Kate Collins (3)

Eerie, atmospheric and chilling this book stayed in my mind long after finishing it. It reminded me of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House as well as Henry James' Turn of the Screw. It features two different families living in this same creepy estate in Dorset - one in the 1970s and the other in the recent past few years. Each chapter alternates back in forth in time to each story. Beautifully written, it was a slow burn of events and it had me riveted. This is a great creepy book for a lake trip or to read during a summer storm.… (altro)

One of my favorite genres to read is gothic fiction. After reading the synopsis, I happily picked up Kate Collins' debut novel - A Good House for Children.

All the right elements are there - an isolated, large old house outside of a small village, a house the villagers whisper about, one that has been home to 'outsiders' who don't know the history of the house. What else? Women left alone in the house with the children while the husband is away for work. And....small glimpses of something? someone? on the steps, at the end of the hallway, in the garden by the pond...and who are the children talking to?

All of this and more is told in a now and then timeline - the current residents of the house - and the family before.

Orla is our protagonist in the present and Lydia is from four decades back. I always enjoy this style of storytelling. I can't help but read one more chapter 'til late in the night. Lydia's situation seems more dire to me. As readers, we're privy to those past events and can only hope Orla can see what's happening before....

"Orla invited herself in, and the house woke up." (I live in quite an old house and this gave me the shivers...)

The house is both a character and setting in A Good House for Children. Collins does a wonderful job of ramping up the danger with a slow burning, insidiously clever plot. Collins does a great job writing the two timelines and weaving them together. Also wound into the tale is a dissection of motherhood. And the ending is perfect.

A satisfying read and a really good debut.… (altro)

The Reeve, a grand house on a cliff top in Dorset, welcomes families to live in it. It seems like A Good House for Children, with space to play and to grow. In this dual timeline story we learn that there is more to The Reeve than meets the eye.

In 2018, Orla and her husband, Nick, along with their children, Sam and Bridie, have moved to the house. Orla didn't really want to move from Bristol but is persuaded by Nick that it will be good for the children and also an opportunity for Orla to get back to her work as a painter. More than 40 years earlier, in 1976, Lydia has moved to The Reeve as a nanny to four children.

Both women find the house has a strange and unsettling effect on them. They see and hear things that are impossible to explain and they, and the children, start to behave differently and at times, peculiarly. It is as though the house has tendrils that grow from it and envelop whoever lives there, stealthily insinuating its way into their minds and bodies.

I came to this book primarily because of the house and because I enjoy dual timeline stories. I stayed for the incredible writing, the mesmerising story and the compelling characters. It's clear from the beginning that the house is a character in its own right and it unnerved me as I read the parallel tales of Orla and Lydia and the house's effect on them. I don't want to give anything away but the way the two narratives were woven together absolutely thrilled and fascinated me.

A Good House for Children is a tremendous debut from Kate Collins. It's thoroughly immersive, not just the sinister atmosphere of the house but also the day to day details of the characters' lives. I found myself so entranced by them all and I thought the story as a whole was perfectly told, linking the everyday and the extraordinary to great effect. I honestly loved this book and I can't wait to see what comes next from Collins.… (altro)