Title: The Manor House
Author: Gilly Macmillan
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery
Number of Pages: 327
My Rating: 💋💋💋💋
Book Summary:
Be careful what you wish for…
Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.
Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.
But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool.
Nicole is devastated. Tom is her rock. And their beautiful barn —with all its smart features that never seem to work for her—is beginning to feel very lonely. But she’s not entirely by herself out there in the country. There’s a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom’s from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.
But big money can bring big problems and big threats. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident or was it something worse? And is her life in danger as well?
Nicole’s beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass fishbowl.
Surrounded by piranhas.
My Thoughts:
I know this review is a touch over-do, but better late than never!
First, I enjoyed the premise of the novel and the twists and turns that it takes. It was almost a mystery inside a mystery which was pretty fun.
However, I found the start of the book to be a little bit slow, but then it picked up about halfway through. Which the second half of the novel I just couldn’t put down and my armchair detective skills were in full swing.
The characters were well developed, balanced and intriguing in their own ways. It is essentially two very different homes that play a role in the story line, which creates tension, manipulation and a bit of a spark among the two households.
The Manor is exactly what you would imagine: a majestic older home, shrouded in history and complete with secret passages ways. The patrons who live within these glorious halls are Olly, a novelist, and Sasha, a yoga instructor. The Manor comes complete with a Coach House, which is home to their housekeeper, Kitty.
Whereas it’s counterpart The Glass Barn is an super-modern home that was constructed from the ruins of an old barn building, the dream home of lottery winners Tom and Nicole. Which would eventually just become Nicole.
Tom’s oldest friend, Patrick, comes into play pretty rapidly in this tale, masquerading as a mournful friend and moral support for Nicole. Though his intentions are deceitful and manipulative to say the least. Not a fan of Patrick from the start to be honest and my assumption was confirmed as to why I wasn’t a fan. No spoilers though!
I do have to admit that I was a fan of Hal Steen and his partner Jen Walsh are two characters you kind of fall in love with almost immediately, at least I did. You have Hal; older and slightly rough around the edges cop who prides himself on being one-step ahead in the investigation and to play things extremely intelligently. He kind of plays his cards close to his chest, but he’s an absolutely gem of a character! His partner Jen is a younger cop who is bright, compassionate, sweet and full of gumption. She follows Hal’s lead, but it almost seems like they know what the other is thinking when it’s required, they play off of one another in a sense. And the slight romantic attraction between the two was adorable, kind of lightened things up a bit. But these two definitely have their hands full with this investigation; it becomes more twisted, tangled and complex as the days go by.
The conclusion is captivating to be sure and truly comes together beautifully. Let’s just say everyone got their just desserts.
I thoroughly enjoyed it none the less, and would recommend, but it’s not five Baci for me due to the fact that it was a fairly slow start at the beginning of the book. But I will definitely have to read more from Gilly Macmillan! Have to thank my cousin for lending me this read, so thank you!
Next review is a kind of a set of novels, a prequel and sequel which I’m excited to write. So please keep an eye out!
Hope you enjoyed and I’m currently reading The Countess by Rebecca Johns & The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis.
Hope you enjoyed the review!
Ciao!!
Mama on the Move 
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