This book had a Rebecca-esque mystery. You can tell there is something more under the surface. Every character has a secret. It is those secrets that keep the story going and it is the unraveling of those secrets that ties up the ending. The book was a bit of a slow burn but totally worth the build up. ( )

When Jessie and her family move from London to purchase Applecote Manor, a fixer-upper in the country, her teenage step-daughter Bella immediately becomes convinced that something terrible once happened at their new home. Bella's suspicions are confirmed when at her new school she learns of the disappearance of Audrey Wilde fifty years earlier. Summer 1959: Margot and her three sisters are packed off to spend the summer at Applecote while their mother takes a job overseas, but it just isn't the same without Cousin Audrey. It's been five years since the summer Audrey vanished without a trace, and Aunt Sybil and Uncle Perry are now eccentric, empty shells of their former selves. Margot is determined to uncover clues about her cousin's disappearance.

This suspenseful novel was just what I needed — a book I could read just before bed that I was guaranteed not to doze off during. The parallel timelines worked well, though I was frequently chagrined each time a chapter ended to allow the alternate narrative to progress. After all the buildup, the big reveal was for me somewhat anticlimactic, but that didn't make the book overall any less unputdownable. Check this one out if you missed it at publication. ( )

This held my interest, I enjoyed the characters and how the two timelines came together ( )

The Wilding Sisters by Eve Chase is a 2017 G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication.

The Wilde Sisters arrive at the Applecote manor in 1959 to spend the summer with their aunt. The girls, Dot, Flora, Pam, and Margot are close and protective of each other. But, their visit to the lovely country estate is dampened by their aunt’s struggle to overcome her daughter, Audrey’s disappearance, five years earlier. The mystery consumes the girls, but the closer they get to the truth, the closer they come to possible danger, and tensions begin to arise between them over two handsome boys.

Fifty years later, with the memory of her widower husband’s wife constantly surrounding her, Jesse is ready to escape the city. Not only that, her stepdaughter was involved in an ugly incident, which figured into her desire to move. Applecote Manor felt like the perfect place in the perfect setting at the perfect time.
However, trouble starts almost immediately. Her stepdaughter becomes increasingly difficult to handle, her husband is always away at work, and disturbing rumors about the house finally reach her ears. As her stepdaughter becomes nearly obsessed with the strange disappearance of a former resident, Jesse feels her life is slowly unraveling.

This is one of those books I was dying to read, but it just kept slipping down the TBR pile until I gradually lost track of it. Thankfully, while searching for another book in my voluminous Kindle folder, I happened across it and made a point to get started on it. I do recall hearing a lot of buzz about his book when it was first released. I have read other books by Eve Chase and was very impressed with her work. But, what drew me to this one was the constant effusive gushing about the novel’s strong Gothic tones. As a huge fan of Gothic novels, I’m going to have to cry foul on that one, just a little. Yes, there are a few Gothic elements, but I didn’t feel they were as strong or pure as many others have. 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.

As is usually the case for me, I was drawn more towards the historical elements of the story, but the present -day scenario, while not really adding a lot to the mystery, suggests a possible air of pending doom, which was quite effective, and may have been a slightly underrated element in the story.

The author wound the story around until the two timelines merged in a poignant way, slowly releasing the pent -up tensions, and bringing closure to all in a satisfying way.
I am glad this one didn’t drop completely off my radar. The story has a lot of familial touches, bringing the characters to life in a vivid and emotional way, drawing the reader into their world with lush writing, dialogue, and descriptions. Eve Chase once again impresses. ( )

I liked this story even more than I thought I would. I don't normally read a lot of mystery/suspense type novels, but honestly the Kate Morton review is what really pulled me in here. I LOVE her books, so I figured anything she recommends must be good. This assumption definitely proved right. The characters in this story were so believable, and for me that was one of the real strengths here. The pacing, also, was fantastic and the mystery pulled me in and kept me reading to find out the whole story. I also tend to really love dual timeframe novels, so that really worked for me with this book as well. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I think it would be a great summer read to take to the beach. Definitely recommended! Thanks to First to Read for the advance copy. ( )