it.
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 4th April 2024
Print length: 396 pages
The House of Mirrors is available to buy:
Hooked From Page One 